Nakai Masahiro to Leave Johnny's

Nakai Masahiro to leave Johnny's three years after SMAP's disbandment

Talent Nakai Masahiro (47), who has been with Johnny & Associates for over 30 years, will leave the agency at the end of March and go independent. The official announcement will be made on February 21.

Nakai's former group, SMAP, disbanded in December 2016. Nakai and Kimura Takuya (47) stayed with Johnny's, while Inagaki Goro (46), Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (45), and Katori Shingo (43) transferred to 'CULEN', which is headed by SMAP's former manager Iijima Michi.

Three members of Atarashii Chizu

According to an agency official, Nakai had expressed his intention to not renew his contract in September 2019, which the agency accepted. President Julie Keiko Fujishima respected his decision, however, while discussions were still ongoing, former president Johnny Kitagawa died, and talks were halted.

"In order to avoid contract disputes, Nakai did not appear in CMs and also turned down his job as main caster for TBS's coverage of the Olympics Games which he had held for seven consecutive games. Nakai's driver/manager will also leave the agency and will continue to support Nakai's activities. They will maintain a good relationship with Johnny's in the future." (Agency official)

Nakai ambushed

Last year on May 30, when Shukan Bunshun ambushed Nakai and asked him about contract disputes with the agency and the possibility of SMAP reuniting, he answered with a smile, "You can write whatever you want". Shukan Bunshun has not been in contact with Kimura since SMAP's dissolution. At this point, they apparently have no plans to unite with Atarashii Chizu.

Source: Yahoo! News Japan

pon*****
They're all grown-ups
I think he should work hard on things he likes
Since he's talented, he should try doing things he wants to do
And the results will come later

[+58472 / -3709]

yahoo news' advisor
After SMAP disbanded, it must've been very difficult for him thinking about everything while juggling all his jobs.
Thank you for all your hard work, and congratulations on this first step.
From now on, I look forward to seeing an even more carefree Nakai-kun.

[+48102 / -5766]

k****
So Nakai-kun made his decision.
Johnny's is a terrible agency after all.
I'm looking forward to seeing him work with everyone in Atarashii Chizu.
I want Kimura-kun to be there too but...
It seems impossible

[+39669 / -8062]

ran*****
He's already fulfilled all his obligations.
He doesn't need to hold back now that his mentor is gone.

[+11202 / -469]

.....
It's his life after all.
He'll probably be able to work with Chizu now. As a SMAP fan, I'm very happy.
I want to support Nakai-san's decision.

[+11511 / -747]

cyo*****
Was this Nakai-kun's own way of repaying his gratitude to the agency?

Let's look forward to his appearances with Shingo-chan and the others.

[+11106 / -907]

hyc*****
Nakai-kun, you're finally free
Thank you for working hard.
Thank you for gritting your teeth for so long and being the leader.
You're our eternal leader.
We love you.

I hope you will have success in even more places.

[+11437 / -1093]

rwx*****
I support you, Nakai-san.
I wonder if he's starting his own company so he can work with the Chizu members from a neutral position...?

[+9558 / -685]

ddt*****
That's fine, he didn't have any Johnny's-related jobs anyway.

Aside from that, I wish he had announced it to us himself.
But I guess finding scoops in Bunshun's job.

[+7255 / -372]

###
I'm not a SMAP fan but I was so surprised that I let out an "Ehhh!!"
Even though they disbanded years ago, SMAP are still the superstars of Japan.
With Nakai-kun's ability, he'll be able to keep his place at the top of the entertainment world.
If this means we can finally see Katori-kun and the others on terresteral TV, it's good news for the nation

[+8686 / -1079]

Yahoo poll: On a scale of 0 to 100, how surprised are you that Nakai is leaving Johnny's in March?

0 — 43.5% (7,118 votes)
10 — 6.2% (1,015 votes)
20 — 3.1% (515 votes)
30 — 4.0% (661 votes)
40 — 1.2% (202 votes)

50 — 8.0% (1,307 votes)

60 — 2.0% (322 votes)
70 — 2.9% (480 votes)

80 — 5.0% (817 votes)
90 — 2.9% (471 votes)
100 — 21.2% (3,464 votes)

(Votes cast: 16,372)

Source: Girls Channel

1. [+2094 / -65]

[Link to article]

2. [+4487 / -65]
Shocking!!
I wonder if he'll work with Atarashii Chizu. He'll still be doing Gyakuten News, right?

3. [+3189 / -26]
You've worked hard!!!!

4. [+2364 / -13]
Finally!

5. [+1571 / -19]
Seriously?

8. [+2376 / -25]
Seriously?!
Isn't he in heaps of programs? What will happen to them.

12. [+3777 / -203]
Woah!!!!
Kimutaku's even more alone now

13. [+1247 / -51]
Honestly shocked!
I was taking an afternoon nap but I'm completely awake now.

14. [+1948 / -553]
Kimutaku is finally finished

60. [+936 / -362]
>>14
Why are you acting like Kimutaku did something bad?

15. [+1340 / -48]
Time to get married~~~

18. [+1716 / -35]
Seriously?! I'm surprised.
I thought he'd stay forever for some reason

19. [+1735 / -56]
SMAP's probably never gonna reunite...

20. [+1688 / -21]
You can do anything you like now!

21. [+1448 / -18]
So it's just Kimutaku left?

23. [+1202 / -110]
Will he join up with the other three?

24. [+2414 / -189]
I want him to work with the three in Atarashii Chizu

25. [+1314 / -27]
Why'd it take him so long?

26. [+597 / -14]
As expected
Thanks for your hard work

27. [+498 / -82]
Why after all this time?

30. [+2394 / -641]
Kimutaku's looking more and more like a traitor now
I hope the four of them work together a lot

32. [+804 / -30]
It's just Kimutaku left.
I wonder how it'll turn out?

34. [+940 / -35]
For some reason, I thought he'd always be in Johnny's

35. [+2071 / -31]
There's probably a reason he couldn't leave straight away.

36. [+496 / -84]
Will he join Atarashii Chizu?

37. [+457 / -17]
The day has come!

42. [+438 / -13]
A lot of things are starting to happen now...

44. [+71 / -354]
This is completely fine
We don't need this old man anyway

47. [+12 / -113]
What about Kimu?

50. [+531 / -181]
Who cares about Johnny's
They've been stale for over five years

51. [+1079 / -20]
Well, he'll still be able to make money even if he leaves
Thanks for looking out for your juniors all this time

54. [+914 / -25]
I hope they don't blacklist him. But Nakai-kun will probably be fine anyway.

55. [+198 / -2]
Someone in Johnny's leaked it?

56. [+670 / - 26]
Kimutaku will never leave
Because his daughter needs him

63. [+760 / -6]
It's to be expected
There's no Johnny-san anymore after all

67. [+731 / -2]
I knew he wouldn't stay forever
He didn't seem very happy

70. [+327 / -76]
Man, I want to see SMAP together again.
I'm 30 but my parents like them
And I like them too––

71. [+531 / -19]
Please don't cancel Gyakuten News