According to Weekly Bunshun, 7-membered unit from Johnnys & Associates IMPACTors have informed the agency of their intention to leave following King & Prince, who recently announced that 3 members (Hirano Sho, Jinguji Yuta, and Kishi Yuta) will be leaving the group and agency in May 2023. Insiders from the industry have revealed that in December, Johnny’s Island new President Yoshihiko Inohara and the members had a meeting where they announced their intention to leave.
IMPACTors were officially formed in 2020 and have since been releasing content as a group on the Johnnys Jr official YouTube channel. Other than group activities, some of the members have also been appearing on dramas such as center member Sato Arata in “Silent”, and Motoi Shunsuke in “Hajime wa Par.” It was a huge blow for the group after former president of Johnny’s Island, Hideaki Takizawa left Johnny’s at the end of October this year. It was Takizawa who had formed them and given them the name IMPACTors. Sato Arata was also a big admirer of King & Prince’s Hirano Sho and after it was announced he would be leaving, the group was said to have lost their momentum to continue. Also with the eldest member being 26 this year, Johnny’s Jr new system that will require members to retire at age 22 will be introduced from March 2023, may or may not have also been a reason for the decision to leave the agency.
Bunshun has stated that even though the members IMPACTors had plenty of work outside of group activities, Inohara wants to endorse groups that show his own style and not too much of Takizawa’s. If all members successfully leave the agency, it will be a similar situation as former Johnnys Jr unit Love-tune in which all seven members left from 2018 to 2019. Love-Tune were able to redebut as 7ORDER under Nippon Colombia. Bunshun plans to release a more detailed article of IMPACTors leaving when more meetings with the members and agency are held soon. Johnnys & Associates have not made an official statement about the rumors.
Marius Yo, who is currently on hiatus, graduates from Sexy Zone and retires from the entertainment industry after appearing at Cowcon
Marius Yo (22) of the popular group Sexy Zone, who had been on hiatus due to poor health, announced on the 27th through the official website that he would be graduating from the group and leaving Johnny's Office. He also plans to retire from the entertainment industry.
The agency said, "At this time, our company's talent Marius Yo (Sexy Zone) will end his activities as Sexy Zone-member with the appearance of "Johnny's Countdown 2022-2023" on December 31, 2022, and will leave Johnny's Office. He would like to announce that he will be retiring from the entertainment industry.” "First of all, we would like to apologize from the bottom of our hearts to all the fans who have been looking forward to Marius' activities as a five-member group, as well as to everyone involved, for the sudden announcement." , "Thank you again for the warm encouragement and support that Marius has received so far."
Marius suspended activities in December 2020 due to poor health. ``At the time, I was fulfilling every day by working hard at my studies as well as performing arts activities, but the main reason was that I lost my mental and physical balance due to the attitude of working hard in everything.'' During the hiatus period, Marius opened his eyes to various worlds through his studies and met a new dream of ``I want to become a person who can play an active role internationally''. On the other hand, he also had a strong desire to meet the expectations of the fans who were looking forward to the reunion of activities, so he asked himself many questions until reaching the conclusion, but he said, "In the end, I want to challenge a new dream. I have decided to retire from the entertainment industry."
The office said, "We believe that it is our company's role to respect and support that decision. No matter what path we take, we will become a person who can be useful to everyone and play an active role in society. I sincerely hope," he sent an email.
He continued, "I'm really sorry for all the fans who have been waiting for 2 years, but I would appreciate it if you could support Marius' first step towards his dream with everyone's support." "And Nakajima, Kikuchi, Sato, and Matsushima, who sincerely wished for Marius' health and success and decided to send him off to a new challenge, will continue to bring Sexy Zone's entertainment to everyone by joining forces. We will continue to do so, so we ask for your kind support.We hope that you will warmly watch over Marius and the members of Sexy Zone, who are embarking on a new path."
Regarding Marius, in December 2020, it was announced on the official website of Johnny's office that he would suspend entertainment activities due to poor physical condition. “Based on the conversations with him and the results of the doctor's diagnosis, Marius's willingness to strive for perfection in everything he does, and his sincere attitude, actually puts too much pressure on himself, and recently, he has struggled with his work and studies. It was understood that it was undeniable that it led to the loss of physical and mental balance in social life, including balancing work and life."
