National Jul 22, 2019
Entertainment giant Yoshimoto Kogyo cancels penalties for scandal-hit comedians
The joke’s on them: After internal pushback, the top execs at influential Yoshimoto Kogyo step in to take the punishment instead of the comedians.
National Jul 13, 2019
Hiroshi Osaki, chairman of major Japanese talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo Holdings Co., stresses the importance of efforts to eliminate connections between its comedians and purported organized crime groups.
TV Jun 6, 2019
Japan's king of comedy, Yoshimoto Kogyo's Hiroshi Osaki, expands his realm
by Matthew Hernon
It has been 10 years since Hiroshi Osaki took the reins at Yoshimoto Kogyo, and in that time Japan's oldest and arguably most influential entertainment agency has veered down several different paths. While comedy remains at the forefront of the company's activities, as it ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Jan 22, 2012
Can showbiz really sever yakuza ties?
by Philip Brasor
Last August, comedian and TV emcee Shinsuke Shimada retired from show business following allegations that he'd been palling around with an underworld figure. His withdrawal came on the eve of the implementation of a well-publicized police crackdown on organizations that work with antisocial elements, ...
Culture Nov 27, 2011
Yoshimoto Kogyo's New Star Creation: Comedy's a funny business in Japan
by Edan Corkill
Downtown, Ninety-Nine, Cream Stew, Neptune, Bananaman, Penalty, Black Mayonnaise, Tutorial, License, King Kong, Peace, Punk Boo Boo, Slim Club, Oriental Radio . . . What on Earth is all this about? Well, if you are familiar with the daily deluge of delights offered up on Japanese ...