Scandal-hit Yoshimoto Kogyo urged to sign written contracts with its 6,000 entertainers
Scandal-hit artists' agency Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. is being urged to exchange written contracts with the comedians, actors and athletes on its books. The recommendation came after the first meeting of a management advisory panel that Yoshimoto set up after the revelation that several of its ...
News outlets in Japan less afraid to tackle entertainment issues
Ever since Johnny Kitagawa died on July 9, the media has been filled with sentimental tributes to the pop idol impresario, mostly by the young men whose careers he cultivated, but also by those with a stake in Japan's hermetic show biz world. Meanwhile, Kitagawa's ...
Five things to know about the scandal enveloping top Japanese comedy agency Yoshimoto Kogyo
From one channel to the next, almost every comedy and variety show on Japanese TV features personalities from entertainment powerhouse Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. But recently the company has been rocked by a scandal involving high-profile comedians that is no laughing matter. What began last month ...
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.
Scandal-hit comedians apologize for receiving money for organized crime group event
Hiroyuki Miyasako, a member of popular comedy duo Ameagari Kesshitai, offered an apology at a news conference Saturday for performing at an event hosted by an organized crime group and receiving money from it. "I would like to apologize to everyone," Miyasako, who had his ...
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.
Thirteen comedians who recently criticized for secretly performing at a party hosted by a purported crime group each received between several tens of thousands of yen and ¥1 million, their agency says.
Japanese comedians turn to yakuza-linked 'underground performances' due to unstable income
Despite mounting criticism over recently revealed "underground performances" for organized crime by some comedians, quitting such work appears difficult, as they are important sources of income for the entertainers, many of whom are apparently not earning enough money from activities through their talent agencies, ...
Talent agency suspends 11 comedians for accepting money from alleged organized crime group
A major talent agency on Monday suspended 11 of its comedians for conducting "underground business" and attending a party hosted by a purported organized crime group without consulting with the company. Yoshimoto Kogyo Co. said it has determined that the comedians, including Hiroyuki Miyasako, 49, ...
Japan's king of comedy, Yoshimoto Kogyo's Hiroshi Osaki, expands his realm
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 ...
Representatives from entertainment powerhouse Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., advertising giant Dentsu Inc. and the United Nations recently highlighted their joint efforts to make the Japanese public aware of the international body's social development work around the globe. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, a set of ...
'Spark': A fool and a straight man walk into a bar...
Stand-up — one comic in front of a microphone — is the default setting for live comedy in the United States. In Japan the equivalent has long been rakugo, a traditional form in which a single performer tells comic stories. Today, however, aspiring ...
