Japanese boy band Johnny’s WEST announced on the 18th that they have changed their group name to ”WEST.” The announcement was made during a live stream on their official YouTube channel, where all seven members were present. The group consists of Daiki Shigeoka (31), Shori Kiriyama (34), Jyunta Nakama (35), Tomohiro Kamiyama (30), Ryusei Fujii (30), Takahiro Hamada (34), and Nozomu Kotaki (27). They made their CD debut on April 23, 2014, with the song ”Ee Ja Nai Ka” and will be celebrating their 10th anniversary next year.
This name change comes after the sexual misconduct scandal involving the late Johnny Kitagawa, the former president of Johnny’s Jimusho. On the 17th, the company changed its name to “SMILE-UP.” as a corporation. Moving forward, they will only focus on compensating the victims before eventually closing down. The new president, Kiyoshi Higashiyama, explained during a press conference on the 2nd that “anything associated with Johnny’s will be eliminated.” As of the 17th, various contents and program names have been changed to exclude the term “Johnny’s.”
Starting from the 5th, the group created a page on their fan club website for fans to express their thoughts. They also sought opinions regarding their group name. After considering these opinions, the seven members had extensive discussions, even staying up late into the night, until they reached a consensus on the new group name. Shigeoka expressed his confidence, saying, “We put our hearts and souls into it.” Kiriyama mentioned that many fans wanted to keep the name “WEST” as part of the new name. Shigeoka also revealed that various ideas were proposed, such as adding “W.E.S.T.” or “!” to the name.
Nakama shared his thoughts, saying, “There were times when I had a lot to think about. I also had opportunities to comment
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Interesting choice for a new group name! I wonder what their fans’ reactions will be.