In early October, a new management company was established in an office building in Minato-ku, Tokyo. The new company, named “MMsun,” is headed by Masahiro Matsuoka. He is a former member of TOKIO, which disbanded in June of this year, and is the vice president of the company, which operates “TOKIO Inc. Mr. Matsuoka has set up a new private office in the same location as TOKIO Corporation, which is scheduled to close down. Mr. Matsuoka is the only director, and the amount of capital and the number of shares issued are the same as those of TOKIO Inc. The business purpose has not changed much, but it is noteworthy that “management of music copyrights” and “planning and production of master recordings” have been newly added. Matsuoka, who has been a member of the entertainment industry for 36 years since he joined the former Johnny’s Office in October 1989, has been a dedicated member of the company. What is happening to “Matsuoka’s brother,” who was like the “poster child” of the office and was adored by the junior members of the starting company? It all started with a compliance violation by Kokubu, whom Matsuoka calls a “comrade-in-arms. In June of this year, NTV reported that Kokubu had committed multiple compliance violations! DASH! DASH! Mr. Kokubun suspended his entertainment activities, and Mr. Matsuoka and Mr. Jojima, taking the situation very seriously, announced the dissolution of TOKIO. Later, it was announced that TOKIO Inc. would go out of business as soon as the paperwork was completed, ending 35 years of group activities since its formation in April 1990. TOKIO put an end to the group’s 35 years of activity since its formation in April 1990. For the next five months, Matsuoka was quietly working on his second life, starring in stage productions and variety shows. He is said to be leaving Start, with whom he had an agent contract, at the end of November, and intends to start working independently from December. Mr. Matsuoka is scheduled to appear in a live performance project “Ikinari Honmyo. in Mitsukoshi Gekijo” from early December! in Mitsukoshi Theater” in early December, but the schedule is not posted on the Start website, and the schedule after December remains “blank. In effect, it is believed that this stage will be his first work after becoming independent. Although many of the talents were transferred directly to the new company, the autonomy of each individual was respected, and many chose to become independent or transfer to other agencies. Immediately after the new structure began, Jun Matsumoto of Arashi announced his independence, and in October 2024, Yuto Takahashi of the popular junior group HiHi Jets left the company. In January of this year, Yuma Nakayama, who was working as a solo artist, and Kazuya Kamenashi of KAT-TUN in March of the same year, successively terminated their contracts with Start and became independent” (entertainment reporter).
