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SMAP was one of the boys groups Johnny Kitagawa (not pictured) that was a huge success with
Johnny Kitagawa, one of the most influential personalities of the entertainment industry in Japan, died at the age of 87.
For more than 50 years, the agency he founded, Johnny & Associates, has introduced many boys' groups, including SMAP, Arashi and KAT-TUN.
Many of the artists he propelled to fame also became TV series stars.
Kitagawa died Tuesday in a Tokyo hospital after suffering a stroke, Kyodo News reported.
He had collapsed and had been hospitalized on June 18, the Japan Times said, but the incident was kept secret.
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Kitagawa was responsible for 232 singles number one between 1974 and 2010. He has been recognized three times by Guinness World Records – for the greatest number of singles number one, the greatest number of artists and the greatest number of concerts produced by an individual.
Born in Los Angeles in 1931, Kitagawa returned to Japan with his family while he was still young. He made his show business debut in 1962 with a revolutionary pop band called Johnny's.
His talent agency has become Japan's most powerful, with a virtual monopoly on the lucrative boys' band market.
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