STARTO ENTERTAINMENT’s junior idol unit KEY TO LIT trended on social media for the phrase “destroy Japan” on August 15 — the anniversary of Japan’s WWII surrender — drawing widespread criticism. With the group set to make its CD debut this winter, it has since come to light that member Ikari made similar remarks in the past, and questions are being raised about the wording of the agency’s apology. Reactions on 5ch ranged from jabs at the group’s naming sense to grudges dating back to its predecessor groups.
Rival groups reportedly have mixed feelings
STARTO ENTERTAINMENT’s (hereafter, STARTO) junior idol unit KEY TO LIT is finally set to make its long-awaited CD debut this winter.
Last February, STARTO’s junior units HiHi Jets, Bishonen, and 7 MEN Samurai were effectively disbanded, with members reshuffled to form the five-member ACEes and KEY TO LIT, plus the eight-member B&ZAI. The announcement sent shockwaves through junior fans, and now the debut is arriving under a cloud.
Re: #1
That naming sense is so 'Johnny-san' (a nod to Johnny Kitagawa, the agency's late, disgraced founder)
40AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:49
Re: #13
He was a sex offender — calling him 'Johnny-san' is gross
20AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:33
Oh wait, this is an old story — doesn't really need digging back up
23AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:37
Never seen anyone decent with that surname
25AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:39
Gaaah! (a stock meme reaction shout)
29AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:42
Re: #25
That's a ripoff of Akira
37AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:46
Re: #25
The guy in the middle isn't even hidden
63AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:22
Re: #25
You guys are absolutely gorgeous~!
27AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:40
So it's read 'Banzai'? That's peak lame
28AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:41
Ikari apparently proposed and called out something like 'destroy Japan,' and fans then spread it on Twitter (now X).
So the fans were accomplices too, lol
38AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:46
So there was a reason they hadn't debuted yet.
46AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:54
There was a movie called 'Japan Sinks' though — was that okay?
49AnonymousAug 28, 2026 07:59
The excuse in the apology letter is worse — claiming 'destroy Japan' meant 'let's hype things up.' The agency's messed up too.
50AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:00
Johnny's fans pick fights with too many other fandoms — they kept trashing M!LK and I ended up hating them for it
67AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:27
Re: #50
They look way better than Johnny's groups and are way more wholesome too. Seriously toxic fandom.
51AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:01
This looks like a case where it would've been better to let it slide — framing it as 'linking the surrender anniversary to destroy Japan is an unfair stretch, poor them' — and keeping them off guard instead
57AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:16
Re: #51
Next August 6th (Hiroshima bombing anniversary) they'll probably say something like 'We're KEY TO LIT, formed when 7 MEN Samurai underwent nuclear fission!'
52AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:02
Apparently Gen Z doesn't even know Japan and the US were at war, so no wonder they don't know about the surrender anniversary
54AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:07
Johnny [Kitagawa] was a horrible piece of garbage as a person, but he had a genius sense for naming — seeing a crappy name like this really drives that home
76AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:41
Re: #54
There's something in common with Yoshimoto's (the comedy talent agency) naming sense
58AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:19
Kind of sounds like 'Rassun Gorerai' (a viral nonsense catchphrase from a comedy duo). Tricking Japanese women into helping get 'destroy Japan' trending is seriously malicious.
64AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:23
So he just blurted it out, and it was Johnny's fans who spread it around?
73AnonymousAug 28, 2026 08:33
Re: #64
Nah, he probably wanted it to go viral, figured 'this'll be good'
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