KAT-TUN Minus Jun

Japan’s most notorious talent agency, Johnny’s Jimusho, surprised a lot of people several weeks ago when it announced that one of its biggest boy bands, KAT-TUN, will soon be touring Japan and the rest of Asia without one of its lead singers, Jun Akanishi.

Apparently, in February the American cable channel UTB requested live performances by Akanishi in the U.S., and Johnny’s agreed.
Akanishi will perform three shows at Club Nokia in Los Angeles starting June 19. All the shows will be performed in English, and Akanishi will spend most of May in L.A. preparing for them. It will be the first time that a Johnny’s artist will perform in concert in America.

However, it isn’t the first time for Akanishi to go there. In 2006 and 2007 he spent some time in Los Angeles. The official reason for the sojourn was that Akanishi was taking some personal time off to work on his English-language skills, though it was widely reported in the Japanese tabloids that Johnny’s had effectively banished him there temporarily because of his poor work attitude. In any event, it seems that Akanishi got something out of it.

He will reportedly remain in California even after the concerts, until October perhaps, which means he cannot join KAT-TUN for their big tour, which starts in May and ends in August.