Music mogul Johnny Kitagawa, who shaped Japan's boy band landscape for more than half a century, died of a stroke Tuesday at a hospital in Tokyo, his office said. He was 87.
Kitagawa, who founded the country's top male talent agency and production company Johnny & Associates Inc. in 1962, had been hospitalized since June 18 due to a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a type of stroke.
He propelled one pop group after another to fame. His most successful acts — such as SMAP, Arashi, Kat-tun and Hey! Say! Jump — are household names.