Tokio (band)

Tokio
Tokio with the then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe.
Background information
Origin	Japan
Genres	Power pop pop rock
Years active	1994 (1994)-present (present)
Labels	Sony Music Entertainment Universal Music Japan J Storm
Members	Shigeru Joshima Taichi Kokubun Masahiro Matsuoka
Past members	Hiromu Kojima Tatsuya Yamaguchi Tomoya Nagase
Website	www.j-storm.co.jp/tokio

Tokio is a Japanese rock/pop band formed by Johnny & Associates that debuted in 1994.^[1] It is made up of three men who were signed with Sony Music Entertainment from 1994 to 2001, with Universal Music Japan from 2001 to 2008, and are now signed under J Storm, a label owned by Johnny & Associates. In addition to their activities as a band, the members of Tokio also act in dozens of dramas and host variety programmes, both as a group and individually.

The group's name "Tokio" was the old English romanization for Japan's capital Tokyo, and remains the current transliteration in several European languages. Unlike most other bands under Johnny & Associates, where all of the band members are usually only vocalists, Tokio only has one main vocalist, a drummer, a guitarist, a bassist, and a keyboardist. Bassist Tatsuya Yamaguchi was kicked out of the band in May 2018 following a sexual harassment scandal involving a high-school-aged girl. Subsequently, less choreography is used in concerts and promotional videos,^[2] and their music is often more rock-centric.^[1]

Since their debut in 1994, they have sold about 9 million copies.