More rumor of Masaki Aiba in hot water with Johnny's due to his family's restaurant
Following Koki Tanaka's (27) departure from Johnny's, Arashi's Masaki Aiba (30) has also been the subject of dismissal rumors, and what seems to be the indicator of this is his schedule. Aiba still doesn't have any new solo projects after the new year.
"Unfortunately, there has been no news of new dramas or movies for Aiba. All he has now are a total of only 4 shows: Arashi's main programs Arashi ni Shiyagare (NTV) and VS Arashi (Fuji), as well as Tensai! Shimura doubutsuen (NTV) and Aiba Manabu (TV Asahi). There are already rumors within the TV industry that it'll only be a matter of time until Aiba is entirely frozen out. - (broadcast writer)
Why is this happening to Aiba? Behind this lies a feud between the restaurant that Aiba's family runs and the Johnny's agency itself.
"The reason for their discord is the goods sold at the restaurant. The keychain of the letter "K", taken from the initial of the shop is selling like hotcakes, but it seems that the shop is taking advantage of the Arashi members' signatures, as well as the gifts given by fans to Aiba as decorations in the shop to entice the people to buy the goods."
- (informant)
The restaurant located in Chiba has gained popularity as this is also where Aiba grew up, and news of this has reached some executives at Johnny's.
"The agency is definitely angry at this. They don't even allow the signatures of their talents to be displayed. The agency eventually requested them to remove the signatures, the presents for Aiba, and to cancel their branch opening at the Tokyo Sky Tree. The restaurant responded to the the removal of the signatures and the goods, but have not given up on opening a branch in Tokyo." - (staff)
And this is apparently the reason why Aiba's position seems to be in danger.
Source: http://npn.co.jp/article/detail/05225463/ via majide2ch