After 28 years of activity, the popular group SMAP is to break up at the end of this year. They have played a unique role in the Japanese entertainment industry, becoming national icons along the way.

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time. Tokyo: For nearly three decades, millions of Japanese have clamoured for their every album, lined up with breathless anticipation for ...

SINGAPORE The recent announcement of the breakup of SMAP, Japan's most enduring boy band and a beloved cultural icon, is highlighting the declining state of J-pop. The industry has been hurt by the ...

Japanese media have reported that four of the five members of the seminal J-pop boy band SMAP will depart from their longtime agency Johnny & Associates. By Rob Schwartz Japanese media have reported ...

Visiting Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao shakes hands with Japanese pop group SMAP members (from R) Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi and Shingo Katori after their performance for Wen ...

Members of Japanese pop music group SMAP (from L) Goro Inagaki, Takuya Kimura, Shingo Katori, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Masahiro Nakai perform during their concert in Beijing, September 16, 2011.

SMAP, which stands for Sports Music Assemble People, was formed in 1988 as a six-person teenage boy band. Its first CD came out in 1991, and the group surged to stardom with choreographed singing and ...