Up-Front Group

Up-Front Group Co., Ltd. (株式会社アップフロントグループ, Kabushiki gaisha Appu-Furonto Gurūpu) is a Japanese holding company for various entertainment companies.^[1] Its subsidiaries include the talent agency Up-Front Promotion and Up-Front Works, a music production and sales company that manages such record labels as Zetima, Piccolo Town, and Hachama.

Up-Front Group

Native name	アップフロントグループ
Company type	Kabushiki gaisha
Industry	Music, entertainment
Founded	14 January 1983; 42 years ago (1983-01-14) (as Up-Front Agency Co., Ltd.) Tokyo, Japan
Headquarters	Azabu-koei Building 28-12 Higashi-Azabu Ichichōme, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan 106-0044
Key people	Naoki Yamazaki (chairman and representative director) Yukio Seto (president and executive director) Junichiro Iwata (managing director)
Subsidiaries	Up-Front Promotion Up-Front Works Up-Front Books Up-Front International Up-Front DC Up-Front Hawaii etc.
Website	www.ufg.co.jp

Artists

Up-Front Promotion

All groups under Up-Front Promotion are collectively known as Hello! Project.^[2][3]

Groups Morning Musume Angerme Juice=Juice Camellia Factory Beyooooonds Chica#Tetsu Rain Forest River Ocean SeasoningS Ocha Norma Rosy Chronicle

Soloists/Entertainers Sayumi Michishige Chinami Tokunaga Risako Sugaya Trainees Hello Pro Kenshūsei

Up-Front Works

Groups Bitter & Sweet Brothers 5 Dream Morning Musume Sharam Q Up Up Girls Kakko Kari

Soloists/Entertainers Ai Takahashi Airi Suzuki Akira Inaba Akira Kagawa Chisato Moritaka Chisato Okai Eric Fukusaki Erina Mano Gen Takayama Hirofumi Bannba Jirou Sugita Junko Yanagisawa

Kan Mai Satoda Maimi Yajima Mari Yaguchi Miki Fujimoto Miyabi Natsuyaki Natsumi Abe Nozomi Tsuji Reina Tanaka Saki Nakajima Shoko Aida Takao Horiuchi Tsunku You Kikkawa Yuko Nakazawa

Subsidiaries

Zetima

Zetima
Parent company	Up-Front Works Co. Ltd.
Founded	May 1993 (as One Up Music)
Distributor(s)	Sony Music Entertainment Japan
Genre	J-pop rock kayōkyoku enka
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Tokyo

Zetima (ゼティマ) was originally founded in May 1993 as One Up Music (ワン・アップ・ミュージック, Wan Appu Myūjikku), a joint venture between the Up-Front Group and Warner Music Japan. In April 1998, Up-Front merged One Up with Y.J. Sounds to form Zetima. At the same time, Up-Front ended its distribution deal with Warner Music Japan and switched to Sony Music Entertainment Japan.^{[citation needed]}

Artists

• Shoko Aida
• Beyooooonds
• Camellia Factory
• Hello! Project shuffle units
• Akira Inaba
• Jōjō Gundan
• Kan
• Aya Matsuura
• Chisato Moritaka
• Morning Musume
• Takui Nakajima
• Yuko Nakazawa
• Ocha Norma
• Pink Cres.
• Rosy Chronicle
• Airi Suzuki

Former artists

• Buono!
• Cute
• Country Girls
• Magnolia Factory
• Dream Morning Musume
• Lovendor
• Ongaku Gatas
• Sharam Q

Hachama

Hachama
Parent company	Up-Front Works Co. Ltd.
Founded	April 2001
Distributor(s)	Pony Canyon
Genre	J-pop rock
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Tokyo

Hachama (ハチャマ) has a distribution deal with Pony Canyon.

Artists

• Angerme
• Juice=Juice
• Akari Uemura

Former artists

• Alma Kaminiito
• Eric Fukusaki
• Gatas Brilhantes H.P.
• Yuubi Matsui
• Peaberry

Piccolo Town

Piccolo Town
Parent company	Up-Front Works Co. Ltd.
Founded	April 2001
Distributor(s)	Pony Canyon
Genre	J-pop folk children's
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Tokyo

Piccolo Town (ピッコロタウン, Pikkoro Taun) had a distribution deal with King Records from April 2001 to August 2013, when it switched to Pony Canyon in September 2013.

Artists

• Bitter & Sweet

Former artists

• Aa!
• Berryz Kobo
• Ciao Bella Cinquetti
• Gomattō
• Maki Goto
• Sayaka Ichii
• Yui Okada
• v-u-den
• ZYX

Rice Music

Rice Music
Parent company	Up-Front Works Co. Ltd.
Founded	March 1995 (as Y.J. Sounds)
Distributor(s)	Pony Canyon
Genre	Kayōkyoku enka
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Tokyo

Rice Music (ライス・ミュージック, Raisu Myūjikku) was originally founded in March 1995 as Y.J. Sounds (Y.J.サウンズ, Wai Jei Saunzu). After being absorbed into Zetima in 1998, the label was resurrected in September 2004 to focus on Kayōkyoku and enka. Like Piccolo Town, Rice Music had a distribution deal with King Records from September 2004 to August 2013, when it switched to Pony Canyon in September 2013.

Artists

• Hirofumi Banba
• Takao Horiuchi
• Akira Kagawa
• Jirō Sugita
• Gen Takayama
• Masayuki Yuhara

Former artists

• Akira Fuse
• Sanae Jōnouchi
• Yuki Maeda
• Nori Yamaguchi

Up-Front Works

Up-Front Works
Parent company	Up-Front Works Co. Ltd.
Founded	March 2004
Genre	J-pop
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Tokyo

Up-Front Works (アップフロントワークス, Appu Furonto Wākusu) is Up-Front Group's in-house label that specializes in limited edition releases that are sold either online or exclusively at music chains such as Tower Records. The label previously had distribution deals with Pony Canyon, Daiki Sound, and Universal Music Japan before 2019.

Artists

• Natsumi Abe
• Akira Inaba
• You Kikkawa
• Hello! Project
• Kamiishinaka Kana
• Sayumi Michishige
• Karin Miyamoto
• Chisato Moritaka
• Saki Nakajima
• Asahi Tasaki
• Temiyamn
• Maimi Yajima

Up-Front Indies

Up-Front Indies
Parent company	Up-Front Works Co. Ltd.
Founded	May 2019
Genre	J-pop rock soundtrack
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Tokyo

Up-Front Indies (アップフロントインディーズ, Appu Furonto Indīzu) is Up-Front Group's indie in-house label founded in May 2019.

Artists

• Hello Pro Kenshusei

Chichūkai Label

Chichūkai Label
Parent company	Up-Front Works Co. Ltd.
Founded	2003
Defunct	December 2009
Distributor(s)	Epic Records Japan
Genre	Classic, Euro-enka
Country of origin	Japan
Location	Tokyo

Chichūkai Label (地中海 Label, The Mediterranean Sea Label) was founded in 2003, with music inspired by those of the countries by the Mediterranean Sea, most prominently France, Italy and Greece, or even cover versions of songs from those countries. The label was handled by Epic Records Japan until December 2009, when Up-Front consolidated it with Zetima.

Former artists

• Shoko Aida
• Kaori Iida
• Akira Inaba
• Noriko Katō
• Yasuko Naito
• Ruca
• Hidemi Sasaki

Former artists

Affiliated with Up-Front Promotion Michiyo Heike (1997-2001) Morning Musume Asuka Fukuda (1997-1999) Aya Ishiguro (1997-2000) Sayaka Ichii (1998-2000) Yuko Nakazawa (1997-2009) Maki Goto (1999-2007)[4] Kei Yasuda (1998-2003) Natsumi Abe (1997-2004) Nozomi Tsuji (2000-2004) Ai Kago (2000-2004) Kaori Iida (1997-2005) Mari Yaguchi (1998-2005) Rika Ishikawa (2000-2005) Asami Konno (2001-2006) Makoto Ogawa (2001-2006) Hitomi Yoshizawa (2000-2007) Miki Fujimoto (2003-2007) Koharu Kusumi (2005-2009) Eri Kamei (2003-2010) Jun Jun (2007-2010) Lin Lin (2007-2010) Ai Takahashi (2001-2011) Risa Niigaki (2001-2012) Reina Tanaka (2003-2013) Sayumi Michishige (2003-2014) Kanon Suzuki (2011-2016) Haruka Kudo (2011-2017) Aika Mitsui (2007-2018) Riho Sayashi (2011-2018)[5] Haruna Ogata (2014-2018) Haruna Iikubo (2011-2018) Masaki Sato (2011-2021) Chisaki Morito (2017-2022) Kaede Kaga (2016-2022) Mizuki Fukumura (2011-2023) Ayumi Ishida (2011-2024) Erina Ikuta (2011-2025) Chinatsu Miyoshi (1999-2000) T&C Bomber (1999-2000) Atsuko Inaba (1999-2009) Melon Kinenbi (1999-2010) Aya Matsuura (2000-2017) Sheki-Dol (2000-2002) W (2004-2006) Ai Kago (2000-2007)[6] Coconuts Musume (1998-2008) Chelsea Ching (1998-2000) April Barbaran (1998-2000) Danielle DeLaunay (1998-2001) Lehua Sandbo (2000-2002) Mika Todd (1998-2004) Ayaka Kimura (1998-2008) Country Musume (1999-2000) Hiromi Yanagihara (1999) Azusa Kobayashi (1999-2002) Rinne Toda (1999-2002) Asami Kimura (2000-2007) Miuna Saito (2003-2007) Rika Ishii (2001-2002) SINA (2008-2011) Manami Iwashima (2005-2011) Asami Abe (2005-2011) Ai Suma (2005-2011) Nana Nakayama (2005-2009) Shim Min (2003-2006) V-u-den (2004-2008) Yui Okada (2004-2010)

Hello! Project Kids (2002-2005) Berryz Kobo (2004-2014)[7] Maiha Ishimura (2002-2005)[8] Momoko Tsugunaga (2002-2017)[9][10] Cute (2005-2017)[11][12] Megumi Murakami (2002-2006)[13] Kanna Arihara (2004-2009)[14] Erika Umeda (2002-2009)[15] Mai Hagiwara (2002-2017)[16] Miki Korenaga (2004-2010) Angerme Saki Ogawa (2009-2011) Yuuka Maeda (2009-2011) Fuyuka Kosuga (2011) Kanon Fukuda (2009-2019) Meimi Tamura (2011–2016) Maho Aikawa (2014–2017) Ayaka Wada (2009–2019) Rina Katsuta (2011–2019) Kana Nakanishi (2011–2019) Mizuki Murota (2014-2020) Musubu Funaki (2017-2020) Momona Kasahara (2016-2021) Haruka Oota (2018-2022) Akari Takeuchi (2011-2023) Rikako Sasaki (2014-2024) Ayano Kawamura (2017-2024) Moe Kamikokuryo (2015-2025) Juice=Juice Aina Otsuka (2013) Nanami Yanagawa (2017-2019) Yuka Miyazaki (2013-2019) Karin Miyamoto (2013-2020) Sayuki Takagi (2013-2021) Tomoko Kanazawa (2013-2021) Manaka Inaba (2018-2022) Akari Uemura (2013-2024) Country Girls (2014-2019) Uta Shimamura (2014-2015) Manaka Inaba (2014-2016) Momoko Tsugunaga (2014-2017) Nanami Yanagawa (2015-2019) Risa Yamaki (2014-2019) Mai Ozeki (2014-2019) Musubu Funaki (2015-2019) Chisaki Morito (2014-2019) Magnolia Factory (2015-2020) Rio Fujii (2015-2017) Rena Ogawa (2015-2017) Natsumi Taguchi (2015-2017) Ayaka Hirose (2015-2020) Minami Nomura (2015-2020) Ayano Hamaura (2015-2020) Sakurako Wada (2015-2020) Camellia Factory Risa Ogata (2015-2020) Kiki Asakura (2015-2023) Riko Yamagishi (2015-2023) Yumeno Kishimoto (2015-2023) Kisora Niinuma (2015-2024) Shiori Yagi (2021-2025) Beyooooonds Reina Ichioka (2018-2024) Yuhane Yamazaki (2018-2024) Rika Shimakura (2018-2025) Ocha Norma Sumire Tashiro (2021-2025) Kanami Ishiguri (2021-2025) Sub-units Petitmoni (1999-2013) Tanpopo (1999-2011) Minimoni (2000-2004) Morning Musume Sakuragumi (2003-2004) Morning Musume Otomegumi (2003-2004) Morning Musume Tanjō 10nen Kinentai (2007) Buono! (2007-2017)[17][18]

Project groups Gomattou (2002) Romans (2003) Tomoiki Ki wo Uetai (2005-2013) Rie Kaneko (2009-2013) Asuna Okai (2009-2010) Mia Sainen (2009-2010) Kaori Sano (2009-2010) Ongaku Gatas (2007-2010) Arisa Noto (2004-2009)[19] Yuri Sawada (2004-2009)[20] Nochiura Natsumi (2004-2005) Ecomoni (2004-2007) Aa! (2003-2009) ZYX (2003-2009) Def.Diva (2005-2007) GAM (2006-2009) Athena & Robikerottsu (2007-2008) Kira Pika (2007) MilkyWay (2008-2009) Sayaka Kitahara (2004-2011) High-King (2008-2015) Shugo Chara Egg! (2008-2010) Irori Maeda (2008-2010) Guardians 4 (2009-2010)[21] Lilpri (2010-2011) Shuffle units Kiiro 5 (2000) Aoiro 7 (2000) Akagumi 4 (2000) 3-nin Matsuri (2001) 7-nin Matsuri (2001) 10-nin Matsuri (2001) Happy 7 (2002) Sexy 8 (2002) Odoru 11 (2002) Salt5 (2003) 7Air (2003) 11Water (2003) H.P. All Stars (2004) Elegies (2005) Sexy Otonajan (2005) Puripuri Pink (2005) Hello! Project Mobekimasu (2011-2013)

Affiliated with Up-Front Works Hitomi Yoshizawa (2000-2009) Rika Ishikawa (2000-2009) Asami Konno (2001-2011) Makoto Ogawa (2001-2009) Saki Shimizu (2002-2017) Maasa Sudou (2002-2015) Yurina Kumai (2002-2015) Koharu Kusumi (2005-2016)[22]

Up Up Girls Kakko Kari Minami Sengoku (2004-2017) Aika Mitsui (2006-2018)[23] Ships (2008-2009)[24] Alma Kaminiito (2012-2013) Munehiko Ohno (2012-2013) Team Makenki (2014-2018)[25] Ciao Bella Cinquetti (2008-2018)[26][27]

Affiliated with TNX

Collectively known as Nice Girl Project!. Best known for assisting in Nintendo's Rhythm Heaven series after being discovered by Tsunku.

• Nice Girl Myu
• GTT Club
• MM Gakuen Gasshoubu
• Gyaruru
  • Ami Tokito
• Nice Girl Project! Kenshusei
• Canary Club
• Tokky