On May 2, actor Shirota Yu made a live appearance on NTV's 'Shu-ichi' where he revealed that he had auditioned for Johnny's & Associates in the past.

Shirota confessed, "Actually, I have auditioned for Johnny's & Associates when I was younger." He continued, "Sadly, you can't stand on stage unless you've been called continuously. I wasn't called again. Although I was called twice..." 

Apparently, Shirota auditioned for Johnny's when he was in fourth or fifth grade. "Around 1998 or 1999," he revealed. Then, KAT-TUN's Nakamaru Yuichi stated, "That's around the same time as me! Then you would've been in KAT-TUN or Kanjani8. Around that generation."

Although they weren't sure if they had auditioned at the same venue, Shirota mentioned, "I met Johnny-san. He was at the venue."