Nishitetsu Tenjin Station in Fukuoka's 'Seventeen The City'./ Hybe Japan

On Dec. 15, on the Nishitetsu Line in Fukuoka, Japan’s one of the busiest transportation hubs, displayed a photo of Korean boy group SEVENTEEN, which spans from 1st to the 3rd floor of the building. A video of Seventeen was also streaming on the monitor below.

This is part of the “Seventeen The City” program, which is being held in conjunction with dome tours of five Japanese cities, including Tokyo and Osaka. Mitsukoshi, the Japanese company in charge of managing the facility for the project, participated in covering 100 percent of the costs after the government’s permission.

A photo of Seventeen was also installed in front of the Christmas tree at the Solaria Plaza shopping center./ Hybe Japan

Songs by Seventeen are played in the stores of 7-Eleven, Japan’s largest convenience store chain, and their photos are decorated at the entrance and every sales counter. Seventeen’s remarkable fandom in Japan is because Japan’s 7-Eleven has signed an exclusive contract with ‘Seventeen’ since September, and has begun singing commercials, selling special menus such as Christmas cake and smoked salmon salad, and producing catalogs.

Japanese convenience store brand 7-Eleven and Seventeen./ 7 Eleven Japan

The role of promoting 7-Eleven was originally done by the boy group King & Prince, which belongs to a Japanese entertainment agency ‘Johnny & Associates, a.k.a. Johnny’s. Johnny’s recently changed its name as Smile-up but is still widely known as its former name.

SEVENTEEN will also be performing at the 74th Kōhaku Uta Gassen (Red & White Song Battle)’, Japan’s largest music festival, which airs on NHK on Dec. 31 every year, and features the country’s most popular singers of the year.

SEVENTEEN’s popularity in Japan is partly caused by Johnny’s collapse due to long-hidden sex scandals. In the absence of boy group idols, which mainly Johnny’s had provided until now, Seventeen emerged as the boy group who can take the place.

A fan taking photos in Seventeen The City./ Hybe Japan

According to Japan’s Oricon annual total sales by artist this year, the number one spot goes to King & Prince, followed by Snowman and SixTONES, who also belong to Johnny’s. Though they seize the top spots on the sales, the sex scandal of their agency seriously harms their image, and all three groups will not be appearing at the NHK Red & White Song Battle this year. It will be the first time in 44 years that Johnny’s artists will not be appearing at the NHK Red and White Ball.

According to the annual chart released by Billboard Japan on August 8, SEVENTEEN had three works in the top 10. Their 10th mini album “FML” secured 4th at the Hot Albums chart, meanwhile their first Japanese best-selling album “ALWAYS YOURS” ranked 5th and their 11th mini album “SEVENTEENTH HEAVEN” ranked 7th, respectively. Since their debut, they held the largest Japanese dome tour “SEVENTEEN TOUR ‘FOLLOW’ TO JAPAN” in five cities including Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, attracting 515,000 people.