if you mean like a talent show thing, I don't think there's a direct japanese version of the "idol" franchise.
whole audition / talent show / star search thing has been played out in Japan long before whole talent search "Idol" thing became a hit in the west & the US.
open auditions / castings to find new j-pop singers have been a common thing for awhile now.
there's an article about the whole non-talent show Idol phenomenon on wikipedia
here.