On a Friday night at a downtown Tokyo television studio, 12 teen models with cutesy nicknames like “Ayamin” and “Kyokyo” are waiting nervously to find out who has won coveted spots on the cover of Popteen magazine, a Japanese fashion bible.
The girls, sporting a range of trendy styles, are the stars of “Popteen Cover Girl War,” a hit show from internet upstart AbemaTV that may signal a new direction for Japanese television.
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