The recent arrest of the mother of a Japanese pop idol for sex with a minor raises questions on how the media here handles such high-profile cases.
Usually, if someone who is related to a tarento (TV personality), or other type of celebrity, is arrested in Japan, the shukanshi (weekly gossip magazines) almost always report the names of the celebrities — though major TV news programs and newspapers don't always reveal this information.
Last week, this was the case when Shukan Bunshun reported in its Feb. 16 issue (on sale Thursday) that the 44-year-old mother of Minami Takahashi (20), a leading member of the idol group AKB48, had been arrested on suspicion of having sex with a 15-year-old boy.