Rino Sashihara: Can one 'idol' beat the system?
An idol group such as AKB48 is designed for members to be easily replaced. The performers existing in these environments constantly get shuffled around and eventually "graduate" — a term used for when they leave. Fans might become attached to a specific member and ...
Japan to be given a lesson in idol pop with 'Produce 101 Japan'
Last week, Japanese talent agency Yoshimoto Kogyo and South Korea's CJ E&M announced a new talent competition TV show for Japan, set to debut later this year. And it's not just another program to fill up the back end of 2019, but will be ...
A look at some of Japan's lesser-known idol-pop players
I made my first trip to Japan just over 10 years ago to see concerts by Morning Musume and AKB48, two of the country's biggest idol-pop groups this century. What struck me most about the experience was the camaraderie among the fans, it was ...
An idol's fans have the power to make change in Japan
Being a fan of any entertainer in 2019 can be a challenge, as scandals both old and new make blindly supporting artists an impossible task. That might be doubly true for Japanese idol-pop acts, who inhabit a corner of the country's entertainment industry made ...
The members of one all-girl pop group that performs primarily at temples in Kyoto has seen their prayers answered in recent years as their fan base has grown steadily. Called terapalms (rendered entirely in lower-case letters), the trio formed in November 2016 at the request ...
Thai filmmaker creates an intimate portrait of girl group BNK48
Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit wasn't sure whether to believe it when he was offered unfettered, behind-the-scenes access into the normally closely guarded and secretive world of one of Asia's biggest pop idol bands. Turns out the director got closer than he could have ever dreamed. "There ...
Seiko Oomori: J-pop's reigning rule-breaker
Pop music often opts for positivity rather than confronting the uncomfortable, but Seiko Oomori has never really adhered to J-pop norms. "The bad things that happen to you can also be attractive, almost kawaii," she says from one of the upper floors at the headquarters ...
Sally Amaki's life as an animated idol-pop star
Though she liked anime growing up, Sally Amaki never thought she'd grow up to be an anime character. After moving from Los Angeles to Tokyo, Amaki tried her luck at voice acting and eventually landed the role of the blond-haired Sakura Fujima, one of the ...
Online media pick up #MeToo stories the major outlets miss
The Japanese media love a scandal and so far 2018 hasn't disappointed in that regard. Two recent stories centered around J-pop idols have been mostly ignored by mainstream outlets, but both have taken off online thanks to web publications, hinting at a shift unfolding ...
'Chubby' group Pottya takes aim at obesity prejudice
Competition is cutthroat among Japan's thousands of idol wannabes, but one approach seems to be working for a group of "chubby" girls deploying their cheeky cuteness to combat prejudice against obesity. Despite one of the lowest rates of obesity in the developed world, Japan has ...
Resistance is futile to Babymetal's ascent
Babymetal — "Metal Resistance" (Toy's Factory) Ever since Western metalheads got word of the existence of metal-idol trio Babymetal, questions regarding the group's authenticity have come up. To anyone familiar with Japanese pop music, this isn't an issue; like all idols, the trio is a ...
Japan's 'Masked Girls' seek fame under cover
Standing out from Japan's many girl groups can be a daunting task, but one act, Kamen Joshi (Masked Girls), has found the answer by hiding behind masks. As many as 15,000 people flocked to a concert by the band late last year, showing how its ...
