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 ...
Junnosuke Taguchi, ex-member of Japanese boy band Kat-tun, arrested over marijuana possession
Junnosuke Taguchi, a former member of Japanese all-male idol group Kat-tun, has admitted to possessing a small amount of marijuana, investigative sources said Thursday. Taguchi, 33, was taken into custody Wednesday with his partner, Rena Komine, 38, a former actress, for allegedly possessing a few ...
Heisei offered a number of lessons J-pop artists should learn from going into the Reiwa Era
The past year in Japanese pop has felt like one big musical revue devoted to the Heisei Era (1989-2019), with TV shows reflecting on the biggest hits of that period. Now that Reiwa has finally started, the cultural discourse can turn to figuring out ...
Ex-AKB48 idol Minami Takahashi gets married on Day One of Japan's Reiwa Era
Singer and TV personality Minami Takahashi, a former member of Japanese all-girl pop group AKB48, ushered in the enthronement of Emperor Naruhito and the Reiwa Era by getting married on Wednesday, her agency said. "I decided to move forward with a new family at the ...
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 ...
Tetsuya Komuro: J-pop inventor's synth-powered dance tunes set the tone for post-bubble Japan
The term J-pop, a Heisei invention, needed a defining characteristic to make it stand out from the Showa Era's soundtrack, and Komuro provided a synthesizer-powered foundation.
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 ...
Twenty years after frontman Shinji Sato's death, Fishmans is still walking in the rhythm
In the eternal present of modern listening, when the entire history of recorded sound is just a few clicks away, some music reverberates for longer. That's been the case with Fishmans, a cult Japanese act from the 1990s whose blend of dub rhythms and ...
Chai's 'Punk' is an irrepressibly upbeat victory lap
For a band that made its name by bucking kawaii conventions, Chai can be awfully cute. On its second album, misleadingly titled "Punk," the quartet takes the giddy sugar-rush of 2017's "Pink" and distills it into a mixture so potent, it should probably come ...
Where will fans go after Arashi?
Fans of Arashi still haven't come to terms with the news that the J-pop group will go on a hiatus at the end of 2020, bringing a close, at least temporarily, to one of the 21st century's most popular Japanese acts. While supporters might not ...
Popular boy band Arashi's decision to take a break at end of 2020 shocks fans in Japan and overseas
In a move that shocked fans, popular Japanese boy band Arashi said Sunday that it will go on hiatus at the end of 2020. "Around the middle of June 2017, I told other members that I wanted to end the activities as Arashi for now ...
NGT48 agency removes manager from post over handling of assault on idol group member Maho Yamaguchi
The operator of popular all-girl band AKB48 and its sister groups said Monday it has removed one of its officials from a key post amid criticism of its handling of an assault against a member of idol group NGT48. The company, AKS, announced the change ...
