Make Believe Mailer Vol. 35: I Read The NEWS Today, Oh Boy
Another week, another scandal involving Johnny's talents pressuring women under the legal drinking age to indulge in alcohol. Keiichiro Koyama and Shigeaki Kato of the J-pop group NEWS found themselves in hot water after Shukan Bunshun unearthed an audio recording of the pair -- confirmed by the agency -- encouraging women who were under 20 to enjoy some libations. While the weekly tabloid has only shared a small snippet of this recording thus far, mainstream media latched onto the story quickly, and Koyama has suspended all activities in the wake of the news. We aren't halfway through 2018, but it's a year where scandals have really dominated the music headlines thus far.
A lot remains to shake out -- Shukan says they have a much longer recording of whatever happened, and that's almost certainly going to drop at some point soon, while just how this impacts NEWS ahead of a new single and an anniversary celebration remains to be seen. Yet the news (cough) underlines an important change happening in the Japanese entertainment industry, one that I think is mostly ignored by most observers covering Japan but which is becoming clear among netizens and other people following the music industry closely.
I wrote about it in a previous edition of this newsletter, but NEWS-gate might illustrate it even better. The scandal surrounding TOKIO's Tatsuya Yamaguchi is certainly significant, but in another time probably could have been disappeared pretty quietly due to various TV demands requiring J-pop stars to appear on their shows. This NEWS scandal definitely would have vanished. Gossip about Johnny's talents have floated about as long as the internet has existed, but save for the silly antics that can't be ignored most hearsay around these performers never crossed over to the mainstream media because TV channels needed these talents to appear on shows for ratings.
Yet because the Japanese entertainment industry has fragmented, even a once-all-seeing agency like Johnny's & Associates has lots its former power. A hosting gig courtesy of Koyama might do well -- but the news and subsequent apology clip does way better now. And even that might be too cynical -- consumers are just far less enamored with these idols, and the combination of a good ol' fashioned scandal with (somewhat glacial) social change makes for a compelling story know appearance on a quiz show can replace. Well, except for NEWS fans, who are all over social media being obnoxious about these claims from the woman at the center of this.
Small sample size, but yeeeesh
Besides being a snapshot of slow but steady shifts in how people react to social situations -- I genuinely think this would have been laughed off five years ago! -- the whole NEWS situation is just the latest reminder that the Japanese entertainment industry is changing, and quite rapidly. A lot still has to shake out from this...but I expect it just to be the start of something more.
News And Views
Select BTS fans think anyone wearing bright and big clothes are ripping off the K-pop group. Still not as dumb as 2NE1 fans thinking Taylor Swift ripped them off with a video where she was in a dark city and wore a visor or something.
The BBC brought out an old chestnut for an interview with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu this week. Lot of people got angry about the tired Lady Gaga comparison...but I feel it was overlooked that the writer spends way too much time talking about drinking coffee...and stomach problems that developed after. Personal essays are bad enough, don't bring your digestive system into it!
A Japanese dance troupe made a cover of Donald Glover's "This Is America" called "This Is Japan," and it was so bad it was removed almost immediately. Thankfully, someone stepped up to deliver a far more entertaining number.
Buzzfeed Japan is launching a new series about artists who came up in the Heisei era, and the first is with KOM_I of Suiyoubi No Campanella.
A little outside of music...but Yahoo! Japan has a report from a Japan-centric zone in a mall in Malaysia that was built using Cool Japan money. Surprise, half the shit they sell is from Disney or Star Wars or other not-Japan-at-all franchises. As you would imagine, the people who actually pay taxes here were not too happy.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of May 28, 2018 To June 3, 2018
AKB48's latest single "Teacher Teacher" -- which features lyrics about a student wanting to shag their school instructor, in case you wanted an instant counter to all that "social change" stuff I spouted off above -- sold over a million copies in its first week. Impressive, right? I guess if you've ignored the past ten years of J-pop, where their singles sporting ballots for their general election sell like crazy. But now in 2018, most people are well beyond thinking this signals anything besides fandom gone awry, even before copies start billowing out of dumpsters. This is the moment 2018 was building up to -- the best-selling single of the year, which is not taken seriously whatsoever in the bigger music picture.
(It sounds pretty solid though!)
Perfume's GAME (33 1/3)
My entry in the 33 1/3 Japan series is out now! Get a copy at Bloomsbury or Amazon. Or at Kinokuniya bookstores in the US.
Look At Me!
Wrote about Stereo Records for Bandcamp. After talking with people whose opinion I really take to heart...I wish I would have focused more on the Japanese artists themselves, because they are just as interesting and should be more in the spotlight. But definitely dig through those archives...a lot of fantastic music, and truly important sounds in the history of Japanese electronic music.
Tokyo's Koreatown is now the center of all youth-oriented food trends, and I wrote about it for The Japan Times. Ate a hot dog covered in rainbow-colored cheese for this one.
Blog highlights: Yunovation, Memoryhook, Kissmenerdygirl.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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