Make Believe Mailer Vol. 40: Anti-Idol
Officials executed Shoko Asahara and six other members of Aum Shinrikyo — the cult he founded and guided from the mid 1980s — last week. The news triggered a lot of reflection on the various crimes that Asahara helped organize over the years, most notably the Aum attack on the Tokyo subway system in 1995. Among all the reflection, Japanese users on social media along with several websites took some time to direct anger at Japan's mainstream media. That's because of how TV stations and celebrities treated Asahara in the late '80s and early '90s -- basically, as an idol.
The above screenshot comes from a 1991 episode of TV Tackle, a variety show hosted by actor "Beat" Takeshi that still runs today. Takeshi brought Asahara on to his show and they have a discussion about religion, one where they seem pretty civil (Takeshi is downright gushing at certain points). The clip spread on Twitter following Asahara's execution, and it wasn't the only one. Footage from a broadcast around the same time captured a segment on a popular show hosted by the comedy group Tunnels where Asahara was once again front and center, eventually taking questions from young viewers. A few years later, Aum looked into how they could deploy chemical weapons over Tokyo from a helicopter.
Asahara was treated like a TV talent or even an idol after forming Aum in the 1980s, and it lasted for a few years until the cult's reputation started souring in the early 1990s. The benefit of foresight obviously helps -- as is the fact I wasn't around in the late '80s to see how Asahara was treated on TV -- but watching the linked clips and other television appearances left me surprised by just how much media seemed enamored by a guy peddling an iffy form of spirituality. Savviness on Asahara's part should be noted -- he wasn't the first person to work a cult of personality -- but it was his ability to tailor it to be attractive to Japan's media industry that stands out from viewing these clips.
I asked my wife, who grew up in the Koenji neighborhood of Tokyo, if she remembered any of these appearances. She didn't, as she was too young -- but she did remember singing this Aum song with other kids in the schoolyard because of the prevalence of soundtrucks playing the number during Aum's attempt at getting members elected to government. That wasn't the only part of Asahara's charm offensive she remembered either. The cult had an entire stationary store on the shopping street near a subway station, which she compared to the kind of shops devoted to Johnny's idols. And that extended well beyond this one neighborhood, with all sorts of efforts to spread the fledgling religion...including multiple fast-food franchises.
Doomsday cult bentos
All of these moves didn't gift Aum with a larger popularity with regular citizens in Japan...the religion was stomped in the aforementioned election, and people always held a hesitant view of the group (my mother-in-law wisely wouldn't let her daughter go to the stationary store). But the one corner completely entranced by them early on was the Japanese media, drawn to a seemingly charismatic character in Asahara who could fill the role of talent or idol on TV shows. And a week after his death, many online took time to remember how ridiculous this was, and to doll out more criticism of the country's media industry for allowing this to happen in the first place. Asahara gave them an idol who could slide into variety shows, and they bit without much second thought.
News And Views
AKB48's "Teacher, Teacher" became the third-best-selling CD single of all time in Japanese music history. Of course, given this is a single that has also been found dumped in the trash days later, plenty online are rolling their eyes at this accomplishment. Worth mentioning is the tone of coverage between the RocketNews English report linked above and the original Japanese report -- while the former goes with a generally positive tone spiked only by one not-so-fast-my-friend link, the Japanese post is tagged as "sad news" and doesn't hold back in noting that this is basically a scam. A pretty solid snapshot between English-language and Japanese-language music coverage in 2018.
Ahead of his headlining performance at Fuji Rock in a couple weeks time, Kendrick Lamar (read: whoever handles advertising for him in Japan) put up posters in train stations near the Diet and other government building riffing on political redaction common in the Shinzo Abe administration.
No news this week was actually bigger than Ventla coming back, legitimately saves 2018 for me.
Virtual idols now acting like regular idols, releasing music.
Oricon Trail For The Week Of July 2, 2018 To July 8, 2018
Yawn, SKE48 with familiar sounding horns. Get a saxophone, just once! The only really interesting chart movement happened on the fledgling Spotify "Japan Viral 50," which saw recently deceased comedian Utamaru Katsura top the chart with a performance lasting almost 30 minutes. Beats XXXtentacion!
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. I really gotta sit down and think of more things I can write in this spot.
Look At Me!
Published my last piece for SBS PopAsia this week, an interview with Pikotaro. As mentioned before, anyone in need of a Japanese music news blogger -- or just someone to write about Japanese music -- hit me up at patrickstmichel@gmail.com. The one positive here is that I have so much work for the summer, so don't worry too much! Check back in the fall.
Traveled to Shohei Ohtani's hometown for The Japan Times, indulged all of my fandom.
Also for Japan Times, wrote about the use of social media in the wake of the flooding and landslides in Western Japan last week.
Blog highlights: CRZKNY, Snail's House, Cola Splash.
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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