Make Believe Mailer Vol. 62: Fantasy Island
Maho Yamaguchi apologized for "causing concern" in NGT48's theater in downtown Niigata city Thursday night. Her transgression? Going on the video site Showroom and then Twitter to relay the fact two men assaulted her outside of her apartment last December, allegedly after another member of the idol-pop group revealed her personal info. As you'd imagine, the decision to have her say sorry didn't go over well, inspiring angry responses domestically and abroad. It went so badly, in fact, that the management behind the AKB48 sister unit released a statement confirming the assault and that another member of the group was involved in it. This has only turned it into an even bigger media event in Japan.
There's a lot of layers to this, the worst scandal to hit the AKB48 universe yet. hat at least one other NGT48 member helped make this happen -- there's a lot of rumor spinning around online, so treading carefully -- adds significantly to the attention paid to this. The fact the police investigating the assault let the two male perpetrators basically walk away might actually be the worst element of all this, at least when applied to the grander scheme of life in Japan (not many people in Japan become idols, but everyone has to deal with the authorities, from CEOs to average folk). The apology Yamaguchi issued has become the focus for a large chunk of people following the case, as it underlies either the dark side of the idol industry or a greater criticism of Japanese society. It's creeping into the Akimoto Vortex...NGT48, not popular! But AKB connection is more than enough...but a legitimate news story underlining important social issues while also delivering the stuff true-crime podcasters salivate over.
It's also a reminder of one of pop music's more troublesome elements in Japan...and a sign that things are actually shifting, with change spurred by the idols themselves.
The most shocking scandal involving AKB48 up until this was Minami Minegishi's head-shaving scandal back in 2013. Fast version -- she was found to be seeing a boy, a no-no in the idol world, and in an effort to apologize for her horrible, terrible transgression she shaved her head and made an apology video. Plenty in Japan were outraged at that, but the central tension in the Minegishi case came from fantasy. Idol pop in Japan has always leaned into an imagined connection between fans and performers -- the earliest '70s idols, like Momoe Yamaguchi, used innuendo as a way to tease potential supporters -- but AKB48 took it to its extreme with the "idols you can meet" concept upon founding in the mid 2000s, where the idea of a relationship between supporter and performer was central to the project's concept (down to fans voting for their faves). It didn't matter if everyone involved in this fantasy knew it was just that -- keeping that facade up was vital. Which is why Minegishi felt compelled to say sorry in disturbing video form.
There are important differences between Minegishi's situation and Yamaguchi's. The prior found themselves caught up in usual idol business -- rules that are totally ridiculous, but also not against any laws. The latter is wrapped up in criminal situations, real world crimes. But both apologized to fans, and that's because they needed to uphold fantasy. Even if it's not about an imagined connection, idols need to maintain an image of steadiness, of everything being OK. Idoldom isn't a place for turbulence -- let alone for behind-the-scenes backstabbing. These situations are totally different, but still wrapped up in the same imagined world.
But there's one other important difference.
It's tough flashing back to two weeks ago, let alone 2013. But the online landscape in Japan was so radically different six years ago...Twitter was still nascent, and Showroom, the live-streaming application favored by J-pop idols, didn't debut until the end of that year. Even if these platforms were more central to the average Japanese person's life at this time, idols wouldn't be allowed on them...forget Johnny's boys, who might not have been allowed to know the internet existed at all. But even the women in the AKB universe were mostly kept away from social media (with some exceptions...Atsuko Maeda was on Twitter in 2012). It just wasn't a typical thing for idols to do...social media is about expressing one's personal life on their terms, but idol life is about upholding a vision for others.
Yamaguchi used social media as a way to puncture through the fantasy to express her own real-world situation. And just look at all the other AKB members who have commented on the situation, many of whom have expressed solidarity with Yamaguchi (such as Rino Sashihara...the pop outfit's most popular member, who once found herself caught up in a fantasy-breaking dating controversy but skyrocketed to popularity by not holding back her opinions). It's a far from perfect medium -- the chaotic flow of information, the bulk of it not even close to being verified, flowing around online being a good example -- but none of this happens without Yamaguchi using technology that in theory allows the "idols you can meet" idea to carry on further as a way to speak her truth.
It's a reflection of social media's place in Japan in 2019...it is far (far far far far) from perfect, but a space for changing attitudes that aren't reflected by more established spaces (spaces that have thus far been able to dodge punishment for transgressions...so far, another element of the NGT48 story, but with time to change). Yamaguchi's situation is disturbing and depressing, but highlights how the performers having to navigate this fantasy realm can actually push back and...hopefully...force change.
News And Views
Before the NGT48 story really spilled over, the big entertainment story of the week was a member of super-sento-themed idol group Jyunretsu having Shukan Bunshun reveal a past incident of domestic violence in his life. And...he retired from the entertainment industry like a day later. This all came about because the group were one of the out-of-left-field participants at NHK's Kohaku show...turns out that show can still get results.
Bohemian Rhapsody -- very popular! Crazy how movies about bands among the most popular in human history do so well.
Anri is performing in...Schaumburg!?!?!...this weekend, which is unexpected even when you take into account the show is being put on by the local Japanese Chamber of Commerce branch.
This week has been so stuffed with news that Nishino Kana's announcement that she is going on hiatus feels like it happened five years ago.
I wrote that Kenshi Yonezu, the current superstar of J-pop, wasn't all that big a deal outside of Japan. He's gone and found ways to make me look like a damn fool.
NPR ran a piece this week about SMAP. And people were not happy. So, let's get some disclaimers out of the way -- I've met the person behind the piece, and talked SMAP with her last year alongside my then-music-editor at The Japan Times, and she knows what she's talking about. I feel most of the problems with this piece come down to the truly awful headline, which would have been bad even if they hadn't twisted the knife with that "actually," which just invites folks to rightfully trash the implications it carries. But erase that, and it still kind of fails to convey what's really happening. Because SMAP did inspire the structure of K-pop idol boy bands and how they operate (which has been reported before, like in that SPIN cover story about K-pop from, like, 2011)...but not so much musically, which is where they really excel in comparison. The headline plus the relatively thin frame here don't give enough space to really articulate any of this (related: guess who is writing a SMAP piece touching on similar ideas in the near future.....), though.
Anyway! The real issue here is...I presume...the fact that selling a story about Japanese music (or any country's music that isn't enjoying some SEO love at the moment) to readers is seen as near impossible by folks at publications, who decide it HAS to be tied to K-pop even when that doesn't have to be jammed into the headline at all. Music writing...hellscape!On a lighter note....
Oricon Trail For The Week Of Dec. 31 2018 To Jan. 6 2019
Oh my god, this is the first week where Oricon is using a chart that combines various metrics together. And it's already causing problems. Hoshino Gen's Pop Virus tops both new and traditional charts, so no harm there. But with singles, the traditional chart names Keisuke Kuwata's ode to bowling "Let's Go Bowling" as the top song, but the new chart puts it second behind Kenshi Yonezu's "Lemon." Oh 2019, slow down!
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 talked to Perfume this week for The Japan Times, it was delightful.
Look At Me!
Yeah, one more time...talked to Perfume about Coachella, live shows and more. Don't sleep on the fact one of A-chan's goals moving forward is to make dog clothes.
The Zozotown guy broke the most retweets record, and you better believe I took a closer look at it in Pulse this week.
Blog highlights: Parmot, Koutei Camera Girl Drei, Yunomi
Written by Patrick St. Michel (patrickstmichel@gmail.com)
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