J-Pop Idols Aren't Selling Music Anymore

Comments · 130

• LE

  @leveiss · 1 month ago

  poor girls..the exploitation is so extreme

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• LY

  @LynnPimer-z8b · 1 month ago

  This is sick and disgusting.  The exploitation of these girls is crazy…most may even be children.

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• AN

  @angela251 · 1 month ago

  its more scary if those girls are literally still a minor 😟

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• GO

  @gomezgomezian3236 · 1 month ago

  Where it started to 'fall apart' was when the rest of the world finally applied enough pressure to FORCE the Japanese Government to ban the sale of 'kiddie p@rn' in Japan.  J-pop stepped up to (at least partially) fill that demand.   That is why J-pop stars are younger and much less trained than K-pop idols.

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• BE

  @beautitachannel6641 · 1 month ago

  Wait a minute! She was seen going into a hotel with two men when she was 15. And then it was her that was brought into court and fine. Are we not going to talk about how a minor was seen in that place with two men?

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• TO

  @TomatoesForever · 1 month ago

  As someone who is half Japanese and grew up watching Japanese tv, Japanese girl idols were originally supposed to be targeted to young girls and young children as “idols”, the people you look up to. A young girl like me would look up to them as role models, just like looking up to them as older sisters. The way they dress is such frilly beautiful dresses, wearing beautiful bows, singing about love, friendship, and overcoming problems, they were the role models to children. At one point I wanted to be an idol because I really loved Tomomi Itano. <br><br>When I was 19, as I discovered foreign women who talk about their experiences about sexual objectification in Japan, I was shocked. Though I have known about the minors wearing bikini and underwear, and the pin up girls casually being on FAMILY FRIENDLY tv shows, it never occurred to me that Japanese men sexually objectify women, because nobody ever says that in Japan. <br><br>Ever since the MeToo movement in Japanese which advocates for equal rights and fight against sexual objectification, sexual harassment, and r*pe, the conversations about sexual objectification has become more talked about. However these women are oftenly oppressed because of how p0rn0graphy is so justified in Japan, when the reality is p0rn0graphy is not real s3x and teaches young boys and men objectification.

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• SH

  @sharu5837 · 1 month ago

  Eventhough sakura became so popular Akb48 but im so glad she escapec from that hell hole coz wtff🤧🤐

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• GA

  @galactusx2 · 1 month ago

  The akb48 handshake event attack wasn&apos;t done by a fan but rather a random guy who was mad that he lost his job.

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• DA

  @Daraponleu · 1 month ago

  That is why a lot of very attractive, talented, if not alright, even more beautiful than typical J-Pop chose to be VTubers or utaites. Stars and celebrities exist to be admired or a role model, not something to be exploited or feel like they owe the world or fans something. They too are human, and hack, most of them deserve the fame and fortune just as much as entrepreneurs deserve their money if they do not do anything illegal to obtain it.

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• SH

  @sharu5837 · 1 month ago

  Ewwww wthhh💀💀💀💀🤧.....my heart aches for these girls 🥲

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• ST

  @stevesuh44 · 1 month ago

  Hard to feel hopeful for humanity’s future but your presentation was good.

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• BL

  @bluehawaii30 · 1 month ago (edited)

  Parasocial relationship as a staple of the whole jpop idols industry is a true fact BUT they are not alone. To lesser degrees, the same exploitation exists in kpop, cpop and even western music. See how attached some fandoms are to their idols in USA. In kpop they have even more economically predatory systems where buying cds doesnt even guarantee a meeting with your favorite idol, you still need to go through a lottery and win to participate in video calls or fansign events. Some kpop fans end up spending even more than your average jpop fan, specially considering that their show tickets are more expensive and they sell more merchandise. Kpop fandoms unite and operate in a gang-like fashion that jpop fandoms dont (producing better but also worse results, just see the recent livestream suicide case i.e.). So the jpop idol scene is not alone on its pratices or nature.<br><br>Now, what I think is important to take into consideration is why this industry succeeds. My take is that japanese society is so tight and impersonal that it drives many people, specially young and middle aged man into a corner of isolation and introversion. The idol industry explores the vulnerability of these man with few or no friends and the vulnerability of these young girls aspiring fame, money and also connection. So in a way, it gives everyone what they were longing for. The fans get to feel like they have a close relation with someone, the girls get to feel like they are beloved artists... <br><br>I would like to point out also that on the underground idol scene, the rules (for idols and fans behavior) are a lot more lax than what this video implies. Many idols drink, smoke, curse, behave erratically... So the &quot;pure image&quot; is not imposed on a large portion of the scene. On most groups you get to talk and take photos with the idols for a lot longer than a few seconds and many of these girls also openly work part time on maid cafes and such. I spent over a decade of my life inside this culture and I gotta add that through the years I talked with a ton of girls, with different goals in life and views on their job (as an idol). People would be surprised if they knew how common it is to find girls that become idols just in order to &quot;feel connected&quot; and beloved, because prior to becoming idols, they had no friends, social life or even direction on their future. It is definitely an exploitative industry but more often than not, both idols and fans enter there willingly and believe it or not, find happiness on there.<br><br>I moved on with my life, but I still admire and respect a lot of people involved on it, despite all the flaws in the system. Oh and just to be clear, music DO is still an important part of it, otherwise you dont really grow your fandom and manage to get nice contracts with music labels, play on bigger stages, etc. Some acts even escape the idol system after they become big and famous enough, see Perfume, Babymetal, Passcode, etc.

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