Singer dates boy, crops locks to apologize
Source: Agencies |
01:12 UTC+8 February 6, 2013
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A member of a hugely popular Japanese girl band has shaved her head and issued a tearful videotaped apology for violating the megagroup's no-dating rule, sparking a national debate over whether the band's management exerts too much control over its performers.
Pictures of Minami Minegishi in closely cropped hair have been splashed across Japanese newspapers and triggered heated discussion on Twitter and television talk shows. The 20-year-old made the video, posted on the group AKB48's website, after she was caught by a gossip magazine leaving a boy's apartment.
AKB48, made up of more than 90 girls and young women divided into several teams, forbids its members from dating to project a clean image and signal their devotion to the group and their mostly male fans. Minegishi belonged to one of the top teams, but her manager announced her demotion to the bottom-ranked "research student" status.
In her nearly four-minute video released on the group's Internet site, a tearful Minegishi, shorn of her silky black hair, sobbed and pleaded with her fans to let her stay with the band. She said she shaved her head as an act of contrition to her "thoughtless and irresponsible behavior."
The group denied forcing her to cut her hair. "If you ask me whether it was necessary for her to shave her head, I would say it wasn't," said AKB manager Tomonobu Togasaki in a statement. "But Minegishi said she felt strongly about it."
Others questioned whether any member of the group would have been allowed to take such a drastic step of her own accord.
"Was it a witch hunt or a marketing strategy?" asked Hideomi Tanaka, an economist and AKB fan. "If the latter, I've had enough of such calculated actions. What we want to see is idols, not bullying."
AKB is arguably Japan's most popular pop group. It has spawned affiliates across the country and in Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Indonesia. The singing and dancing aren't always perfect. But fans view them as friends or sisters, not out-of-reach superstars who date other celebrities.
Pictures of Minami Minegishi in closely cropped hair have been splashed across Japanese newspapers and triggered heated discussion on Twitter and television talk shows. The 20-year-old made the video, posted on the group AKB48's website, after she was caught by a gossip magazine leaving a boy's apartment.
AKB48, made up of more than 90 girls and young women divided into several teams, forbids its members from dating to project a clean image and signal their devotion to the group and their mostly male fans. Minegishi belonged to one of the top teams, but her manager announced her demotion to the bottom-ranked "research student" status.
In her nearly four-minute video released on the group's Internet site, a tearful Minegishi, shorn of her silky black hair, sobbed and pleaded with her fans to let her stay with the band. She said she shaved her head as an act of contrition to her "thoughtless and irresponsible behavior."
The group denied forcing her to cut her hair. "If you ask me whether it was necessary for her to shave her head, I would say it wasn't," said AKB manager Tomonobu Togasaki in a statement. "But Minegishi said she felt strongly about it."
Others questioned whether any member of the group would have been allowed to take such a drastic step of her own accord.
"Was it a witch hunt or a marketing strategy?" asked Hideomi Tanaka, an economist and AKB fan. "If the latter, I've had enough of such calculated actions. What we want to see is idols, not bullying."
AKB is arguably Japan's most popular pop group. It has spawned affiliates across the country and in Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Indonesia. The singing and dancing aren't always perfect. But fans view them as friends or sisters, not out-of-reach superstars who date other celebrities.
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