Jpop idol secretly marries girlfriend, management then asks twitter if he should be fired
- Thread starter Exemplar
- Start date
It's not really appropriate to evaluate another culture's behavior based on the values of another culture. Maybe it goes without saying that, being from the US rather than Japan, there are a number of things about this story that give me "WTF" moments. Japanese idols can't date/get married? They're supposed to give the illusion that they exist purely for the gratification of their fans? Management is using a Twitter poll to decide how to deal with him after he breaks his contractual stipulation not to seek romantic involvements?
Dunno, I guess the most honest thing would've been for him to quit the band and then get married (Well, you wouldn't quit before dating and getting to know the person, would you?). But it seems like the management knows there's something...off...about what they do with their contracts, too. They need a Twitter poll to check that no one will cry "Boo" after enforcing their own contract? It's like they know there's something up with that, but they want to be sure no one'll call them on it.
If that's the case, that strikes me (again, not being from Japan, so I don't know why idol culture is something that makes sense for them) as a good thing, since that means time's marching forward and maybe this weird idol culture thing is going to go by the wayside. But dang, 54% of people in the Twitter poll currently think he should be axed? Guess idol culture isn't necessarily more than half dead yet....
Edit:
Dunno, I guess the most honest thing would've been for him to quit the band and then get married (Well, you wouldn't quit before dating and getting to know the person, would you?). But it seems like the management knows there's something...off...about what they do with their contracts, too. They need a Twitter poll to check that no one will cry "Boo" after enforcing their own contract? It's like they know there's something up with that, but they want to be sure no one'll call them on it.
If that's the case, that strikes me (again, not being from Japan, so I don't know why idol culture is something that makes sense for them) as a good thing, since that means time's marching forward and maybe this weird idol culture thing is going to go by the wayside. But dang, 54% of people in the Twitter poll currently think he should be axed? Guess idol culture isn't necessarily more than half dead yet....
Edit:
I guess it's possible, too, that management isn't really thinking about the "offness" so much as the bottom line. Could be they just want to see if the fans will be upset if they fire the guy, regardless of the reason.
Last edited:
I've always found idol culture in Japan disturbing, since it's based on the wish fulfillment and gratification of the fans, and the idols in question are tied to the upkeep of the fantasies of the fans. It's selfish on the idol fandom's part, and nothing like it exists in the West - try imagining One Direction's management kicking a member out for the same circumstances detailed in the OP.
I dunno how many people on here are fans of Satoshi Kon, but he directed an anime movie called Perfect Blue that pretty much criticises idol culture, and it was made back in the 1990s.
I dunno how many people on here are fans of Satoshi Kon, but he directed an anime movie called Perfect Blue that pretty much criticises idol culture, and it was made back in the 1990s.
I personally feel that some of the people who voted against him are doing so because he knew he was breaking the rules he agreed to when joining the group, like a "well you broke the rules, so you broke the contract" kind of thing. (Not necessarily that they were all fans with delusions of full grown men not having romantic needs.) I think some of the voters might not have been actual fans based on the actual comments I read by the fans (who were very positive and supportive). The poll has been deleted from Twitter due to the backlash and they are just vaguely saying they made fans worry.
I actually did some research and looked at more tweets. Before they announced the poll, they said some news would come in a few days and that it was related to a member getting married. The guy who got married also posted a handwritten letter about him getting married (but I am dreadful at reading Japanese handwriting, so I couldn't read it), the commenters said things like "marriage is a good thing that should be celebrated! Don't make it seem like a bad thing!" and TONS of people said "Congratulations!".
The management made the members give a video apology for the poll, but people were annoyed that isn't wasn't management apologizing and sad because the members had teary eyes in the video which made them think they got reprimanded, they thought management should be fired for leaving such an important decision to fans and hurting their feelings by causing an uproar.
Japanese news sites said people accused this of being a publicity stunt. They haven't actually decided what to do yet (they posted a letter early today saying they were deciding what to do).
Edit: I forgot to say, the group is related to Johnny's Entertainment, which had drama related to a KAT-TUN member being secretly married like 6 years ago. They forced him to quit and pay for the fees of canceling his tour out of pocket. So them being unsure of what to do to this Amatou Danshi member seems like maybe they are wavering in their fierce punishment? He has a following, though, and could probably start a solo project.
I actually did some research and looked at more tweets. Before they announced the poll, they said some news would come in a few days and that it was related to a member getting married. The guy who got married also posted a handwritten letter about him getting married (but I am dreadful at reading Japanese handwriting, so I couldn't read it), the commenters said things like "marriage is a good thing that should be celebrated! Don't make it seem like a bad thing!" and TONS of people said "Congratulations!".
The management made the members give a video apology for the poll, but people were annoyed that isn't wasn't management apologizing and sad because the members had teary eyes in the video which made them think they got reprimanded, they thought management should be fired for leaving such an important decision to fans and hurting their feelings by causing an uproar.
Japanese news sites said people accused this of being a publicity stunt. They haven't actually decided what to do yet (they posted a letter early today saying they were deciding what to do).
Edit: I forgot to say, the group is related to Johnny's Entertainment, which had drama related to a KAT-TUN member being secretly married like 6 years ago. They forced him to quit and pay for the fees of canceling his tour out of pocket. So them being unsure of what to do to this Amatou Danshi member seems like maybe they are wavering in their fierce punishment? He has a following, though, and could probably start a solo project.
Wanted to revive the thread to confirm that the management and group members decided to keep him in the group. Here's a detailed article about the situation. I checked back on their Twitter and it seems evidence of the happening has been erased (there were some tweets that people were posting their humble opinions on, saying the management should be sorry, so now it's just back to concert updates).
Edit: Forgot to add that yes, people who voted he should be fired thought it was cause he had a contract he agreed to. Also, apparently "underground" idols sign a contract that is favorable to the companies where they can't talk about activities or date and that they do it so they have no protection under labor rules.
Edit: Forgot to add that yes, people who voted he should be fired thought it was cause he had a contract he agreed to. Also, apparently "underground" idols sign a contract that is favorable to the companies where they can't talk about activities or date and that they do it so they have no protection under labor rules.