Sashihara: Postscript.

Rino Sashihara. The name alone conjures images not just of a failure, idol-loving, no-can-do character but also of a tainted reputation and managerial incompetence.


Her path to downfall has been well documented across the entire fandom and media outlets: a tabloid busting out a story of her past antics with an ex-boyfriend whilst being an AKB48 Kenkyuusei, her subsequent confession/denial on national airwaves and the transfer to HKT48. Notably, opinions ranged widely from one of support from victimisation, to lashing out at management (and Sashihara's) handling of the incident and a broad discussion on the merits, or otherwise, on Japanese idol culture's strict view on dating. That's of course unless you're a Sashihara oshi, in which case you've probably made up your mind already. No doubt the effects of the 16th June revelation have widely been felt across the entire AKB48 group and the Japanese entertainment industry media landscape.

Now that one month has elapsed since the scandal, the dust has settled but has there really been anything changed apart from Sashihara's new-found representation in HKT48? Other girls have been playing down the whole incident since those fateful days in June and Yasushi Akimoto made a deal with the devil, so to speak, by signing a contract with the news breakers, Shukan Bunshun. As for Sashihara herself, she's gained a new uniform, a new stage to learn, an extended presence in Fukuoka media and of course, loads of young girls in HKT48 warming up to her as the defacto elder stateswoman, allowing her to continue on that well-founded tradition of Sashiharassment. Jokes aside, her idol concert went off without a hitch and her Google+ posts are still as random and (fairly) frequent as ever. As one AKB48 member noted, "it's as if nothing has ever happened". A sense of normality has been seemingly restored.

Sure, one month might be a little too early to assess the real impacts of her scandal on the entire AKB48 group. Some of the more idol traditionalist fans, not least her antis, are still desiring to see management dish out her crucifixion and subsequently, because of management's failure to do so, have taken a dimmer view of them as a whole. A few more are criticising the effects of this move on HKT48's own pathway to glory. Others are noting of her value to stakeholders and that losing her might seem to be catastrophic to the ever-growing popularity of AKB48. One thing is for sure: despite the variety of opinions, albeit leaning towards the negative side of things, it appears nothing will change from the events of 16th June and it is time to move on.

What can we learn from Sasshi-gate, then? Managerial PR influence on the media is nothing new, and neither are scandals even within the AKB48 group. Rather, it is the notion that whatever management decides to do strategically, whether we like it or not, it is highly unlikely that they will change their decision. A long-standing notion, perhaps, but one that often needs reminding. Let the fans decide for themselves how they respond to it. As for the girls? A stark and timely reminder that bending the rules will not be tolerated once it's out in the open. Sashihara's incident might be one of the most prolific thus far, but there's no guarantee future scandal-ers will be "let off" as lightly as she was. And fans probably don't wish to think of other girls involved in scandals anyway in the first place. 


Your voices might have been heard, and your opinions on management and Sashihara might have changed as a result. But the damage has been done and there's nothing more to it thus far. Now move on and let it be. You have 24th-26th August to worry about.