Shaved Head-gate

Many seasoned AKB48, and general Japanese entertainment, fans and observers alike would already have been familiar with the recent Minami Minegishi ("Miichan") scandal and the accompanying video message posted on YouTube. Many within the fandom have witnessed, and dealt with, similar scandals in the past, and Miichan's one is nothing out of the ordinary as far as scandals are concerned, even taking into account her head-shaving actions.

What many did not expect was that the mainstream also picked up on it - and I am not talking about within Japan, or even Asia. Miichan, and the rest of the AKB48 world, was suddenly thrust into the global spotlight, her scandal being at the forefront of many news outlets worldwide - from Agence France Presse, to BBC World News, The Guardian; even, shockingly as an Aussie, traditionally Japanese entertainment culture-agnostic Fairfax Media (The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, etc.) and News Corp. (Herald Sun, etc.) also reported on the incident, with the latter being its most viewed news article during that day. And of course, traditional social media was ablaze with reactions. 

But if there was one thing in common from the entire Western reaction to this, it is that there is a lot of spin, misinformed judgement and ignorance presented that grossly misrepresents and misinterprets AKB48 - or indeed, the entire Japanese idol culture. Now I was initially reluctant to post my thoughts on this entire issue, but some of the reactions I have seen from both your average Joes and even some AKB48 fans have led me to voice out my take.

Let me attempt to break down the major critical arguments I have observed thus far from across the entire spectrum:

1) "Miichan had sex with Alan Shirahama (GENERATIONS EXILE)." 

This is the easiest to dispel. Yet I have seen countless Western news headlines reporting Miichan having a "one night stand", "having sex with" or "sleeping with" Shirahama. Firstly, no major Japanese news outlet mentions the word "sex" in its reports - the general consensus is that she stayed over at his place overnight. Which leads to the next point: the sex-fuelled tendency in much of Western entertainment and popular culture  does not necessarily extend across and apply to all global entertainment cultures. This is a dangerous journalistic shortcut to make; anything beyond mere "sleeping over" is pure speculation which cannot be verified from the facts. And it is highly unlikely we will ever find out the hard truth. Of course, entertainment news media cares nothing but sensationalism in a bid to attract viewership, hence the spin.  

2) "Management had some influence in Miichan's decision to shave her hair off, irrespective of any official management, or member, statement."

Yes, there is no denying much of the idol culture and industry in Japan is management influenced and controlled. This, of course, also applies to scandals and crisis management. That, in itself, is nothing new, nor even necessarily "bad" as some commentators attempt to highlight. But for management to somehow influence what is ultimately a personal decision to make is simply inhumane - and I do not believe AKS would stoop that low. Miichan had to respond to the matter surrounding her scandal - after all, it is called "public relations". For her to shave off her head in remorse is her own decision, and any reasonable person in management's position would also not have wanted her to do such an act. As much as idol culture is ultimately management controlled, in its various forms, degrees and guises, lying and outright fabrication is not a part of it. This is not TEPCO nor politics. We are talking about a pop idol group here. And I do not personally believe Togasaki to be a man resorting to cunning spin or PR trickery. Or even Aki-P and AKB48's "executive management". 

3) "Miichan shaving her hair is not only publicly humiliating, and 'weird', but misogynistic and is possibly a sign of a degraded mental state/illness/suicide. Japan is out of step with the values and equality that a modern 21st century adheres to."

Proponents of this argument try to impose their own moral and cultural values, as if it were fundamentally and absolutely in the right (also known as the "holier than thou" motive), yet forget the one simple fact that they are dealing with different cultures and norms. Being culturally sensitive, in this day and age, is valued especially in business contexts, yet is seemingly thrown out the door when dealing with the entertainment world. 

I think a more excellent commentary on this argument can be found in Bilingual 48 and Shoujiki Media's blog entries regarding this entire issue; both elaborating on the issue of cultural sensitivities and competence better than I am able to. But I will say this: I am not downplaying gender equality per se. But is this incident really a case of "misogyny" - an ill-treatment of women? Or is it more of overzealous armchair commentators liberally and misguidedly throwing around social issue terms for the sake of appearing on a moral high ground? In fact, the very use of "slut-shaming", as I have seen in some news reports, is not just inaccurate, but sexually discriminatory. Underpinned by this fetishistic slant of criticism the Western media have in reporting on "weird and different" entertainment cultures like Japan's, leading its readers to believe the same.

4) "The no-dating rule is an infringement of the members' human rights and individualistic freedom. Without this rule, this would never have been a big issue."

Ah yes, the controversial "no dating" rule. Controversial, even by AKB48 fan standards, and much debated within the fandom. But for those that do understand why it is even imposed in the first place, they realise it is an accepted part of idol culture and therefore rarely address the matter.

Why does the entire 48 family have an outright ban on external relationships? Here is my personal take:

• The girls are simply too busy as is to even have relationships. They are "national idols", appearing frequently on mass media and other engagements, that to have any sort of free time to maintain a relationship with the opposite sex seems laughable at best. 
• One of the core cruxes of idol culture relies on the fans exhibiting an emotional, idealised and vaguely romantic attachment to the image and character of the idol. Anything contrary to this dilutes this "virtualised" relationship - that, of course, includes dating. But on the other extreme, this is not an endorsement of delusion - in fact, far from it. Consider that they are, at heart, ordinary girls who just so happen to be idols because they want to (and not because it is akin to some forced, illegal sex trade instigated by management). Yes, they want to gain the support of fans, leading to differentiation of character and traits in a bid to reach out to them. Of course fans, in response, will inevitably warm up to the member to some degree. But the sane (which, in fact, are most of them) realise most of this support and attachment is confined to this context only, without needing to blur their own real-life reality for their (fans') desires to be fulfilled. Most of the general wota populace are not like your creepy, stereotypical "hikkikomori" as famously parodied in many an anime/manga otaku culture - which, perhaps, where proponents of this argument stems their inspiration from. Many lead ordinary lives; there are the extremities, of course, but every fandom of whatever subculture has these and it is these extremities that are regularly brought up as examples in the media anyway, such that observers are tempted to think this is the norm. But I digress. Having this form of "faux" emotional attachment can be seen as an escapist enjoyment, a one-sided "guilty pleasure" fulfilling some sort of desire or need even. In reality, though, fans support idols beyond being shallow as a means to fulfil their own mere "romanticised fantasies"...
• The idol can fully devote her efforts in gaining the support of fans through her "story" of growth and effort. Self-sacrifice of individualistic rights for the benefit of the group is a fundamental value in Japanese society. For many, their career is their life. Even beyond support on emotional grounds, if an idol was to spend her time involved in a relationship with someone outside the group, one might wonder if she's seriously investing any of her effort in her professional life as an idol. That is, why bother investing your emotional (and often financial) effort in supporting her when she does not seem to care for the group, or even for her own professional and personal development? It is ultimately about commitment: the girl inevitably has to make a choice, to sacrifice one or the other, no matter how much one tries to balance their personal and professional life. For a high-stakes group like the 48 family, such decisions are critical. Girls start off as newcomers, often having no talent, working their way up (or, if you like, management helping her to work their way up). Fans, in turn, buy into the story of her development and growth as she becomes more talented, taking ownership of the idol: congratulating her successes, cheering her up from her failures, consuming her goods as a form of mass support, and so forth - from entrance into the 48 family until the time of her (and even continuing post-) graduation. How great will her story break down, and the innocent trust and "purity" of support (from fans) shatter, if she suddenly drops it, all for the pursuit of one guy. 

So, in effect, I seem to be condoning the restriction of human rights, right? Not at all. Soldiers, when they undergo grueling training and especially in times of battle, endure hardship and make sacrifices as to their individualistic freedoms (their physical appearance, for example), for the common aim of defeating the enemy combatant. Now AKB48 are not involved in military warfare (unless you somehow believe that AKB0048 is reality), but they do share one thing in common: the members of each organisation have a shared aim that they would all like to achieve together. Yes, each member pursues their own desired individual paths professionally, but as a member of the 48 family, their short-term goals and responsibilities are shared. Yes, there are inherently elements of competition within, but it is ultimately about teamwork and becoming better. For that to make it all work, you need sacrifices. You cannot have your cake and eat it too. The concept of love, being a tenet of idol subculture and portrayed in their produced media, is one of the necessary sacrifices. Thus the rule. 

But wait, if Justin Bieber can go out with Selena Gomez, why are not members of AKB48 allowed to have their own Johnny's/EXILE member? Because Justin Bieber is not an idol in Japan and therefore the same fundamental cultural and subcultural tenets do not apply to him. The rigidity of Japanese idol culture does not exist elsewhere around the world, especially not in the West. Ultimately, we are dealing with two different entertainment cultures, yet it does not mean one is "more right" than the other. It all goes back to point #3 above: different cultures, different rules. The West may be lax with regards to entertainment stars engaging in dating and relationships, and the East more conservative about it, but applying one set of values into another culture is only asking for flawed conclusions.

And let us not forget one thing: the girls were willing, by their own accord, in joining the group, to agree to this so-called "rule" (whether implicit or explicitly in their contracts, it does not matter). They break the rule? Punishment follows. I am sure that is a universally agreed-upon statement, irrespective of cultural differences.

Bear in mind that what I have written above is what I think are the reasons behind the rule - there could be other reasonable factors that I may have missed. But I do think I have at least roughly covered the major aspects as it applies to this case with Miichan here. 

Final words

Now I am not here to lambast Western popular culture, nor its values. They are what they are, and they work fine in the countries that those societies base their beliefs and rights upon. But so do Eastern values and societal principles. So next time you read an article on the happenings in the Japanese (or even Korean, as they do share similar values) entertainment world written by someone non-native to (or even inside) Japan, especially if it is something so "foreign to the West" like AKB48, please bear these factors in mind before you start criticising the actions of the pop group, its management or worse, Japanese society and its cultural norms.