You might have heard recently about Minami Minegishi, a pop idol in Japan who was photographed sleeping over at a boy’s house. The boy was Alan Shirahama, a singer in the boy band Generations. Minami is a member of the well-known band, AKB48.
The video itself was pretty shocking because she clearly is in a lot of distress. The way it was filmed makes it look as if she was kidnapped and being held for ransom. The fact she shaved her head is also a bit shocking.
The group, AKB48, has a strict “no-dating” policy because it tries to uphold an image of innocence amongst its members.
Are you kidding me?
Minami Minegishi is a 20-year-old woman with every right to have a boyfriend, yet she was pressured to shave her head (an old Japanese ritual to show shame) because she was caught coming out of a boy’s house.
There was no sex tape. There was no proof of anything. There was one photograph showing her coming out of a building that belonged to Alan Shirahama, another consenting adult.
The fan outrage amongst Japanese netizens prompted her to create the video tape. She wasn’t forced by anyone to do so, but she was just so ashamed that she thought it was the best move for her career. Her company also decided to punish her and demote her to “trainee” status (basically she doesn’t get to do anything with the group anymore).
Now it’s probable that she might get kicked out of the group completely.
I understand the concept of “innocence,” but this time I think they’ve gone too far. A company should never be able to dictate the lives of their employees. Also Japanese fans took this issue way too seriously, I don’t think ANY American popstar coming out of a boy’s house would draw any attention at all.
What’s worse, check out the outfits that her company has her wearing for photo shoots (below). In my opinion, this is way “sluttier” than coming out of a boy’s house.
Hypocritical no?
It’s not the US, but still is something like this even legal in Japan? Can you imagine the crazy backlash a policy would have in the United States.
I’d love to hear from some Japanese people if this kind of practice is normal.
I know plenty of Japanese women who have slept with multiple people, but I’m interested to understand if this kind of slut-shaming is still rampant in Japan.
Do you guys think she should have made this video? Sound out in the comments below.
Written by Editorial Staff