A 17-Year-Old Japanese Singer Was Fired for Dating (7 photos)

A bit of news about the "friendly" world of Asian pop stars. This time, it was Japan, where idols don't deserve a private life either.





The Rule of Loneliness



They're all so similar that it'll be easy to find a replacement.

The rules for idols in Japan have always been strict and onerous. But the most famous (and 100% true) one is the ban on dating. The idea is that part of an idol's image was to create a sense of "pseudo-romanticism" between them and their fans. A true romance would ruin the whole fairy tale for these fragile dreamers. They say this rule is tyrannical and going out of style. But in reality, it's a lie; many groups and agencies still adhere to it. Because that's exactly what the end consumers—the fans—want.





Here they are before practice; it's clear what audience they're catering to.

The no-dating rule is so controversial that some idol groups claim it doesn't exist. For example, the creator of the mega-group AKB48 claimed there was no such ban, and that the idols were simply so busy that they "don't have time" for dating. Ha! In fact, the group's lineup still changes under the weight of this rule. A girl spotted with a guy is demoted or sent on vacation. But otherwise, no, of course not.

Drive her away, make fun of her



They are deliberately dressed identically so they can be replaced discreetly.

Imagine owns the idol group conglomerate HEROINES. The HEROINES enclave includes 20 groups! And we'll talk about one of them – HEROINES Kenkyūsei. And then, on the HEROINES Kenkyūsei social media account, they suddenly announced the dismissal of 17-year-old member Fujisaki Azu. The group cited a "serious contract breach" without going into details. But fans found the details online. It turns out that two days earlier, this same Fujisaki had posted a photo of herself at a movie theater, carrying a tray with snacks and drinks. Some eagle-eyed fans spotted a man's reflection in the lid of her plastic soda cup. "That soda looks delicious," quipped one user. And their cutout of the photo garnered 23,000 likes.



That's the guy in the reflection!

Finally, Fujisaki was accused of dating! Imaginate couldn't stand the embarrassment and scandal and called her on the carpet. Under pressure, Fujisaki admitted that she did indeed have a boyfriend. This prompted the company to announce her dismissal, effective November 4th. In her replies to the post, Fujisaki apologized "for hurting all her fans and the members with her thoughtless actions."



Their logo is a shoe and a brooch, why is that so funny?

After this post, her official HEROINES X account, which had over 16,000 followers, was deleted. Apparently, she was fired because she was no longer "romantically attractive" to all the crazy, lonely fans who are into 17-year-old girls who sing. There's even a saying in Japanese fandom: "An idol's boyfriend is like a cockroach in a restaurant." Because "We all know there are cockroaches there, but if we see one, we'll never come back."



Remember this story? A girl was forced to apologize for a YEAR for photos with her boyfriend from her birthday party and post selfies of herself alone before bed.

It creates an unpleasant atmosphere, as if young dancing girls are essentially slaves without the right to live if they want to be idols. But the worst part is that they have to pretend they don't want and can't fall in love so their fans won't be disappointed. And the fans know full well they're being forced to lose love, but they're okay with that. No one started a petition to get the girl back and let her publicly reveal her boyfriend. It was supposedly a pity, but the girl was dumped.