Minor Crime and Major Punishment in Idol Country

David Cabrera February 4, 2013

In what is certainly this week’s otaku shock-and-outrage headliner, AKB48 idol Minami Minegishi is elaborately, publicly humiliated for having acted like the rest of us. On one side of this or the other, people are mad.

Seen leaving the house of male idol Alan Shirahama – even presumed romance is a grave sin in the idol culture and against the terms of the AKB contract – founding member Minegishi was demoted to trainee status, the furthest one can drop in the organization. Not long afterwards, a harrowing video of her apology to her fans went up on the group’s official Youtube channel, drawing international attention.

Minegishi, her long hair shaved and tears running down her face, looks much more like the victim than any fan could ever be, as she sobs her way through an apology for having a normal human relationship.

The idea is that the fan fantasizes that he might one day be with the idol. That’s the whole selling point of AKB and the reason that, for example, guys with idle money buy hundreds of copies of the same single. It is the reason romance is forbidden for so many idols. So we have a real person apologizing that her real life disrupted a fantasy… because the delusion is more financially lucrative.

Reaction around the board, and especially outside the idol culture and fandom, has been of shock and outrage. Taken alone, Minegishi’s story is merely depressing, but the video is visceral. Even fans are asking if this was too much. In a recent interview, AKB management did not so much answer questions as affirm the status quo. After all, the business is top priority.

Incidentally, Alan Shirahama’s contract doesn’t put him in any trouble for this. He’s been laying low. After all, if I was him I’d be a little concerned for my safety. Idol fans can get pretty scary.

Scources:
Japan Times
Crunchyroll
JpopAsia