The problematic nature of Japanese Idol culture is acknowledged. I still thought this was heartwarming.
An important announcement regarding Seira Umegwa
Thank you all for your continued kind support of Idol Kyoshitsu New.
Seira Umegawa is currently in the sixth grade, and we are informing everyone that as of the time of this writing, November 25, 2024, she believes in Santa Claus.
We apologize for the suddenness of this, but following discussions between the other members of the group and Umegawa’s parents, we are requesting that fans conduct themselves, in words and actions, with the presumption that Santa Claus exists.
I mean why not? Nothing to be gained by being a jerk about it.
And that’s how the the human species saw the rise and dominance of Clausism, the corruption leading to their eventual destruction after the Great Hallmark Wars.
Wow, this sent me down a fascinating rabbit hole on that site. I should pay attention to this site more often. Like, we don’t get a whole lot of Japanese news in the states, but some of this is fascinating (and depressing, like the Mt. Fuji Lawson’s thing).
I came across this though: https://soranews24.com/2018/03/20/lesbian-idols-confession-of-love-prompts-veteran-to-say-idol-romance-restrictions-are-shit/
I found it fascinating from the standpoint that idol companies are branching out into the LGBT community to find new themes. I don’t know how I feel about it; on the one hand, more representation is good, and if their public presence is authentic then it’d give LGBT Japanese people someone to look up to. On the other hand, it’s a company capitalizing on the LGBT community.
Tbh, that said, something that I’d actually be kinda into is a trans idol group, with both mtf and ftm members. The idea though, would be to appeal to other trans people (as opposed to non-trans people) by making songs that talk about the trans experience, or documenting their transitions. Maybe part of the requirement for joining the group would be that you have to be pre-hrt and then you stay in the group until you’re “passing” (or at their “final form” so to speak); so that, over time, you build up a wide array of experiences that gender-questioning people can draw from. Bonus points if the company doesn’t try to force them to conform to a specific appearance or sound, letting trans women sing with their “man voice” and vice versa.
I already know & understand that Santa Claus exists, silly.
Problematic what? She’s in sixth grade. Its probably her last year or two for doing so. She’s a child. Let her be one.
That’s exactly the problematic thing. She is a child and should enjoy her childhood, not work in the entertainment business.
I mean, we dont really know her feelings on that. We dont know if she loathes it, or if this is her dream job, or anything else just from this article. I certainly dont know these people.
I don’t get the impression you know much about Japanese idols 😅
Everything I know about it suggests it’s a deeply unhealthy and horrifically toxic thing for a child to be involved in, regardless of whether she’s happy to be involved in it
A child might be excited about participating in any number of different things that are bad for them; it’s the responsibility of adults to advocate in that child’s long term best interests even if it’s not what the child wants
But that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate this small kindness of a collective shown to a child. That’s always a good thing, whether it’s great for her to be an idol or not.
This kid is going to have trust issues forever.
