Back in Japan pop stars take their role very seriously. Perk up your ears, Justin Bieber. Not only did Minami Minegishi, a member of the girl band AKB48, take to YouTube for a public apology after spending a night with her boyfriend—she also shaved off all her hair.
In addition to the cut bow, head shaving is viewed in Japan as the ultimate mea culpa. But really? Should a 20-year-old woman need to apologize for having a boyfriend, a dancer in a boy band?
The cultural mores are clearly very different here. The YouTube video of the contrite star, in which she ascribes her actions as "thoughtless and immature," has had more than 3 million viewings.
"If it is possible, I wish from the bottom of my heart to stay in the band," she said. "Everything I did is entirely my fault. I am so sorry. I don't believe just doing this means I can be forgiven for what I did, but the first thing I thought was that I don't want to quit AKB48."
According to an article in the Guardian, management of AKB48 have since demoted Minegishi to "trainee level" even though she was one of the founding band members in 2005. The band saw sales of more than £126m in 2011.
Like Bieber, a young boy was photographed cupping the breast of a former AKB48 member in a teen mag. But that's where the comparisons end. In Japan the grope prompted police to launch an investigation, and the magazine publisher was ordered to "destroy about 670,000 copies of the magazine."
Crazy amount of pressure on Asian celebs? Or should our young idols take a leaf out of their book and take their roles more seriously?
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