Idols in Japan are sometimes subject to strict, and even onerous, contractual obligations. One common and controversial clause forbids them from dating. The idea is that part of an idol’s performance is to foster a sense of “pseudo-romance” between them and their fans – an illusion that a real romance would shatter.
This “rule” is going out of style. But some groups still enforce it. One young idol found that out the hard way recently when obsessive fans outed her relationship in a rather creepy fashion.
“A severe contractual violation”
HEROINES is a conglomeration of idol groups run by the company imaginate. It consists of around 20 separate groups, including HEROINES Kenkyūsei, a team of up-and-coming young talent aiming for idol stardom.
This week, the official HEROINES Kenkyūsei account on X suddenly announced that 17-year-old cast member Fujisaki Azu had been let go. The group cited a “severe contractual violation” without specifying any details.
But, of course, the Internet has the details. Two days prior, Fujisaki had posted a photo of herself at a movie theater holding a snack and drink tray. Some eagle-eyed fans saw what they determined to be a man’s reflection in the lid of her plastic soda glass.
The image led to the accusation that Fujisaki was – gasp! – out on a date. According to a celebrity reporter interviewed by FLASH, the resulting social media buzz led imaginate to launch an investigation into this “scandal.”
The source says that Fujisaki admitted she did indeed have a boyfriend. This led the company to announce her dismissal effective November 4th.
Fujisaki retweeted the announcement from HEROINES and apologized “for hurting all of my fans and the group’s members with my rash actions.” Since that post, her official HEROINES X account, which had over 16,000 followers, has been deleted.
By not stating the reason for her dismissal, imaginate can avoid accusations that it fired Fujisaki for having a love life. However, given the timing of the social media posts and the subsequent firing, it’s highly probable that the two are connected.
“An idol’s boyfriend is like a cockroach in a restaurant”
Many commenters on X lit into imaginate for enforcing this outdated rule. “It’s pathetic restricting someone’s private life like this,” one wrote.
“What’s up with turning idols into slaves to collect fans and profit?” another opined.
Others wondered why imaginate was so quick to throw one of its members under the bus. “Just say it was a manager,” one user recommended.
Some idol fans recognize that the non-dating rule is absurd but defend it with absurd logic. One famous copy-paste text, which appears to date back to a 2020 message board post, reads: “An idol’s boyfriend is like a cockroach in a restaurant. We all know they’re there, but if we see one, we’ll never go back.”
The dating ban rule is so controversial that some idol groups insist it doesn’t exist, despite evidence to the contrary. Akimoto Yasushi, the creator of idol megagroup AKB48, said there was no such ban, and that idols were simply so busy that they had “no time” to date. However, many groups still enforce it via forced “graduation” or demotion inside the group.
Some idols are working to dismantle the notion that they don’t deserve a life outside of their fans. In 2023, 23-year-old Fujisaki Nagi (no relation) made headlines when she publicly announced she was a single mother to two children.
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Sources
【彼氏バレから2日で脱退】女性アイドル “コーラ写真”で男性写り込み…「嘘ついときゃいいのに」SNSは賛否両論. FLASH
アイドルが“恋愛禁止”とされる背景は？ 移り変わる時代に問われるタレント／ファン双方の意識. Real Sound
HEROINES. Wikipedia JP
