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, 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.
Could it be because I said I didnt? Lol. The world sucks, theres kids in my country packing meat in factories that are younger than her (USA). Theres child actors all over Nikolodean, theres Jojo Siwa, who it was her dream and now she’s an adult and still doing it. So forgive me if I think reading an article about how they make sure no one spoils Santa for her is wholesome.
Here’s the critisisms section excerpt from Wikipedia that I mentioned in my other comment, incase you just don’t feel like clicking offsite. This is more or less a synopsis of the most serious issues. The fan culture section of the article is is also worth reading if you’re curious to learn more about how intense the parasocial element is
From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_idol?wprov=sfla1
I don’t think you’re wrong at all to think it’s wholesome! I just also think your initial comment relfects a lack of context about what idol culture is like, it’s a lot more toxic than being a child actor or singer, or being on Nickelodeon. Where abuses sometimes, or perhaps even often happen there, and the exposure to celebrity from a young age can be really bad for kids, idol culture and agencies codify and intentionally facilitate things that are bad for kids.
And to be very clear, I don’t see it as a personal failing for someone to not know about this. It’s a distinct thing from other cultures that most people here have no exposure to, and it doesn’t disallow you from appreciating this nice occurrence.
In 2014 when child pornography was outlawed, there were a number of idol distrubtors who closed due to the ban because it used to be very common to produce child pornography of idols. It is still a thing that idols are asked to participate in (idols age out at 25, I haven’t investigated the age range of idols in the survey):
That was taken from the Wikipedia page (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_idol?wprov=sfla1). If you read the section on critisisms I think you’ll start to understand what I mean, as it’s pretty horrific, especially as a thing to subject children to. The agencies and culture around idols are HIGHLY exploitative, intentionally by design. They’re exploitative in terms of labor practices, in terms of sexual exploitation, and they (by definition) subject children and young girls to levels of parasocial obsession that pretty much doesn’t exist outside of idol culture to the best of my knowledge. That parasocial obsession is what the girls’ public image is designed for and marketed on, and it has escalated, not just to stalking or harassment, but violence on multiple occasions, which the Wikipedia page covers.
Just because someone enjoys something doesn’t mean it can’t be damaging in the long term.
I’m sure recreational heroin is probably pretty fun… to start with.