Danica Davidson
June 11, 2025 
News outlet Japan Today just released a video with news caster Jeff Richards titled “Why Japan’s J-pop idol industry bans sex, dating and romance.”
The video, which is about 10 minutes long, starts out with talk on the Japanese movie Love on Trial, which is based loosely on a true story where an idol got sued for breaching the no-dating clause of her contract. He goes on to talk about the introduction of idols, and how they started to really take off in Japan in the 1990s.
Richards says, “Behind the cutesy image, idol singers face hypocritically strict rules: No dating, no drugs, and definitely no sex. These unwritten rules are much tougher for girl groups than boy bands.”
Richards concentrates more on the double standards and tight control of female idols, though he gives a nod toward the abuse hundreds of male idols suffered for many years at Johnny’s.
He continues, “If a female idol is caught dating, the fallout can be brutal. Take Minami Minegishi of AKB48. Back in 2013, she was just 20 when a tabloid ran a story claiming she’d spent the night with a member of a boy band. In response she shaved her head and posted a tearful apology video on YouTube. The image of her roughly shaven head was splashed across newspapers and websites. Her agency then demoted her to a trainee team, saying she’d caused a nuisance to fans.”
Otaku USA covered the Minegishi case here.
“Then there’s Momoka Tojo of KATACOTO*BANK,” Richards says. “Last year she posted photos on Twitter from her birthday. Just her and a young man eating cake together. After the post got attention, she deleted it. Her agency then announced her punishment: She would post a goodnight selfie alone every night for an entire year. Tojo apologized, saying she hadn’t shown proper mindfulness expected of an idol. Her agency explained the punishment by saying ‘The most important thing for an idol is to sleep by the side of each individual fan.’”
Otaku USA covered the Tojo case here.
Richards talks about techniques managements are known to use to control their idols, how a number of idols appear to be having mental health issues over their lifestyles, and more.
“[Koji] Fukada [the director of Love on Trial] argues that banning idols from having relationships feeds unhealthy fantasies,” Richards says, and that it reflects how women are controlled and treated within society in general. He also asks for people to share their own thoughts on the idol business. You can watch the whole video here.
Why Japan’s J-pop idol industry bans sex, dating and romance
Source: Japan Today
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Danica Davidson is the author of the bestselling Manga Art for Beginners with artist Melanie Westin, plus its sequel, Manga Art for Everyone, and the first-of-its-kind manga chalk book Chalk Art Manga, both illustrated by professional Japanese mangaka Rena Saiya. Check out her other comics and books at www.danicadavidson.com.
