Jun Natsukawa: 26, not 23

The Japanese media is reporting that gravure idol Jun Natsukawa has admitted recent allegations that she has been lying about her age. She had been coming under fire recently after certain sources started claiming that she was considerably older than she claimed, and it became impossible for her to maintain the deception any longer. According to her blog, when she started her career as a gravure model, her talent agency reported her birth year as 1983, rather than the truth, which was 1980. She had wanted to reveal her real birth year at some point, but never got around to it.

Not that it really matters when it comes to enjoying her videos on YouTube….


Update: Mainichi now has a story in English about this:

Giving a reason for understating her age, Natsukawa said, “When I moved to my current agency, I talked with staff members and changed my name with the intention of beginning a new life. I also strongly wanted support from teenagers, so I made out that I was 19.

“I want to make a new start from today as 26-year-old Jun Natsukawa,” she added.