Yesterday, NTV’s Real Time News aired a report on the U-15 idol phenomenon, in which companies are producing photo books and DVD’s of girls under the age of 15 in skimpy clothing and sexually suggestive poses. The anchors describe this new trend as a problem and the report takes a critical look at the junior idol business. Here it is in two parts:

Part 1

Summary:
A news crew follows around 6th grader Mai Sasaki, an 11-year-old junior idol whose father films and creates her photo books and DVD’s. In one particularly creepy scene, the cameraman father tells a lingerie-clad Mai to get on a bed and make a “lion pose.” He later jokes about how big her breasts have become. His blurred-out face and NTV’s background music only add to his creepy image. The report then shows us some newspapers that have questioned the U-15 idol boom, with headlines such is “Is it really OK for them to do that?”

We are taken to the mecca of junior idol fandom, Akihabara, where there are shops specifically specializing in U-15 idol goods and even events where fans can meet and take pictures of certain idols. A trip to a larger store even reveals that some U-15 idol stuff is for sale, and an employee of the store tells them that there have been some concerns about the products, and certain items might be refused and returned to publishers.

They return to Mai Sasaki’s father, who is looking at internet sites devoted to junior idols. He mentions that some of the U-15 idol photos and DVD’s are practically porn. Apparently he doesn’t want to turn his daughter into such an idol, but he must make her photos and DVD’s a bit sexy if he wants them to sell…

Part 2

Summary:
After a quick look at some fans in their 30’s who love buying junior idol stuff, we are shown a photo shoot Mai Sasaki’s father is doing for a 13-year-old idol Misuzu Ashida. The girl tells the reporter that she is hoping that she can become a mainstream star through her junior idol DVD’s. Her mother, who is at the photo shoot, has a similar view and thinks that what her daughter is doing is similar to how many actresses have done sexy photos or love scenes in movies to advance their careers. The mother and daughter say that there is a limit to what they’ll approve of, at which point they’ll supposedly say no. After the release of Misuzu’s DVD they travel to Tokyo to hold an photo shoot event to which all her fans were invited. The event, which was held in a little studio in Aoyama, failed to attract a single fan. Mr. Sasaki, who repeatedly said Misuzu had many fans, blamed the dismal turnout on the fact that the event had not been held in Akihabara or Ikebukuro.