Japanese panelist expresses concern about losing Japanese idol talents to K-Pop
Article: Japanese entertainment industry in emergency "Losing all of our talents to Korea"
Source: Insight via Instagram
Former idol, now variety panelist said on a Japanese broadcast show, "I think seeing (NiziU, Nizi) was the paradoxical nail on the head that the Japanese idol industry does not have the power it takes to discover talents who can make it out on the world stage. In the future, it's growing to be more likely that the Japanese industry will become a subcontractor for Korean companies. No matter how much I hope for a Japanese child to become an idol or artist on the world stage, I don't see a chance of that happening as long as they are under a Japanese agency, but I can see it happening if they are under a Korean agency." Furthermore, he opined that there is a growing concern of Japanese trainees who are resorting to Japanese variety agencies as a last-ditch effort if they do not make it into a Korean agency as their first choice.
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[+706] I think a lot of you comments are misreading what that panelist said. He never blamed Korea ㅋㅋ He's saying that if Japan continues to train their idols the way they have been doing, they're going to lose out to Korean idols, so it's time to wake up and change things up ㅋㅋ I think he has a good observation of the situation, but you guys are so quick to jumping to hating on him without even reading the context ㅋ
[+640] Korea already has a large pool of talents to pick from. Unless you're as hard-working as Sakura, it's going to be hard for trainees from Japan to make it here. I'm not a fan but I really commend Sakura's work ethic.
[+350] Instead of saying we're "stealing" all of your talents, a better question to ask yourself would be whether you even have any talents to steal. We're the ones taking your trainees who come over here and training them to be up to standards, which your industry has failed to do ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[+269] You are not losing your talents to us. They are simply coming to Korea to get shined up by us.
[+217] Well, just look at the state of your idol training system, it's a mess
[+128] And wouldn't that be your fault? That you either aren't recognizing the talents in these trainees or you're failing to properly train them up to standards? "Steal" what? We're not stealing anything. Please come and take them back and try and train them yourselves. You think you can get them up to our level?
[+30] Talents where? Korean companies are only including Japanese trainees at all at an attempt to secure a Japanese fanbase, and overlooking their lack of actual talent to do so. The way the Japanese pronounce things and their style of tonality and all do not make for a long-running singing career.
[+22] Shouldn't Japan be grateful? Instead of letting those kids get forgotten over there, we take them and train them up and set them out overseas... Look at Momo, she's the #1 most followed out of all the Japanese stars. At least 5 out of the top 10 most followed K-Pop stars are Japanese. They have nothing but to gain by crossing over here.
[+12] Back in the '90s, there was a time where we idolized and looked up to Japanese singers, but now we've reached an era where the differences in our idol industries are stark... because Japan insists on styling their idols in s*xual fantasies that are very Japanese-y in nature and refuse to step away from that. It's 2023, there's no way that type of concept or marketing will ever work..
[+7] You guys can fix your industry by starting with all the weird and perverted variety shows you have...
[+5] If you look at cases like Kazuha... I think Korea's the one even discovering their talents for them.. 🙃
[+5] Let's just call it a cultural exchange
[+4] I think the word "talents" is funny here. No matter how many talents Japan has, they will never shine to their potential because their system is highly problematic... and I blame Johnny's for that.
[+3] You guys are totally missing his point. He's acknowledging that Japan does not currently have the eye or skill to discover and train good talents, while Korea does. Japan acknowledges that the Korean idol system is superior and that there are many stories of Japanese trainees who try to make it into Korean auditions only to fail and end up having to resort to Japanese variety agencies. He's criticizing the Japanese idol industry, and he should not be getting hate for that.
[+3] Just look at the way Japan treats basement idols... Why would you want to join an industry like that? They're basically forced to provide free labor without the ability to take on side jobs. You guys created that system, and if you don't have any intention of changing it, just sit there and watch us take your talents.
[+-] I reckon Japan should just give up on their idol market. They can keep Johnny's and AKB around for their domestic market but let their actual talents go and find success elsewhere. No need to tie them all down to their idol industry.
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