Idols

Japan's idol industry first emerged in the 1960s and became prominent in the 1970s and 1980s due to television. During the 1980s, regarded as the "Golden Age of Idols", idols drew in commercial interest and began appearing in commercials and television dramas. As more niche markets began to appear in the late 2000s and early 2010s, it led to a significant growth in the industry known as the "Idol Warring Period." Today, over 10,000 teenage girls in Japan are idols, with over 3,000 groups active. Japan's idol industry has been used as a model for other pop idol industries, such as K-pop.

Sub-categories of idols include gravure idols, junior idols, net idols, idol voice actors, virtual idols, AV idols, alternative idols, underground idols, Akiba-kei idols, local idols, bandols, and Japanese-South Korean idols.

Idols

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Idols often spend time isolated from family and friends while enduring busy work schedules,[22] with some agencies withholding job assignments from their talents and notifying them of work on short notice to prevent them from taking time off.[23] Some talent agencies do not rigorously train their idols and market them as amateurs who will gain experience over the course of their careers and with support from their fans.[24][9][25] Despite being trained in multiple roles in entertainment, idols in Japan are not expected to meet the high standards of performances that professionals in their fields do.[24] Because of their manufactured image, idols are generally not regarded as authentic artists.[26] Likewise, many young Japanese artists pursuing careers in acting or music reject the idol label in their bid to be seen as professionals.[27]

Idols generally perform in elaborate costumes for specific performances.[34] Costumes are created for each song in their promotion cycle, as well as graduation events, and some groups have their own in-house costume designer.[34] AKB48, in particular, has had over 1,102 costumes created for the group since 2017.[34] The outfits worn by female idols are generally described as "cute",[35] while outfits worn by male idols are described as "cool."[36]

The influence idols had on television led the 1980s to be known as the "Golden Age of Idols",[37] in part due to Japan's economic bubble and growing commercial interest in them.[42] Several figures who defined the Golden Age of Idols are Seiko Matsuda,[37] Akina Nakamori, Kyko Koizumi, and Onyanko Club.[19] Television programs in which idols appeared often enjoyed high viewer ratings.[19] Dentsu also created the "CM idol" business model, where idols were able to gain fame by singing and appearing in commercials.[93]

Onyanko Club, in particular, shifted public perception of idols from professional stars to ordinary schoolgirls who would gain experience throughout their career.[42] They were also the first group to introduce a "graduation system", where older members would eventually leave the group while newer inexperienced members would join,[42] with the system being named such as the group drew similarities to a school club.[40] Onyanko Club also led to idols becoming closely associated with television due to the popularity of their variety show, as the visual component became important to the overall enjoyment of their music.[93]

At the same time, male idols gained popularity, with acts from Johnny & Associates normalizing idols singing and dancing at the same time.[21] However, fewer male idol acts from other companies achieved the same success as Johnny's idols due to the company's CEO, Johnny Kitagawa, controlling the media and pressuring certain programs not to invite male idols from competing agencies, as he would continue to until his death in 2019.[21][61]

Around 1985, idols soon became unpopular after the public became disillusioned with the idol system.[91] By the 1990s, public interest in idols began to wane,[22] as audiences lost interest in singing and audition programs,[19] particularly due to a shift in attitudes caused by Japan's economic collapse.[42] The media coined the term "Idol Winter Period" (, Aidoru Fuyu no Jidai) to describe the stagnation of the idol industry beginning in 1990.[94]

More young people yielded aspirations to be defined as an artist instead of an idol.[19] During this decline, public perception of idols again shifted from inexperienced amateurs to strong, independent women, in part due to a rehaul in Seiko Matsuda's public image.[42] Namie Amuro, who gained fame as the lead singer of Super Monkey's, found popularity among young girls who emulated her appearance.[19] At the same time, Speed also found a fan following.[42] However, neither Amuro nor Speed referred to themselves under the idol label.[42] While idols appeared less in mainstream media, the popularity of Onyanko Club from the 1980s led to an increase of idol groups with large numbers of members debuting in the 1990s, performing under independent record labels.[84] These idols became known as underground idols.[84] Because of the lack of publicity over idols on television, many turned to the Internet.[19]

Johnny & Associates observed the popularity of former Shibugakitai member Hirohide Yakumaru's success as an MC on variety shows, which prompted them to develop and market their current acts with distinct public personalities.[95] Groups from the company began gaining more attention, drawing in fans from Hong Kong and Taiwan,[19] and their marketing success led to many other idols doing the same.[95]

In the mid-1990s, there was an increase in young idols in the elementary school age, which the media described as the "Chidol (child idol) Boom."[49][96] The term "chidol" was coined by journalist Akio Nakamori in the magazine Weekly Spa![63] In the 2000s, "chidol" saw fewer usage, and it was eventually replaced by the term "junior idol" to legitimize them as part of the idol industry as well as removing the focus on their age.[64]

The 2000s saw the rise in popularity of idol groups again after Morning Musume's debut in 1997 and the formation of their musical collective, Hello! Project.[42][50] Around the same time, there was an increase in gravure idols, who competed in magazine and photo book sales.[49][50] In addition, anime voice actors, such as Yui Horie, Nana Mizuki, and Yukari Tamura, were also marketed as idols to promote both their activities and singing careers.[51][52]

While idols briefly experienced another decline after 2002, AKB48 debuted in 2005 and later became known as nation's idol group.[50] The public image of idols had diversified, with each idol group having a specific concept appealing to different audiences.[42] To celebrate the diversity of idols, AKB48, Shoko Nakagawa, and Leah Dizon performed a medley called "Special Medley: Latest Japan Proud Culture" at the 58th Kohaku Uta Gassen in 2007, introduced as "Akiba-kei idols" with each act described as a different sub-genre of idols.[97]

The idol industry experienced a rapid growth in the beginning of the 2010s, and the media coined the nickname "Idol Warring Period" (, Aidoru Sengoku Jidai) to describe the phenomenon.[22][50] Lawyer Kunitaka Kasai cited the Internet as a reason for the rapid growth of idols, as anyone can upload videos onto websites, and AKB48's business model encouraged this even further through creating more opportunities for fan interactivity.[98] The 2013 television drama Amachan also inspired more idol groups to appear, the majority of them being "local idols" who performed in specific rural communities.[69][42] Several independent idol groups also crossed over into mainstream, such as Dempagumi.inc,[82] Dorothy Little Happy,[69] and Rev. from DVL, the latter of which gained mainstream popularity after a photo of then-member Kanna Hashimoto went viral.[70]

Since 2010, the biggest idol concert festival, Tokyo Idol Festival, has taken place.[22] More than 200 idol groups and about 1500 idols performed, attracting more than 80,000 spectators in 2017.[22] During 2014, about 486,000 people attended AKB48 and Momoiro Clover Z's live concerts, which was the highest record of all female musicians in Japan.[99] Momoiro Clover Z has been ranked as the most popular female idol group from 2013 to 2017 according to surveys by The Nikkei,[2] There were more than 10,000 teenage girls who performed as idols in Japan in 2017.[13] In 2019, there were over 3,000 female idol groups.[100]

From 2013 to 2018, boy band Arashi was ranked as the most popular artist overall in Japan according to Oricon polls of 20,000 people.[101][102][103][104][105] Other male idols also found success as underground idols, as well as anime media mix projects and 2.5D musicals.[106]

A notable trait of idols that sets them apart from typical celebrities is their relationship with fans, and they are marketed intentionally by talent agencies to have a high emotional connection with their consumer fan base. Fans are built as active supporters into the narrative of the idol's journey to become a professional entertainer,[25] viewing them as siblings, daughters/sons, or girl/boy next door types due to how easily they can relate to the public.[120][18][121] One documented example are fans of female idols, typically consisting of men from 30 to 40 years of age, who seek interactions with them as a way of having a long-term relationship without the prospect of supporting a family or dealing with awkwardness outside of a controlled environment.[122] The idol fan culture idealizes the idea of moe, where vulnerability is seen as an attractive trait.[25]

Fans spend money on merchandise and endorsed products to directly support their favorites, comparing it to spending money on "loved ones"; some express feeling happy that they were able to make someone they admired happy.[123] Dedicated fans may give up their careers and devote their life savings to supporting and following their favorite members.[13] To foster a closeness between idols and fans, some talent agencies offer meet-and-greets in the form of handshake events, where fans have the opportunity to shake hands, take a photograph, and speak briefly with the idols.[13][120] AKB48's business model created more opportunities for fan interactions with their "idols you can meet" concept.[98] An example of this are their elections, where fans can vote for their favorite member, thereby including the fans directly into the members' individual success.[42] Because idols share an intimate relationship with their fans, fans may feel "betrayed" if idols reveal unfavorable parts of their personal lives that are different from the image they present, or break the illusion that they are there exclusively for fans.[22] e24fc04721