Gravure idol Saya Akane announces marriage, reveals harassment
The gravure idol and businesswoman Saya Akane recently updated her social media to announce her marriage.
“I recently got married,” wrote the 31-year-old on the platform note, and promised (unlike many other idols) not to stop working in entertainment even after her marriage.
Akane thanked her fans, saying, “It’s been more than 10 years since I came to Tokyo. […] The stages of life change little by little, but I hope to continue moving forward at my own pace.”
However, it wasn’t all felicitous tidings for the gradol. Akane also explained the reason for her lack of social media posts and events.
“I was being harassed by someone I worked with,” she revealed. “I won’t go into details, but the anxiety continued and I was exhausted both physically and mentally.”
Gradols and other female celebrities often suffer forms of harassment from fans, customers, and other professionals who don’t take them seriously or who want to sabotage their careers.
Former AKB48 idol Mayuka Umezawa opened several ramen restaurants but suffered from review bombing and even death threats. Harassment from those inside the industry is also a major problem, with management and others putting a lot of pressure on models. Moka Hayashida recently revealed that harassment had led her to quit gravure.
“After talking with my family and people involved, I decided to refrain from appearing at events for a while and to avoid posting anything provocative on social media,” Akane explained.
“Deep down, I wanted to meet everyone more and talk to them, but I prioritized protecting myself and took a break from events and so on. Because of that, I have focused on work that doesn’t directly appear in the public eye, such as work on social media and at a hotel in Kyoto.”
Akane, who is from Shizuoka and was raised in Hiroshima, is probably best known recently as an “onsen idol” who promotes hot springs.
It is also similar to the recent boom for “sauna idols” who do a lot of shoots in saunas. Examples include Mariko Seyama, Rina Hirata, and Jun Amaki.
