Gravure idol Minami Awa forced to cancel meet-and-greet event after no fans come

Gravure idol and cosplayer Minami Awa had a somewhat sad end to December. She posted on social media on the evening of December 23 that she was forced to cancel her meet-and-greet event due to a lack of attendance. In a move that some might interpret as highly Japanese, the 29-year-old offered an “unprecedented apology” for the cancelation.

Known for her curvy body and dyed hair, Awa wrote: “Apology. The handshaking event scheduled for today has been canceled due to zero people in line.”

She posted a shot of herself sitting alone with a sad expression at the event venue, which had been planned to be held at a large pachinko and pachinko slot parlor in Chiba Prefecture. Signs reading “Minami Awa Photo Shoot and Handshake Event” were posted, showing the event venue empty and with no one in line.

“I am very sorry about this.”

Her post attracted both sympathy and criticism. “If they expect people to come, they need to be at least a fairly well-known celebrity,” wrote one user, to which Awa replied, “I’ll do my best to become better known.”

In her X social media profile, Awa describes herself as: “I’m Awa Minami, your mom, aka Reiwa Doraemon.” She says she “currently working as a multi-talented artist. I love pachinko and horse racing.” Her Instagram profile adds: “Chubby gravure idol and cosplayer. I love pachinko and horse racing.”

Awa hasn’t let the failure get her down, it seems. If anything, the flop has helped boost her profile, thanks perhaps to her savvy self-publicity, and it attracted coverage from news outlets. She currently has nearly 200,000 followers on X, 40,000 subscribers on YouTube, and 16,500 on Instagram.

She has continued holding such meet-and-greet events. She recently posted a picture of herself at a pachinko parlor in Chigasaki, Kanagawa, waiting for fans to show up. There is a poster declaring she won’t go home until her fans come. It remains unclear if any did that day.