Erika Ikuta of Nogizaka46 has a major hit on her hands with her latest photo book, which may more than just a little to do with the fact that she has posed semi-nude for it. After all, as Rena Kato amply demonstrated, raising the sexiness level for a photo book generally leads to buzz and sales.
Here are some of the delights waiting for readers on the pages of "Intermission."
The photo book was shot over seven days in New York last September.
Following a series of successful photo books by Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46 idols, not least Mai Shirase, but ...
It's something of an open secret these days that all the commercial excitement comes from Nogizaka46, not AKB or its direct sister groups.
Photo books by the likes of Mai Shiraishi and Nanami Hashimoto have become runaway bestsellers, or photo shoots by Misa Eto have dazzled. Even more minor members such as Yumi Wakatsuki, Mai Shinuchi, Kazumi Takayama, and Miona Hori have established their reputations in recent times -- at least in our consciousness.
But let's not forget the official AKB48 sister groups. NMB48's Miru Shiroma, for example, is a true star on the rise.
And now the Nogizaka46 ...
Kei Jonishi of the Osaka-based AKB48 spin-off idol group NMB48 has released a new semi-nude photo book, "21K".
The soon-to-be 22-year-old idol from Shiga is one of the most popular members of NMB48, alongside Sayaka Yamamoto and Miru Shiroma. "21K" is her second photo book. Released in February, it is set to propel Jonishi to further stardom. (That being said, at the moment the buzz is actually mostly about Nogizaka46's Mai Shiraishi and her photo book, "Passport".)
The photos include images of the serenely white and thin Jonishi standing with her chest exposed and her modesty covered ...
Are there still any famous ladies left in AKB48? That's a question we often ask ourselves these days. Well, yes and no. The big guns are basically gone but there are still popular idols.
And they are determined to stay in the public eye with eye-catching photo shoots.
Here are the idols of AKB48 like you've never seen them before: as wrestlers! Participants in the shoot were: Jurina Matsui, Sakura Miyawaki, Mion Mukaichi, Kaori Matsumura, Miru Shiroma, Haruka Shimada, Yui Yokoyama and Haruka Kodama.
The shoot was actually a promo for Tofu Puroresu (Tofu Professional Wrestling), a new ...
Another one bites the dust.
Mayu Harada has announced she is officially leaving Keyakizaka46.
Of course, we are sure this has nothing to do with the fact that the 17-year-old was featured in leaked photos showing her kissing and embracing an older man.
It is rumored that the man was her junior high school teacher. The school where he works in Ota ward, Tokyo, has apparently been flooded with phone calls from angry parents. After all, who is next on his hit list of underage kids?
The idol industry's response? Nothing to see here, keep moving along, nothing to see ...
In the latest example of how the "sex ban" on AKB-affiliated idol groups does not work in practice (er, these are young women with legions of male admirers) and is just a ruse to appease certain otaku, images have leaked showing Keyakizaka46's Mayu Harada apparently kissing a man.
The much older male is shown kissing Mayu Harada on the lips and groping her breasts in what appears to be Puri Kura photo-booth images.
The 17-year-old Mayu may be in a relationship with the older man, who some suspect is her former junior high teacher. If true, a physical courtship between the two ...
Remember when we reported on two former idols in Aoyama Saint Hachamecha High School (Mechahai) in 2014, who were being sued by their managers for dating fans?
Well, now the sorry state of Japan's idol industry gets worse.
When a 17-year-old girl who was a member of an unnamed idol group (allegedly Dokidoki) was found to have "breached" her group's rules against dating, it meant the management apparently was forced to disband the entire idol group.
The management then sued the teenager and her family for around ¥5.1 million (over $40,000) in damages.
The courts ruled on the suit on ...
At last, the first major Nogizaka46 scandal!
The idol group's Sayuri Matsumura has been snapped kissing a man. But unlike her peers in AKB48 who tend to have affairs with their managers or with their otaku fans, Sayuri has opted for a guy in his thirties already married with a kid!
The tabloid Shukan Bungei ran the photos this week showing Sayuri on the street in the arms of the man.
Way to piss off your management, "betray" your fans, AND play up to the fantasies of older male admirers all at the same time, Sayuri!
The 22-year-old Sayuri has tearfully apologized but we ...
Why do all the Japanese hotties go with sports stars?
From news readers to pop singers, everyone seems to want a sportsman for a husband. Cute ex-Morning Musume member Rika Ishikawa is no different.
After it was reported in some tabloids she has confirmed the rumors on her blog, and crushed our fantasies. She is indeed dating Seibu Lions pitcher Ryoma Nogami.
Nogami is a mere 27 to Rika's 29 -- the dangerous age when girls get serious about you-know-what.
These day the former Musume is named as a tarento rather than singer or idol. Sadly, with her career on the wane, Rika ...
Yasushi Akimoto, the producer behind AKB48 and its cohorts, never misses an opportunity to make money, even when the stimulus is safety and a nearly tragic event.
After the saw attack incident that saw two AKB48 idols Rina Kawaei and Anna Iriyama hospitalized, along with a male member of staff, and a maddened "fan" taken in custody by police, many predicted the end of the group's famous hand-shaking events. AKB has always promoted itself as "idols you can meet" but were they now just too big to be safe from madcap young men?
What to do?
Metal scanners? Checks on all bags ...
