How many idols find true happiness? Of course, the majority who do tend to retire and live the rest of their lives in quiet obscurity.
The ones who remain in the news often do so because their post-idol lives are filled with hiccups, personal or professional. If you just read the celebrity news, you might be forgiven for thinking that all former music and gravure idols were divorced or rocked by one scandal or other.
Nonetheless, we suspect that divorce rates among idols is a bit higher than the general populace, perhaps because their jobs and the closed nature of the idol industry means ...
In a sign of just how much affective labor is valued in Japan, the popular hostess Miyako Sakurai has moved to another high-end Roppongi club in a deal worth reportedly ¥100 million.
The move was announced on August 7.
Sakurai was a hostess at Jungle Tokyo in Roppongi, where she apparently earned the club around ¥300 million in three months. She will now be available to entertain patrons with the wherewithal at Club Rio, also in Roppongi.
Jungle Tokyo is regarded as the most exclusive hostess club in Japan.
Sakurai previously worked at the members-only lounge club 45 in Gion, Kyoto, ...
In today's social media–driven world, it can feel like a new meme and "enjo" scandal appear every day to rage-bait us into clicks and views.
One of the more recent examples in Japan was a video in January of a hostess and a client at an expensive sushi restaurant, arguing with the owner about their order. It ended with the hostess and client (who was the one filming the video) leaving the restaurant and staff having to hold back the owner from attempting a physical assault.
So much for omotenashi.
The trouble between the owner and the couple apparently arose because the client was ...
The television announcer and model Kasumi Mori has become a high-class hostess.
Well, kinda. She pretended to be one to film a TV show.
Mori is riding high now from lots of media appearances and exposure as she tries to follow the likes of announcer-turned-actress Minami Tanaka and break out into the mainstream as a model and general celebrity.
The 28-year-old recently released her debut photo book that featured some pretty sexy shots and has been a minor hit, it seems.
In the show, which was broadcast on TV Asahi (and with the full version available on Abema), Mori wore an alluring ...
The model Yukina Kinoshita continues to pursue an unusual path following her scandal, divorce (after multiple allegations of adultery), and losing her agency.
She has released a nude photo book and focused on social media channels like YouTube to keep herself in clover, her celebrity lifestyle apparently unaffected by her complete disappearance from fashion magazine covers.
The 36-year-old mother of two, who is currently dating 30-year-old soccer player Hidetoshi Miyuki, is gradually working more in the mainstream media and recently made an appearance on a TV show called Ai no Hyena on the ...
When the 27-year-old Mari Takahashi agreed to stand as a candidate for the Democratic Party for the People, the senior members of the party must have been pleased. Japanese politics is a staid world full of graying men in dark suits, and the presence of young blood -- especially photogenic young female blood -- is a dream come true.
Takahashi is a graduate of Keio University, one of the most prestigious colleges in the country. She won the university's beauty contest in 2016 and worked as a TV announcer while still at college, followed by three years at an IT consultancy company. She also ...
Politicians in the Kanagawa assembly were recently filmed by the media sleeping on the job.
Over several days, FNN's cameras spotted multiple lawmakers having a nap during sessions of the assembly, instead of doing the job the public elects (and pays) them to do.
Plus ça change. We could fill this blog with examples of politicos sleeping on the job.
But the cameras also spotted one lawmaker doing something a bit more cheeky.
Yusuke Terasaki of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan was observed using his computer to look up non-work-related matters. In fact, he was planning his ...
The afterlives of idols is an ongoing theme of this blog. What happens to those music and gravure stars after they call it quits?
Some, of course, go into porn, like Yotsuha Kominato (Rikako Inoue).
Others, like AKB48's Risa Naruse (Haruna Aisaka), marry a celebrity.
Many go on to do ordinary jobs.
Here's a slightly more unusual take on that: Manaka Shida, formerly of Keyakizaka46 (now called Sakurazaka46 since 2020), is now a Ginza hostess.
Of course, it's well known that many adult video and gravure idols are doing hostessing on the side anyway. Some have also announced this publicly ...
You may never have heard of Marie Tachibana, but pretty much everyone in Kabukicho seems to have heard of her.
Perhaps the first thing to remark about her is that she is biracial (her father is American). The second is that she comes from a Christian family (that father was a missionary) -- and a big family at that, with seven siblings.
Instead of pursuing the conventional academic path, none of the children went to high school. Marie went to volunteer in India when she was 15, for instance.
If you were following J-Pop closely in the 2000s, you might have already seen Marie Tachibana ...
It's not just top businessmen and politicians who frequent the pricey hostess bars of Ginza and elsewhere. Male celebrities also have expensive tastes, including spending time with the attractive younger ladies who (as long as you keep buying them over-priced drinks) will pretend to find your conversation interesting and hint that they might be willing to sleep with you.
However, large consumption of alcohol and the sense of privilege that comes from paying for a woman's time can lead to trouble.
One of Japan's most famous and popular actors, Teruyuki Kagawa, was forced to apologize on ...
