How does your average Japanese person view Idols?

[Egghead3]

I hope this question hasn't been answered somewhere else here; I have had a quick look around!!

I'm interested in how the average 'man/woman' in-the-street views Junior Idols. I ask because I’ve watched a few Idol DVD’s recently which where shot on beaches/in parks or other open areas in clear view of passers-by, who seem totally unconcerned by what’s going on.
I can tell you something, if I went down to my local beach with a cute girl in a bikini/schoolgirl outfit, and walk behind her trying my best to point a camcorder up her skirt, any people nearby would be straight on their mobile phones to the local gendarmes, and I’d be dragged off to the local nick to ‘help the police with their enquiries’ faster than you can say ‘pedophile’!! Yet it seems to be a flourishing industry over there with DVD’s available at a mainstream online stores like Amazon and Tower - I can’t imagine the hysteria there’d be if amazon.co.uk stocked Idol DVD and photobooks! So how come there’s not the outcry that there would be in the US or Europe?

On a related point: Is pedophilia a big problem in Japan? I’m sure the anti-pedo position would be that viewing Junior Idol material would only encourage someone to go out and abuse a child (like the argument that playing GTA will turn you into a serial killer.) If that’s the case, then surely Japan should have the biggest concentration of pedophiles on the planet!!

Any info is gratefully gratefully received!

 

[ssb82]

Every country has their own culture and practice. In Japan, the U-15 idols is simply just another way for the girls to achieve stardom much like the Mickey Mouse Cub.
Whether it gives rise to pedophiles depends on how those individuals see the idols. If you are one, there's no need for any other external influences to make you a pedophile. It's the same for serial killing. It has been happening long before any of the GTA game came out.

Another point is that why would people want to watch the Gravure idols running around in swimsuit on the beach and such when AV could be found everywhere? It's the same for the U-15 videos. For viewing pleasure. If there isn't a market for it, there wont be any supply for it.

On a side note, those anti-this, anti-that activists can argue to the cows come home and there won't be much results. It all boils down to profit. Are the people in power going to ban violence in games and movies just because they are screaming their lungs out that it gives rise to crime?

 

[guy]

The videos you've seen were probably shot in Thailand (or some other foreign beach locale), where the locals really just don't care as long as the tourism brings them some money.

I agree that most people would consider Japanese U15 to be a way for girls to become famous, but in reality I would say less than half of the JI agencies out there actually care about their girls' futures. Most of the DVDs are just for the companies (and parents) to make money. This is most noticable with "fake" JI videos, where companies take 18+ girls and pretend they're U15 in order to make their thongs and provocative behavior seem more risque.

Anyway, while Japan is certainly not completely free of child abuse, it's generally the same as other countries (misfit fathers, uncles, etc). There has been a more succinct emergence of pseudo child prostitution called enjo kousai (literally "compensated dating", where high school girls date older men for money), but the men involved are usually salarymen who have become dissatisfied with their own marriages (although no proper research has been done). There is no real connection to lolicons or otaku; so while many Japanese consider it a bit unnatural, they don't seem to mind the presence of lolicon or JI material too much as long as no one is getting hurt.

International opinion is quite another thing, though suffice it to say that many people really do think Japan is nothing but a country full of pedophiles. But if news reports are any indication, Japan has more by way of suicide and whaling problems, while America/Texas and Australia are shoring up the numbers for child abuse.

 

[jigenbakuda]

Well I am no junior idol master or anything like that, but I don't think I have to be to comment on this topic.

Before you can understand how the japanese perceive junior idols, you must first understand how your own culture percieves them. Unless you can detach yourself from your culture and look at their culture with no bias, you will always be looking through a greasy fish lens...

Okay so lets assume you are from america like me (whether you are or not). In american culture any sex is bad, first off. In american culture (which came from puritans and christians), we are taught anything sexual is bad, anything. And on top of that it should be punished with scorn and embarrassment. Now at some point people in america deemed viewing children under 18 as sexual objects was bad (even though they used to marry off 14 year old girls on the regular, with no input by her, lol). Now after that anyone who was attracted to underage girls was a pedophile and they were scorned and embarrassed... In a nut shell, I didn't go over everything, just the main things.

Now in japan their history did not go the same. In japan it was totally fine for a man to be sexually attracted to a young girl, and there were plenty outlets for a man to do so. In fact someone as young as the girl in my avatar (chiaki kuriyama, she is 24 same age as me ) had nude photobooks and were sold when she was under the age of 18. So the culture did not make a big deal about men sexualizing young girls. Plus if I'm not mistaken, they were more "male centered" than europe used to be. Hell women just began to be able to get jobs and do the same things as men in japan (so even that part has not fully changed in their culture, but much more so than the sexualizing younger girls). In fact the only reason why its illegal for the japanese to still make nude books of underage girls is because of international pressure, not their own conscience or cultural movements (learned that on akiba ). So in my opinon the culture has not changed, only the laws (as far as sexualzing little girls goes).

Now anyways to go to your question. The way people in japan look at junior idols is the same way they always have, imo. Its another genre of men's entertainment, like bukkake or BDSM, or bestiality, or anything else. Its made for those who like it, so whatever...

Now walking behind a girl unknowingly and videotaping her will get your ass in jail in japan too. I have not been into junior idols much... but I've never seen a public one like that... I must admit I want to see it.... Uhm but at the same time the people might be less likely to report something bad happening like that because of their mind my own business culture. Because I heard of a lot of women getting molested on the train, and nothing would happen to the guys....

And finally I think pedophilia is a problem in the same percentage everywhere. Are we counting fathers raping daughters, and uncles raping nieces, and all that unreported stuff? If so I think pedophilia exist in the same proportions everywhere. So I think think that the same percentage everywhere. So I think there are more pedos in america, but only because there are more men in america... People are people, people do not change because they were born somewhere else, so I think japan has the same pedo problem as everyone else. Now japan's view on its pedo problem might be different, lol but it exist in the same ratio.

P.S. the greeks didn't have gay porn, or junior idol porn, but they always were having sex with their little boys... What did they blame their gay pedophila on? Oh yea they didn't they did whatever the hell they wanted, lol.