Yun Kang comments

Kind of a dumb article in my opinion. The gist of this was pretty much don't learn Japanese because it's too hard, you won't use it, you'll still be seen as a foreigner, and because Japan isn't some fantasy land. Okay, fine but the reality is that if you intend to live in Japan, work in Japan, you MUST learn the language. No matter how easy it is to live there with no ability to speak Japanese. The only way to make your daily life easier in a foreign country is by learning the language. In order to converse with the locals, your coworkers, customer service staff, you need to learn the language, in order to ask questions you need to learn the language etc. This whole business of "Japanese don't want you to speak their language" is bullcrap. Plain and simple. That attitude does nothing but try and rationalize laziness and lack of effort and it's pathetic to be honest. Yes, Japanese people when they see foreigners will automatically assume that they cannot speak the language, nothing wrong with that because MOST CAN'T. However, when you show proficiency in the language people are going to speak to you in Japanese whether you like it or not. The whole novelty foreigner status gets old quickly after people realize that you can speak fluent Japanese. The only downside to this is that once Japanese people realize that you can speak fluent Japanese, they will often hold you to the same stupid rules that they hold other people (honne, tatemae, etc).

Killing two children and a pregnant woman in such a reckless way, as if they were dogs on the street. How terrible, he deserves the death penalty in my opinion so that it can serve as a wake up call for others.

That's really disgusting that you're comparing AKB to porn...

Xeno hit the nail directly on the head on this matter. AKB48 is marketed in a way so that fans can view them as their friends, daughters, comrades, even girlfriends. This is why AKB48 has risen to become the most popular female group in Japan with many fans across all age groups and genders. A group that sells a million singles in one day obviously isn't going to only appeal to a niche market of "middle aged men" no, thats impossible obviously. MANY GIRLS LIKE AKB48 IN JAPAN, that's probably hard for some of you to accept but its the truth. If it was porn, they wouldn't be a household name and then some. Yes, AKB does employ sexual tactics to sell at times but who cares, what pop group doesnt? Taking bikini photos of a smiling 18 year old truthfully isn't as risque as some of the things you see in American pop culture.

I feel like their going WAY overboard with this. 150 posters to commemorate Atsuko Maeda's graduation? They would of never done this for any of the other members to be honest. It's almost as if their marking the end of an era. Truthfully, as an AKB48 fan, I think from here they are going to go nowhere but down. They really can't get any more popular than they are now, and the lifespan of an idol group is relatively short. Good for Acchan that she left when the group was at the very top, and not when they become a sinking ship just begging to be terminated.

Never have I read so many stupid comments in one article :facepalm: No one "kicked" her out of the group. She left on her own accord because, well, she wanted to leave the group and establish a fanbase while she was still popular and AKB48 was still at the top of their charts. It's really the smart thing to do, and Akimoto knew this. You guys need to understand that her leaving is extremely bad for the group and has potentially resulted in them losing alot of fans. It caused a giant uproar at their concert. Akimoto would of never "kicked her out" because that's a huge loss for the group if the face leaves. She gained 140,000 votes in last years election, that's a huge number, and most of the fans who voted for her sadly, probably aren't even fans anymore due to her leaving.

No she wasn't too old either since she is only 20, and Mariko Shinoda a NO.4 senbatsu is 26 years old! As well as Kojima Haruna who is 24 and is also a senbatsu (NO.8), alot of the senbatsu members of AKB are older. Yuki Kashiwagi is 21 and she's NO.3 senbatsu. So please don't say stupidity like "too old" or "fresh virgin" nonsense. These girls are old enough to make their own decisions about their lives. Akimoto would never purposely kick out senbatsu members because those are the girls that bring in the most cash.

What the hell is wrong with some of these people on this website hating on everything AKB48 related? I am so shocked by some of these people who are stating "this is the worst idea possible" blah blah blah. AKB48 is insanely insanely popular in Japan, and obviously the government has realized this. Many companies in Japan have contracted AKB to promote their products and some have seen drastic increases in their sales simply due to having them under their endorsement arsenal, so why do some of you seem to think that this won't help? This is going to help, and it is going to help quite alot. Oh, and by the way AKB has also released singles talking about suicide and why people shouldn't do it and what not, so they are doing something to help other than just this. Get a grip people.

I simply love reading all of these comments from highly "talented and experienced musicians" critiquing AKB48's music and image. I would of thought by now that people would of realized that music in and of itself is completely 100% subjective. What may be the best music in the world to me, may be the total opposite for you. That's life, build a bridge and get over it. So honestly to the person who stated that Japanese youth lack knowledge of real music, you can go screw yourself and whatever you feel is "real music" thank you. Musical elitists are some of the most annoying people on this earth.

As for image, akb48 perpetuate Japanese kawaii to the extreme. Yes, some may find this annoying because well it advocates and promotes an unrealistic image of women. At the end of the day however, they are just young girls. And while this image is probably forced on them by their management, most people in Japan seem to have absolutely no problem with it. I always find it funny how its always foreigners who genuinely "hate" akb48, whereas if you ask Japanese they are either indifferent, or are a fan/know of them.