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INTEREST: 18-Year-Old Idol Asuka Kiraboshi Announces Pregnancy with Manager's Child


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FenixFiesta



Joined: 22 Apr 2013
Posts: 2581
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 12:53 pm Reply with quote
In a way I was kind of waiting for this type of scandal to occur, and of course the reaction is completely going as it would be anticipated.
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Yuvelir



Joined: 06 Jan 2015
Posts: 1529
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 12:59 pm Reply with quote
Wota are kind of crappy and tend to project their insecurities, problems and shortcomings as someone else's personality.
But then again, the idol industry itself encourages and capitalizes on that.

Anyway, they started going at it when she was 16 and he was 20?
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LegitPancake



Joined: 26 Jun 2017
Posts: 1291
Location: Texas, USA
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:02 pm Reply with quote
Wait she was 16 and he was 20 when they started dating? I’m not familiar with Japanese law, but isn’t there something protecting minors from this? Shocked Unless of course they knew each other from when they were younger...
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kgw



Joined: 22 Jul 2004
Posts: 1048
Location: Spain, EU
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:03 pm Reply with quote
While the fans' outrage is ridiculous as usual* and it's time the Idol industry do something to prevent fans can think they have any kind of right over the singers' personal life… The fact that his manager is in a relationship with the singer, since she was 16 year old and now they'll have a baby is a bit, bit shocking.

(she's a human being, not an angel and there is always Miku Hatsune for those who want their idols pure)
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Banjo



Joined: 13 Dec 2010
Posts: 779
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:09 pm Reply with quote
edit: best wishes etc

fans are sad of course, but whatever life goes on.


Last edited by Banjo on Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
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SilverTalon01



Joined: 02 Apr 2012
Posts: 2401
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:10 pm Reply with quote
LegitPancake wrote:
Wait she was 16 and he was 20 when they started dating? I’m not familiar with Japanese law, but isn’t there something protecting minors from this? Shocked Unless of course they knew each other from when they were younger...


Well the age of consent in Tokyo is 18 iirc. However, all we know is she performed in Tokyo, she could be from elsewhere. Regardless, protect who from what? Protect a 16 year old from ever having sex?
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jroa



Joined: 08 Aug 2012
Posts: 537
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:18 pm Reply with quote
On the one hand, the power dynamics of this are messed up.

On the other, I am happy for her. That's all I can say.
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RahviTheColorful



Joined: 12 Nov 2015
Posts: 27
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:29 pm Reply with quote
LegitPancake wrote:
Wait she was 16 and he was 20 when they started dating? I’m not familiar with Japanese law, but isn’t there something protecting minors from this? Shocked Unless of course they knew each other from when they were younger...


While they did saythey have been in a relationship for 2 years, "dating" doesn't automatically means sex. It's perfectly possible that they waited until she was older for that.

The whole thing with consent in Japan is weird so I can't really say I get it. It depends on the prefecture, if her parents know of and agree to the relationship and even what the court thinks is "immoral" or "indecent" in the case someone files a complaint.
You're not really an adult in Japan until 20, so if someone actually did file a complaint and the court agreed their relationship was "immoral", they could still get in trouble even if she's 18 now.
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MaskOfBrutality



Joined: 23 Nov 2017
Posts: 62
Location: England
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:31 pm Reply with quote
Congrats to them.

Not surprised with some 'fans' reactions. Idol industry and it's followers the weirdest in music.

No issues with the ages from me, 4 year gap, she was 16 when they started dating, in UK that is perfectly fine so I'm good with it. May be different in the area they live sure but from my view I'm a-okay with it.
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MarthKoopa



Joined: 08 Apr 2012
Posts: 271
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:46 pm Reply with quote
She's 18 so shouldn't her career be over anyway? Don't see why people would care about this since they'd be moving onto other, younger, talentless, exploited children.
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Ashen Phoenix



Joined: 21 Jun 2006
Posts: 2904
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 1:58 pm Reply with quote
Regardless of the fact that in much of Japan the age of consent is 13, sexual relationships with anyone under 17 is largely still illegal. I find this uncomfortable as the singer was and remains in an imbalanced dynamic with her manager.

The insanity of the fans calling her announcement "a betrayal" is so far beyond acceptable, it makes my head spin. The idol industry fosters this entitlement and expectation of a human being catering to the fantasies of strangers. Just... gross.
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ANN_Lynzee
ANN Executive Editor


Joined: 02 May 2011
Posts: 2930
Location: Email for assistance only
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:00 pm Reply with quote
Ashen Phoenix wrote:
Regardless of the fact that in much of Japan the age of consent is 13


It's really not. Most all prefectures have their own law on age of consent and it isn't as low as 13, which is why it's illegal, like you mentioned.
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HolsteinCrab



Joined: 07 Dec 2017
Posts: 42
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:16 pm Reply with quote
I hope for her sake she is happy and it works out well. (Though what are they going to do for cash after that controversy? She won't be able to work anymore and I can't see people rushing to have him manage their client when he knocks up the talent...)

I admit I am unnerved by how she seems to have been dating her manager at such a young and potentially exploitable age. Maybe it's innocent, maybe there is genuine affection involved, I don't know the circumstances. However it does look a bit like a vulnerable minor being taken advantage of by someone who is meant to be responsible for her. Maybe it isn't but it does look an awful lot like a red flag... sure 4 years doesn't sound like much but with a teenager it's still a signficant gap. (I would be curious as to what involvement the parents had here in terms of permission and all...) Then again I can't say I'm surprised given this industy being what it is....

The fan reactions are naturally even less of a surprise. Rolling Eyes
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v1cious



Joined: 31 Dec 2002
Posts: 6199
Location: Houston, TX
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:27 pm Reply with quote
People keep talking about fan outrage as though a manager sleeping with underage talent isn't already pretty damn bad. Yeah she's the one that got pregnant, but is nobody concerned with how many other times he's possibly done this? Also, where the hell were the parents? Did they know this was going on?
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relyat08



Joined: 20 Mar 2013
Posts: 4125
Location: Northern Virginia
PostPosted: Sat Dec 30, 2017 2:36 pm Reply with quote
Well, this is a bit of a surprise to hear from an idol at that age, that's for sure. I can understand being a little shocked if you were a fan, at the very least. That's it though. None of the betrayal stuff makes sense, and I gotta admit, I'm a little happy with the development if it means she's able to be in a relationship as an idol, because thinking about how stripped of basic human rights these people often are makes me want to puke.
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