Interest

SMAP Member Gets Magazine Feature of Blank Pages Due to Johnny & Associates' Online Photo Policies

Twitter user and SMAP fan @A_chanmama lives abroad (apparently in the United States). Because she has no easy access to a paper copy, the fan decided to buy the digital version of the August 29 issue of Magazine House's an an magazine. The issue has a feature on SMAP member Takuya Kimura, which @A_chanmama seems to have been particularly looking forward to. However, she faced dismay when she looked inside her digital copy of the issue.

All ten pages of the Kimura feature are a blank gray in the digital version of the magazine. @A_chanmama said on Twitter:

Johnny & Associates,

I bought a digital copy of an an featuring Takuya Kimura.
Please look. All of it's like this.
What's interesting about it?
What's the point?
You don't need readers who don't buy it on paper?
Can't you understand wanting to see them overseas, too?
Is saying you'll get close to fans a lie?
I'm going to cry in disappointment.

The fan added in another tweet that she did notice a small note that said Kimura would not appear in the digital version. She failed to read the notification before buying the magazine, so she said she does not blame an an. She said she wonders why Johnny's persists in strict online photo policies that hurt some fans, even after declaring its intention to get in touch with fans.

Johnny & Associates did lift some of its online photo restrictions at the beginning of this year. News websites can now post images of associated performers from press conferences, interviews, and stage greetings online. However, restrictions still apply to other publications and types of images. Last year, an updated version of a poster for the live-action Fullmetal Alchemist film removed Hey! Say! JUMP member Ryōsuke Yamada, even though he played the title character.

Source: @A_chanmama's Twitter account via Hachima Kikō