JT, especially its readers, aren't very friendly towards the group as far as some of their readership's -- consisting mostly of resident aliens, "cultural purists", hipsters and expats -- mob mentality is concerned; they think it's an irritating presence of Japanese pop culture that should die out like any other "fad"; it's a typical "us-against-them" case, as AKB doesn't fit into their stubbornly Westernized worldview that Japan should be embracing the BS called political-correctness.
Have they thought of Madonna, the Spice Girls, NKOTB, BSB, Lady Gaga, or Christina Aguilera, who often courted controversy, and at some high points of their popularity were almost everywhere you go that some think they're too annoying?
But it's no different from the days when disco then faced a
huge backlash at its decline, in which dozens of vinyls were destroyed in
spectacular, public fashion. It took years before disco became respectable again.
If my memory is correct, I think South Korean entertainers have a lot more pressure compared to their Japanese counterparts, deal with anal-retentive management, face nastier blackmail and sexual harassment, and worse, at least a few of them did
took their own lives (quite a striking contrast to Aki-P's surprising leniency, in the light of granting Jurina Matsui an extended rest break after her work-related illness).
In other words, JT thinks that the idol business is exploitative, pathetic and should be utterly eradicated, but... isn't it true with some other parts of the music industry even outside Japan? It's no secret that some rock bands have found themselves in conflict with management, or that rappers feel they were being exploited for corporate gain.
Where else could we find a girl group and a creator who are surprisingly transparent and human as far as their personalities and public dealings are concerned?
Whoever wrote the article is a goddamned conservative fart.