Wota in Translation

129 comments on “Pornographic Young Town corner under fire from overseas Hello! Project fan base!”

1. The western twitter fandom is a disgrace. They shit on everything they can to make themselve look better infront of their peers. Most of them had no idea this was a thing for many many years but think they can dictate what a grown woman is allowed to say or not.

   Quite frankly they are pathetic.

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   • Ye old man who hates the West, do all a favor and become a hermit on an abandoned island

     Translation: your reputation is shit you groomer

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   • Sex is bad and any mention of it hurts my feelings. It makes me uncomfortable that people talk about sex openly. This is mostly because I’m jealous of them.

     I am simultaneously for female empowerment and freedom but if they do something sexual of their own free choice it goes against my secretly puritanical values and therefor icky and wrong.

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2. Regardless of what you may think on the matter, the fact that it took until now for a portion of the English speaking ‘fanbase’ to get up in arms over this is a little pathetic. It took them until someone pointed out a clip from a member that actually speaks English for them to realize this segment, even this show itself, exists?

   H!P members have been regular on this show since the start of the last decade. Sanma’s been makings sexual jokes about H!P members for as long as he’s been working with them. Just type his name in the search box on this site and you’ve got subjects like ‘Fukumura Mizuki’s cup size’ or ‘Takeuchi Akari’s Peach John underwear’.

   A little late to start getting outraged.

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   • What are people supposed to do, get pre-upset before they realize a thing is a thing?

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     • No, it’s just rather strange that people who follow Hello! Project and say they are fans would be unaware this show & corner exists.

       It suggest only a surface level of knowledge of the whole thing. Not making any judgements on the issue itself, it’s instead the thought that this is all now suddenly a thing, while it’s been going one for the better part of two decades, that is surprising.

       Would it have preclude these people from not continuing support these idols had they known?

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       • This is the typical way the twitter “fanbase” (more like a mob) operates. Like the perv H!P accounts, these have been around since H!P’s birth but now it is a problem since some are speaking English :D.
         They are class A hypocrites and block you for even daring to ask a question or disagreeing with you.
         Like someone pointed out in the 2ch thread. Outrage Culture.

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         • Are you outing yourself as that user? That’s Westerner talk, I knew I smelled gaijin in there!

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       • There’s a loooot to know about H!P that doesn’t involve radio at all, let alone every segment of the many many shows they’re involved in.

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       • There’s a lot that doesn’t get translated in H!P fandom. Handshake reports that go viral on 5ch (the Chii incident being one of them), most MCs, most talk show events, radio appearances, etc. I’d say the only section of fandom that translates nearly everything is international Maa fans. Other than that we only get small portions that translators feel like sharing. Anna is one of the translators that shares interesting snippets, and for those who don’t speak Japanese, that’s all they get. There’s a lot you miss when you don’t speak Japanese and H!P translators can’t translate *everything*.

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   • idk your point…

     Are we supposed to all learn a whole other language, for a single radio show?

     This segment ain’t anything new, yes, but ’cause it doesn’t always get translated or summarized… those that don’t understand it/listen to it won’t be aware of it.

     Pretty sure we the Western fandom gets equally upset every time it’s brought-up, and Anna only did this particular call-out ’cause it was in English and needed zero translation/explanation for folk to understand the problem with this segment. When it’s in Japanese, there’s always folk trying to gaslight what was said… it’s far harder to achieve that when it’s in English lol

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   • The people complaining about this aren’t real fans.

     They’re political agitators looking for another venue to ruin and make all about themselves and how virtuous they are.

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3. It’s interesting to see that the Japanese fanbase is actually arguing about this – both that they care about international twitter, and that some people are on the same boat as the international comments.

   Personally I always thought this corner was disgusting, and now Miki is already one of the older members who was made to say something, there’s been teenagers on this show who had to do the same. As someone mentioned, this is just not something that works nowadays.

   Sanma is probably one of the biggest names working with H!P right now, if not THE biggest name, so Up Front won’t cut ties.

   In general though, it’s difficult to be a fan of idols and at the same time outraged about stuff like this. You can talk up about it, I do too, but you won’t change it. Idols are not for “us”, as oversea fans, the idol business is still 90% a niche.

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4. I accidentally swallowed my chewing gum when I heard Miki say that.

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5. Sooo, this kerfuffle surrounds Miki singing Sweet Home Alabama where the word “coming” in the lyrics was suggested to be the sexual definition rather than the traditional “moving towards” definition?

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   • It’s… possible that Henkka was making a joke.

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6. you cant know about something if you don’t know about it!

   There is a HUGE difference in the hosts (grown ass men) making sexual jokes about idols (underage ones especially) and making (yes made) the idols themselves say it.

   If H!P insists on their members going on this show..and in effect making them say these things that IS sexual harassment as the members would be victims, unable to have a say in this. If they go on the show willingly, they are acting independently from H!P/UpFront which I find hard to believe, but would be ok if they were over 18 (or 20)m but it is still in extremely bad taste.

   …now if 48 girls or some indie groups that are known for being bawdy and overtly sexual want to do this corner..fine that’s their prerogative if they are old enough, but it is unseemly for idols of the H!P type.

   Nonoka knows exactly what she was saying. Whether she felt she had to or thought it was funny and was game, we probably won’t know.

   And the “get over it” “it’s just how Japan is” attitude is backwards and awful. It is changing, slowly.

   Don’t get me wrong I am all for off color and rude humour and the right to say it, but making underage girls feel pressured to go on a show like this is WRONG. And in my opinion Idols (of a certain type/standard) doing this is wrong as well.

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   • “is unseemly for idols of the H!P type.”

     Define ‘H!P type’. Because H!P idols release photobooks, IV’s, appear in gravure magazines (even some where the nude models are just a few pages away) & they do (many) handshake events.

     It’s very dangerous to turn this into a ‘H!P is better than this’ argument, because H!P is very much like every other popular idol company out there. Some differences in style, history & so forth, but by and large very much like idols from other agencies.

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     • @Anonymous I assume they’re simply alluding to Up-Front’s reputation compared to companies withgroups like the 48-family or Predia… overtly sexual things aren’t their style, even if they do use sexual tones too

       Up-Front will sell their idols primarily on their music and/or stage performance. The 48-family relies almost exclusively on character and sexuality. Predia can go intense on sexual songs (which is the only thing I know them for lol)

       Because it’s the entertainment industry, it’d be impossible for ANY idol to completely avoid anything that could be construed as “sexual”; music, dance, outfit, fan greetings, photoshoots… all it takes is a slightly different angle, and it can turn either sexual or innocent.

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   • Women have no power in life. They are completely powerless. They cannot make choices of their own free will. No matter what their age is.
     They need to be protected from evil concepts such as sex.

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     • Sex is an evil concept? I guess you will have to order your babies to Santa then.

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7. Rather than foreign v Japanese fans, I think this divide is along a different fault line. I wouldn’t say these are the only kinds of fans by any stretch but they’re central to the issue at hand:

   Some fans look at idols and see them as aspirational. I frankly fall closer to this camp. When I was younger I wanted to be in H!P because I wanted to wear cute outfits and perform and be friends with the members of the groups. Now I watch the members of the groups and want them to be happy, powerful, successful, independent women — as if I’m vicariously living the dream.

   Some fans look at idols and feel physical attraction. The corner in question falls in line with some (not all) of these folks’ fantasies involving their idols, but destroys the fantasies of the former group.

   The ethical question regarding this corner in general really centers around the age of each performer and whether they are consenting to participate without pressure or coercion. If an adult thinks it’s a riot and wants to play along, cool! We want the performers we support to be empowered, not exploited.

   Incidentally, it’s never “late” to get upset about something that folks feel needs to change. Unless, of course, we’re not fans of weekends or the 40 hour work week or women’s suffrage- these are examples specific to my country but they wouldn’t have become reality without people agitating against the status quo.

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8. Here’s something I don’t get; the same wota that get up in arms about something like this are the exact same ones who will swoon over lesbian themed photoshoots and get all kind of happy when an MV comes out which has members in sexually suggestive embraces with each other.

   I pointed this seeming inconsistency out on Twitter to Anna and some of the other Twitter Wota. The responses boiled down to venom spitting, unfollowing and even blocking! I totally don’t get it…

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   • I mean, make blanket statements that two groups are the same without backing it up, and sure, people are going to get upset about who you’ve lumped them in with.

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     • Joshua J Stone, here was the specific scenario. About a year ago, a bunch of Twitter wota were fawning over pics of Fukumura and Oda embraced on the ground while wearing lingerie, high heels and with their hands placed on each other such that a slight movement would have put things in the realm of soft porn. Many/most of the happy commenters were up in arms some weeks prior about a TV or radio interview where MM members were led along to discuss their underwear. I pointed out the inconsistency and got flamed.

       If this was me making a blanket statement, it was entirely deserved.

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   • Yeah I got blocked too after years of mutually following. Gonna guess it’s the “well other foreign fans hate her so I have to too”

     My whole commentary thread was fair and well thought out and basically boiled down to “Sanma is a character, a character all who go on his show know and play around with, a man who outside his character is an incredible mentor to the girls and throwing words like pervert amd and skeevy around to an English speaking audience who knows basically nothing else about the situation is incredibly irresponsible”

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     • @Alita

       Pretty sure you can’t act the victim when you’re always defending pedophilia as if it’s your duty in life (you ALWAYS appear every time the western fandom begins discussing it) … you’re just being held accountable lol

       .

       https://twitter.com/alita87/status/1203342256846934020

       btw, you can’t blame folk for blocking/muting you when your overall conclusion to this SINGLE SEGMENT (aka stated as the only bit of the episode being discussed) was “if you don’t like it, don’t listen to it”. Like, did you want them to NOT take your “advice”?

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9. Haha, got some real kings of slippery slope fallacy in these posts. “If you’re not into idols faking orgasms on radio, you clearly also disapprove of shaking hands and want Hello! Project to go out of business!”

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   • Seriously, the divide between those two things is so obvious to me. Even bringing up photobooks… H!P photobooks are so incredibly tame lol it’s not like real gravure at all and some of the girls don’t even do bikini shots at all. People are making some serious false equivalencies.

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     • Have you seen Fuku-Chan’s last two PBs? They’re more sexy than before, which is why they didn’t sell as well. Female wota said they didn’t want to buy it because it made them uncomfortable.

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       • Yeah they’re definitely trying to push Fuku in a str8 up gravure direction since her photobook sales are so good. They clearly misjudged her fanbase since it isn’t working.

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   • I completely agree but there is still a (separate) discussion to be had about handshake events. Wota are comparing them to hostess club systems. More handshakes, more sales. It’s a little bit exploitative and they can’t control the type of people who come. Karin and Meimi have cried after handshake events and other wota reported that the person they were shaking hands with said awful things to them.

     The most recent example is another member’s fan going to shake hands with Chii then asking her sexually charged questions and saying if she answered them he’d oshi-hen to her. Staff is constantly present during these events and the guy tweeted that Chii answered his questions and was bragging about the interaction. It was other wota that called him out and he deleted his account.

     The occasional handshake event isn’t fine, Morning Musume has had them since the beginning. But making their sales dependent on these events puts pressure on girls to perform. Wota share rankings of the best girls to shake hands with and the girls start to have reputations for being the best, or the “worst” because they don’t feel like talking or aren’t good at shaking hands. We rarely get photos of the events but in the past we’ve seen this famous s/mileage photo, the creepy wota who wrote Airi’s name all over him and of course the famous wota Samurai shaking hands with a 10-11 year old Duu.

     https://i.imgur.com/VpRskju.png
     https://i.imgur.com/gFqMzu1.png
     https://i.imgur.com/kbZEIqE.jpg

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     • Handshake events need to end.

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     • About the photos:

       1. That famous s/mileage photo is obviously photoshopped. (Dunno if it’s funny or sad that people actually fell for it back then. And apparently still do now.)

       2. The “creepy wota who wrote Airi’s name all over him” is a comedian! That screenshot is from a segment on Japanese television where him and a group of fellow comedians pranked Airi at a handshake event by behaving like weirdos.

       3. I agree that Samurai is creepy af! Btw, anyone know what he’s up to nowadays? Last time I saw him was two years ago at some Chika Idol event …

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       • To 1 and 2, I honestly didn’t know, because they’re always shared on websites as examples of creepy wota. I apologize for sharing.

         And yeah, Samurai is definitely creepy. He was recently arrested at Tsubaki’s event. Anyone remember Pistol? I remember him from back in 2001-2002 when he was writing that creepy blog about Aibon and wrote creepy fanfiction about himself and her. He’s also the dude in those disturbing wota photos (just pop ピストル ヲタ into google), and apparently he’s back in H!P as a KSS/BEYOOOOONDS fan now.

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         • Pchan, you just blew my mind! They arrested Samurai at Tsubaki’s event?? Any details?

           Never heard of Pistol but I just did a search for ピストル ヲタ … wow … just wow … that escalated quickly … straight in to the pedo-sphere.

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10. And if the international fanbase was truly important, instead of the entertaining sideshow it is, this outrage may make a difference.

    This show isn’t targeted at international fans. Unless the wota get upset, things are very unlikely to chance.

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11. It’s entirely possible that Miki was comfortable with such an adult joke – I know it wouldn’t really bother me. Every person’s comfort level with sexual humor varies.

    However, it’s also entirely possible that these girls feel pressured to go along with the sexual joke even if it makes them uncomfortable because Sanma is such a showbiz veteran. It opens the door for potential sexual harassment that could otherwise be completely avoided, and that’s not okay. And I’m sorry, but there’s a big, fat line between handshake events or dancing on stage and feeling pressure to pant and moan on radio.

    It’s 2019 and we need to examine these sorts of situations more critically. I remember being skeeved out about it even when I was in middle school.

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12. I don’t see how it’s wrong for fans to wish that these girls are as comfortable as possible.

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    • Some people don’t just can’t use their not brainses good likes you and me.

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    • It’s not wrong. Some people are putting themselves first and forgetting that idols are humans, too. These people are selfish and make the rest of us look bad.

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    • Why do so many assume they are not comfortable?

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13. Rather than cutting the segment it’d be better if there was transparency and if the girls had a clear option to not play along with it if they don’t want to.
    I think it’s skeevy, but this is humor in it’s own way and if they truly don’t mind playing along then whatever. Just don’t force minors to do it.

    It’s also kind of funny how international H!P twitter is in an uproar of how morally right they are. I came to look at these comments because they said it was so disgusting they had to get off the computer. It’s sad how many western fans deny how sexual the idol industry is. It’s like vegans who eat meat claiming they’re pure and right.

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    • There’s sexuality in idols, sure. But it’s far from a binary thing. It shouldn’t be a surprise when I, you, and 8 other people draw the line of appropriateness in 10 different places.

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    • There’s a huge difference between those that follow them because of their sexual preferences, and those that follow them for non-sexual preferences. Pervs will be pervs regardless of social norms; while most will still be decent folk, nearly all of them will defend their Right to Perv as they get older, and so they risk being not-so-decent folk (rates will vary ’cause idk them).

      Like, there will always be sexuality involved when it comes to the *entertainment industry* of all things… but there are lines moved as social norms change and experiences are heard properly.

      What was acceptable 20 years ago might be unacceptable today. Same for 10 years, 5 years. Heck, even a matter of weeks can have a substantial social opinion change thanks to the wonders of social media spreading awareness at rapid speeds.

      .

      This kinda segment is growing outdated everywhere, that’s all. Adding that they’re primarily minors involved, a child abuse is brought-in (which is also interwoven in the entertainment industry lol)

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14. 9. 名無しさん@ハロプロニュース 2019年12月08日 03:03 ID:FueYFt..0
    Fuck off with your “today’s world” drivel.
    It’s not a problem in Japan so shut up.
    If you don’t like it, just don’t listen to it.

    Pretty sure this is the exact kind of person who would give something similar in response to someone saying it’s a problem that women get groped in public. “iF yOU dOn’T LikE wOmEn GEtTiNg GroPEd iN pUbLIc, jUsT DoN’t pAy ATteNTiOn TO it. GAWD! It’S noT a PrObLeM in JaPAn!”

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15. Ugh Why are fans not talking about the amazing song and PV that Morning Musume ‘20 just released? The same fans that were celebrating the pseudo lesbian shots on the PV now are crying for that radio show joke

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    • This is very true! It seems like even those who haven’t made a single comment about anything H!P actually releases are getting involved with this as usual

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    • Why are you assuming it’s the same people? I didn’t like the video and I don’t like this lmao. That’s a convenient strawman to make everyone bothered by this look like hypocrites but some of us are consistent in our opinions.

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16. Blessed be Anna for getting even 2ch to call-out the grossness of this segment
    (and all she had to do was wait for someone to say lines in English lol)

    But it’s wondrous to see a bunch of creeps and pedos collaborating together on this issue – language barrier be darned!

    (also kudos to those that Miss the Point so hard woooool)

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17. It’s funny that fans on this side are just noticing Sanma is that…sick. He dated an 18 year old AV star, told a transitioning transgender talent which shape private part she should get and makes a list every year of young actresses he wants as his lover (all of them being the same age as 9-14th gen MM). And this is not new, this has been happening his entire career. UFA put 15 year old Kago on as a regular back in the day. They don’t care. They constantly put the girls on there. Which is why it’s funny to me when fans on this side drone on about UFA protecting MM’s image and make sure they’re polite and well mannered and don’t allow them to joke around, that’s only something fans on this side would come up with lol.

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    • You sound like we’re in the Sanma fandom, and this is just a side-discussion lol

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      • Nah, you’re missing my point. Sure, the older girls could be comfortable with the jokes on the show, but it’s important to know what kind of person Sanma is because he’s always working with the girls. He said the following to a 16 year old Mizuki:

        http://wotaintranslation.com/2014/02/11/sanma-what-cup-size-are-you-fukumura-mizuki-i-dont-know/

        And told a 17 year old Rikako last year her face shape/color reminds him of a literal asshole. And that’s just a couple of examples.

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        • Sanma is a true Japanese gentlemen. Emphasis on Japanese.

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    • Sanma is an outdated old creep who needs to fade out like many other comedians from his generation, frankly. His schtick is not funny anymore. Shock value is lazy comedy 99% of the time.

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      • Sanma is not outdated, he is retro! There is a video game starring Sanma called Sanma no Meitantai (Great Detective Sanma) for the Nintendo Famicom, released by Namco back in 1987. A true classic!

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    • H-had a relationship….w-with an 18 year old?!? Call the police!

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      • If you don’t think a 62 year old (at the time) dating an 18 year old (at the time) who is 5 years younger than his daughter is sick, that’s on you. But Japanese netizens considered a 48 year old male idol marrying his 24 year old girlfriend a “lolicon” because that’s how disgusting the age difference is to them. His reputation is shot even though he was considered one of Japan’s most lovable idols. You have your beliefs and that’s fine, but don’t use “all Japanese people.”

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        • There’s nothing wrong with two consenting adults being in a relationship. Unless you believe that women perpetually have no agency, even when they are adults.

          I prefer to treat women as equals and believe that they can be in a relationship with whoever they chose to.

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          • Sure, but that’s not the point I’m making. The point is normalizing that behavior as Japanese culture when Japanese people are even more disgusted by large age differences. They’re calling that idol who married an adult a lolicon (which traditionally would mean a grown adult with a child), that’s the equivalent of calling someone like that a pedophile. Throwing around that word is much more common there, so it’s strange people here say Japanese people are okay with the behavior when they’re even more strict about it.

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            • They probably meant it more joking like the English phrase “Robbing the cradle,” when an old man is in a relationship with a young woman. (Or vise-versa)
              I still don’t see how it’s an issue for an old person to date a young person if they are both of legal age.

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              • They weren’t joking. They were calling for him to be removed from his group’s popular variety show, he’s gone from loved to universally hated. That’s the whole reason I find it funny people here were complaining about western SJWs kicking him a fuss when Japanese people were calling to end the career of this idol just weeks ago.

18. sigh… I miss the time when we were just posting dumb one liner on WIT comment section, trying to be funny and ends up being corny instead. Don’t mind me lads, I’m just fucking old boomer weeb.

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    • Dear, Henkka.

      Please reconsider this :

      http://wotaintranslation.com/2017/12/16/the-comment-section-of-wota-in-translation/

      P.S. WIT was the comfiest English speaking site.

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      • … for foreign wota

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      • Boomer?? As in “Boomer Sooner”?

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19. It’s completely fair to be considered whether an idol is uncomfortable with a segment like this or not. I’m sure a lot of them wouldn’t like it, and it should be their perogative whether they participate.
    However, it’s getting really crazy how quickly the outrage spreads these days. Nobody wants their idol to do something they’re obviously unhappy about, but there have been a ton of “issues” brought up recently that have probably not warranted the reaction they received. For example, many were (seemingly) quite offended that 17-year-old Yuhane was present on a (crude and ridiculous) show where the comedians made dirty jokes. It might be a little uncomfortable to watch, but it’s almost like we are trying to infantilize the idols as much as possible. Another issue is people coming across these pervy Twitter accounts (now even in Japanese!) and spreading them all around for no identifiable purpose. People have most likely been writing such comments online since Morning Musume’s debut!

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20. Are there a lot of other things the rest of the world finds wrong about idol culture? Yes.
    Does that make THIS any less disturbing to some people? No.

    I know Sanma says gross stuff about girls all the time, but would he do the corner and put himself in that spot? And would younger boy idols be expected to do something like this? Probably not.

    Thanks for translating as always, Henkka. And thanks for Anna for taking all the fire after bringing this up. 😬

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    • Frankly, people are making Japan look bad. There are a shitton of Japanese who find these aspects of idol culture disgusting and questionable. You can find plenty of Japanese comment sections full of people decrying stuff like this as old fashioned and icky. “It’s Japan!” is a convenient cop out for international fans, but it’s not founded on any sort of actual truth. There’s a reason idol wota often get made fun of in Japanese media.

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21. Great, now the H!P fandom is now infected with SJW’s and Twitter puritans. All entertainment is now pozzed.

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22. Guys, let’s focus on the important and makes the big question:

    is Chel cumming or not?

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    • She made the chair inside the studio wet and sticky

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23. If this was happened in old WIT, it would probably went like this :

    Thread title :
    Miki said “I’m coming~” sensually on radio

    Drunk Henkka with his classic witty quips : “She was probably just quoting Lynyrd Skynyrd lol”

    — Comment Section —

    anon
    “Yeah, of course, Lynyrd Skynyrd. She’s from Alabama after all lol.

    anon2
    “If it was Homare, he would get arrested lol.”

    anon3
    “Thanks, now my mom thinks I was watching porn.”

    anon4
    “Hey, Henkka could you translate Uemura or Mizuki thread next. Thanks.”
    Henkka
    “Only if you buy me alcohol. lol”

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    • There were founder effects on early international H!P fandom that have finally faded away. Wota In Translation’s roots go back to the days of Ray Mescellado and Hello “There is never a wrong thread to post a Risako” Island, who were all about deliberately pushing the envelope on perfomative perving. Not to mention the likes of old MM-BBS and JPHIP also leading the charge on shameless perving as the norm.

      The cohort on Twitter likely have never heard of these sites.

      That said, there’s a difference between people in the comments making jokes about Funa’s funas, Funaki making jokes about her own PB of her own volition, and a radio host forcing Funaki to make jokes about her funas if she didn’t want to. That’s why this incident has led to a different reaction.

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      • “forced”

        Was she held at gunpoint?
        Or is this another situation where women are always to be considered under the ever powerful and ever present “patriarchy”, so much so that they cannot make informed decisions by themselves? Japan isn’t a third world country. She isn’t going to get dragged out into the street and stoned like in some shit hole country. The girls can say “no,” whenever they want to.

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24. Has anyone considered the strong possibility that if H!P:

    1. Eliminated the “no dating” rule;

    2. Nixed forums with folks like Sanma who would bring up sexually charge topics with the idols;

    3. Ended handshake events; and/or

    4. Fill in the blank for activities that make Western wota sad.

    Hello Project would either go out of business or become super lame?

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    • Well sure, Sanma is certainly powerful in the industry so losing YoungTown could hurt them, and ending handshake events would definitely put a dent in sales (I believe in Henkka’s translation of Tsunku’s interview for the anniversary book he mentioned that he was put off by the idea of multiple editions/handshake events at first, but realized it’s just business) but nothing is wrong with pointing out the issues behind them.

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      • Sure, but there’s a problem. Look at the comments here and those on this topic on Twitter. The people up in arms about this overwhelmingly want events like Young Town shut down. I think they need to consider what would happen if they got what they wanted.

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    • UF is basically ignoring the dating rule already, aren’t they? We’ve had several girls respond to scandals with “lol no” and continue with their careers just fine. (Most recently, Tsubaki’s Onoda Saori)

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      • AG, they are not. Sure, management seems passive about it and (I think) has never fired an idol for an isolated lapse, it’s my understanding they will demote girls if a public scandal occurs. Also, repeated violations has gotten idols thrown out.

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25. Keep your outrage culture and frivolous use of “pedophile” away from idols. Japan doesnt care what you’re mad about and they shouldn’t. Who wants to deal with a vitriolic and angry consumer base like those #cancel culture lowlifes? At least Japanese fans are easy to please

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    • You think it’s just international fans?

      Sanma says he wants to date and sleep with a female announcer (who is in her 30s). The top comments are all calling him disgusting and calling it sexual harassment.
      https://girlschannel.net/topics/1661373/

      This is netizens’ reaction to Sanma making a ranking of female celebrities he wants as a “lovemate.” Top comments are pointing out there are minors in his ranking and calling the entire list out for sexual harassment.
      https://girlschannel.net/topics/2414972/

      And related, there was a popular comedy show in the 90s that had a cast of comedians and a single idol who was about Miki’s age at the time. Most of the jokes had her making sexual jokes or had them touching her inappropriately for laughs. One of the comedians said if that idol (now actress) called him out, his career would be over. The comments are saying it was awful back then and was complete sexual harassment. They also point out other female celebrities and idols who had to do sexual jokes for laughs and clearly say it’s sexual harassment.
      https://girlschannel.net/topics/1510055/

      Sanma is a well known comedian but YoungTown itself isn’t a popular radio show outside of wota fandom, but I’m sure if a clip got out and went viral people would have the same reaction to the Miki clip and other clips from it. It’s not just “international cancel culture.”

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      • Thank you. I am tired of these international fans trying to act like Japan is some loli paradise full of perverts where this sort of behavior is considered a-ok. It’s not. Keep Japan out of your mouth if you’re just going to make it look bad. Everyone in Japan is not a sex crazed wota – there are Japanese fans IN THIS POST saying the joke was inappropriate and that Sanma is a creep, how can you say everyone in Japan likes this with a straight face? It’s not hard at all to find people who dislike this aspect of Japanese media, it’s clear many of these people got all their knowledge of Japanese society from AV and titty manga.

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        • Totally. With the rise of twitter and a more user friendly forum like Girlschannel becoming popular netizens have a bigger voice and have been calling that behavior out for a few years now.

          Recently a Johnny’s 48 year old Johnny’s idol whose group has one of the most consistently top rated variety shows said “women are only good until they’re 21”, after marrying his 24 year old girlfriend he started dating when she was 20. As you can see in the comments, there’s complete disgust by netizens. He’s being called a lolicon now.
          https://girlschannel.net/topics/2394990/

          A 46 year old former athlete said it’s better for men to marry younger women. The first comment literally says “lolicons are a sickness.”
          https://girlschannel.net/topics/2450977/

          An AKB member a few years ago talked about the sexual comments she received during handshake events (some of them similar to what a wota bragged about asking Chii this summer and what Sanma has asked some girls on YT). Netizens are absolutely disgusted and call it what it is, sexual harassment.
          https://girlschannel.net/topics/1391739/

          All of the above show it’s not just Western ~~SJW cancel culture~~~.

          I think older H!P fans’ minds are stick in the 1990s-2000s when comedians could get away with sexual jokes for the sake of comedy. Their frame of reference is still Japanese variety from that era like Utaban when it was still considered acceptable. But you still had some people pointing it out, like in this episode of Utaban, Johnson and Yaguchi pretty much say starting from 04:31 that 3nin Matsuri is appealing to lolicons (https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5iyipk). Their other frame of reference is translated 5ch comments which are considered bottom barrel, they’re not seeing what Japanese society thinks about this behavior.

          We don’t have to go back and pick out everything, but we should definitely be able to pick out what’s still happening in 2019.

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26. So .. did she herself find it funny or not? Cause that’s really the only thing that matters.

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27. damn girl
    that was hot as fuck

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28. “76: 名無し募集中。。。 2019/12/07(土) 10:42:29.70 0
    What’s the problem? This is Japan.”

    I am wheezing. The situation at hand aside, I can at least appreciate it that some cultures still have some sort of a backbone.

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    • If this were Western pop music, she would be doing it in the music video and no-one would bat an eyelid.

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29. sounds like the twitterverse invaded 2channel.
    sexual harassment is miniskirts now?

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    • LOL! Literally millions of happy, well adjusted Japanese teens didn’t get the memo on that.

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30. Now the serious question: did anyone contact Sanma or Young Town represantative regarding this outrage?

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    • The sarcasm is strong with this one. :D

      (My apologies if this question was meant to be serious.)

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      • No, it wasn’t intended but I’m you enjoyed.
        Anyway, isn’t this normal behaviour when something is bothering – go and ask those bothering you? To change something we need a dialogue.

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        • Rin, you seem to misunderstand the situation at hand.

          This “outrage” is the norm for Sanma. He has always been a creepy pervert, it is part of his personality/shtick. If it really bothered his almost exclusively Japanese audience then he would have been axed a long time ago.

          The only difference this time around is that Western fans for once understood what went on because parts of that particular segment were in English.

          But as we all know, Western fans are completely irrelevant to Sanma and Up-Front’s bottom line. Therefore, as long as Japanese wota don’t make a big stink about it, nothing is going to change.

          I don’t like it either but it is what it is.

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31. I have not listened to the recording, and it would not change my opinion even if I did.

    My point is this: Japan does not give a damn about your Western Civilization Superiority Complex.

    You are no better than your Colonial Era ancestors! Constantly virtue signaling about how your morals must prevail over everything. You seek to alter the world to fit whatever prevailing pop-culture ethos is circulating in Group Think fashion.

    Japan cares so little about you they don’t ever count the CD/DVD purchases you make on Oricon charts.

    Get over yourselves and try to enjoy Oriental culture for what it is: Let Japan be Japan.

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32. Mark my words, this outrage and social media cancer will ruin Japanese idol culture. It is already starting to ruin anime and manga after they destroyed Kpop, gaming, and movies.

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33. SJW’s are officially on the idol’s shores! Actually they’ve been here a while, this is just the first concentrated stink they’ve made.

    I like how it doesn’t even register as a possibility for these people that maybe, just maybe, Miki was okay with the joke. Then again, that’s progressive Twitter for you. Always outraged on someone else’s behalf. I bet even if Miki came out and said in plain as day English, “I’m fine, fuck off.” they’d still try and defend her because she “doesn’t know better”.

    The one point I can agree on is if a member is not comfortable with the segment, then they shouldn’t be force to be on the show. That’s a given. But this whole “I’m offended, cancel it!!” sets a terrible societal precedent, but higher thinking isn’t popular with SJW.

    tl;dr They think everyone is as weak as they are. Don’t give in, Japan!

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    • Yeah and notice how that Anna person changed their location tag to “Giving Western fans a bad rap”. Nothing but a big joke to them, all about the clicks and their Internet virtue score.

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      • That location tag is obviously tongue-in-cheek. Her original tweet itself was not a joke, but when people are suddenly reacting as if somehow *she* was some kind of a spokesperson for the entire Western fan community? If it was me, I’d find it funny, too.

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    • ok dingbat, someone posted up there japanese netizens’ reactions to creeps and sexual harassment, but continue to live in your weeaboo land

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      • I fancy myself the shogun of weeaboo land

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      • Except nothing about his is creepy or sexual harassment. It’s a light hearted crude joke that everyone in the studio laughed about. But sure, continue to live in perpetually offended land.

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        • this incident no, but this is the only one in english. the same segment happens with underaged members and sanma is known to creep on female celebrities as a commenter above pointed out. miki is an adult sure, but how would you feel about younger members doing it??

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          • Sex bad!

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34. As a woman raised in the US (saying so only because in this case it probably means Miki and I have had similar experiences)… yeah we do this shit all the time, public or private, from the pre-teen years on up, because porn voice is FUNNY.

    Also isn’t it just the thing to do, when someone in the room speaks a language that nobody else does, you have them teach you something inappropriate?

    And I dunno, having been subjected to actual situations that WERE scary and inappropriate in what should have been professional settings I’m preeeeeeeetty sure Miki is fine here :P and god of course she knows what she’s saying. She’s 20, she’s not in kindergarten.

    (Also frankly? If someone wants to make the world a safer place for women, enforcing this prim-and-proper nonsense isn’t the way to do it. Help work towards a world where women can say dirty things if we want to, without having to worry about people overreacting :P)

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35. Based on the comments in the 2ch thread and on this website I’d say that Young Town achieved exactly what they wanted: publicity.

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    • what publicity? a thread on 2ch and some comments from half a dozen irrelevant international fans?

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36. Is Chel considering a future career as a voice actress for adult anime?

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    • We can only hope.

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37. I truly can’t stand the western female fan base

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    • Why? I’ve met plenty of Western female fans at events and most of them are super nice, even to an old geezer like myself.

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      • Maybe I’m generalizing too much.
        I guess what I really mean is that I can’t stand a lot of the online western fan base, most of it female some male.
        This twitter thread is an example of the kind of people I’m talking about.

        I can see why some would find the corner uncomfortable but a lot of these tweets are making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s obnoxious.

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38. Is this the thread with the most comments Henkka? Does this beat out the boob threads? :D

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    • No, but it does make it into the top 5.

      This one is still no. 1 by far: http://wotaintranslation.com/2014/06/04/tell-me-about-episodes-of-hp-members-not-getting-along-with-each-other/

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      • I really enjoyed that thread!

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39. western “fans” are the worst, especially females

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40. I don’t find this too bad since she is an adult and she seemed ok with it?

    However,I am side eyeing Sanma after things he’s done in the past.

    And I am also rolling my eyes at people defending what they think is “Japanese culture” (sexualizing preteen girls)

    I don’t care too much about the older teens and adults, but it always creeps me out how the younger H.P. girls have been sexualized or made to do those creepy handshake events. Bad enough they have creepy fans-imagine touching them

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    • I am with you on the pre-teen stuff. Personally it makes me very uncomfortable to watch some segments. I never look at the FB’s. Rarely do I watch anything by what they used to call “eggs”. Smileage had some costumes so Loli I ignored their performances for years.

      Yet every casting call H!P and all the other leaders of “teen idol” entertainment have parents by the thousands show up with their girls. Hello Project Kids auditioned over 35,000. That means there were 70,000 parents consenting to let their children join in, and H!P was far sexier back then than what it is today.

      What is it you want these parents to do? Are you advocating they adopt Western style entertainment ethics? Bullshit. Western entertainers track record for “good behavior” is a complete cess-pool of shit. Drugs, underage sex (do I have to list examples?), casting couches by the likes of Harvey Winestien and others, a long history of “shock value” acts aimed at offending common community standards established by laws and tested in courts, Jim Morrison masturbating on stage, Brittney Spears was 16 when she starred in a video that rocketed her into “sexy school girl” stardom. While it is true her studio gave her the school uniform to wear, she personally altered the skirt as short as possible and tied the shirttails in a way to expose her belly button and mid-rift as much as possible. Later, Spears starred in a concert tour where she simulated masturbating in a bathtub on stage in front of thousands of pre-teen girls in the audiences. And then there is Mily Cyrus, whose on stage performances are nothing short of whoredom.

      I much prefer Japanese style entertainment to the utter depravity of your Western “Culture”.

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      • Aww,looks like I struck a nerve. Like,you really went on this whole ass rant about degenerate holly weird culture because i said sexualizing preteens and making them uncomfortable isn’t okay?Because that doesn’t make sexualizing 12 year olds or making them uncofmfetable okay.

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        • Did you even read his post?

          From your post, it looks like you would struggle to read that many words in one sitting.

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          • Yes,and it was irrelevant to anything I said. Who gives a crap about Britney Spears or western media.

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        • I only follow Hello! Project groups, and these days not very much at that now that °C-ute has disbanded. I am only aware of one event, the “semen handshake event” with Smileage ( now Angerme) many years ago. From what I have seen and heard security is extremely tight at all H!P events.

          I raised a daughter who graduated at the top of her class. She is now a professional and raising my two wonderful granddaughters. I have been to Title IX workshops, even met the man who authored Title IX, in order to ensure my girls get the best out of life.

          So educate me. Let’s lay aside generalizations and get down to the nitty gritty. Please list all the sexual harassment events you know about. What group? What date? What location? What Japanese government EEOC file number so I can look it up?

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          • Sure you do. Going on a rant about your(supposed)life isn’t going to make you look more intelligent, valid or right.

            Looks like you are the one who can’t read,I never said anything about sexual harassment. I said handshake events were creepy since I’m sure most 12 year olds don’t truly wanna interact with some of the creepy wota.

            I also don’t like how preteens are sexualized(Risako doing a photo book)I’m standing by what I said and if you don’t like it,oh well.

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          • And just to make things clear, I don’t care about your personal life. I’m not insinuating all male fans are creepy. Just quite a few of them- look at the other comments about the wota “pistol”.

            If you aren’t on that level than you shouldn’t be offended. No need to “prove” anything to a stranger

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            • In other words you have NO PROOF this really is happening. It is all just cyber-myth gossip.

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41. Stop trying to look like saints, EVERYONE who’s into idol culture is seen as a creep in the Western world (especially as a male), at least here in Europe, so be cautious not to fall into your own trap.

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42. The whole tread seems to confirm that Western Wotas are as much 30something balding virgins still living with their moms than the Japanese ones.

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    • You don’t belong in an idol fanbase.

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      • Because I told the truth?

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