Japanese pop or 'J-Pop' has to be some of the world's worst music. It's hard to describe how awful it is. What is weirder, though, is how they market the acts. I was expecting this kind of thing when I moved over, but it's still odd to see.
The way they sexualise young boys and girls is more than a little strange. The boy band (emphasis on 'boy') 'Sexy Zone' featured above are one of the most prominent examples. The youngest members are 12 years old...and they are called 'Sexy Zone'!
Even more famous are AKB48, a girl group of over 50 members who are promoting 'cool Japan' in the U.S. this month. They perform every day in a special venue in one of the busiest areas of Tokyo and promote every kind of product imaginable from real estate to food to their own line of products.
When fans buy one of their CDs (which still sell here by the bucketload despite the global dominance of downloading/streaming), they can vote for which girl is their favourite. This determines who gets paid the most and features in the 'Team A'. It's one kind of democracy, I suppose.
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