A Japanese pop idol was told by her bosses to post a “solo good night photo” before going to bed every evening for a year to “prove” she was single after she put photos of her boyfriend online.
Momoka Tojo apologised for her “rash actions” and “lack of awareness as an idol” on X social media platform after she posted images of herself and her boyfriend enjoying her 20th birthday celebrations on July 23.
The post, which was later removed, caused a stir among her fans and her seven-member idol group Katacoto Bank.
The group was founded in Tokyo in 2021 by the entertainment agency Jlive LCC. Tojo joined in June.
Katacoto Bank has 3,700 followers on X, while Tojo has 7,700.
On July 27, the group’s social media account posted “punishments” for the idol, which included “keeping a certain distance from her boyfriend” and “posting a solo good night photo every evening for a year before going to bed”.
The post also encouraged fans to report any suspicions that she might be secretly meeting her boyfriend.
Tojo has posted solo selfies every evening since.
In the first post on July 27, she wrote: “Good night. I will continue working hard tomorrow. Please support me.”
The company’s announcement received 24,000 likes and 13,000 reposts.
“She had to keep a distance from her boyfriend, knowing that having one will cause a drop in ticket sales and fans. I pity her,” one person wrote on X.
“She should have at least hidden her boyfriend well. It was very unprofessional and betrayed her group colleaugues,” said another.
Not everyone agreed.
“If the idol has good singing and performing skills and has the charisma to cheer people up, then having a boyfriend is no big deal,” said one online observer.
Japan idols, regardless of gender, are expected to remain single and stay “available”, so that their fans will remain loyal.
The dating ban is believed to be a result of the entertainment culture that markets singers and models from a young age. It publicly sexualises them while controlling their personal romantic relationships.
In 2013, a member of former Japanese idol group AKB48, Minami Minegishi, was forced to shave her head and apologise on the group’s official YouTube channel, after she was caught by the media having spent a night with a boy band member.
She tearfully apologised in the video, and said the first thing she could think of after being found out was: “I don’t want to leave AKB48”.
