“Super-carnivore” AKB48 idol Rino Sashihara has partially admitted allegations that she pursued one of her own creepy otaku fans for sex, and has been dumped from the group and banished to the wastes of Kyushu.
The 19-year-old idol tearfully apologised for the scandal she still insists mostly did not happen and revealed that she had been transferred to (i.e. sacked and given a face-saving exit) obscure alphabet soup sister group HKT48:
It’s true that that person was a friend of mine. I’m really sorry about this.
[…]
When I first heard about the article, I didn’t know what to think.
But when I read it, I was shocked. A lot of it wasn’t true, but it is true that that person was my friend.
After that I couldn’t keep my food down, and I hyperventilated during the tour. I couldn’t even speak to my mother, and reading the comments of my fans on my blog made my heart ache. I’m so sorry.
Her “transfer” to HKT48, a group with an average age of 13.8 and a reputation for possessing only the “raw” part of “raw talent,” is widely viewed as a demotion, exile, punishment, or prelude to outright sacking:
“What!?”
“She’s totally admitting it all…”
“Congratulations on your promotion there!”
“Isn’t this a demotion?”
“HKT is based in Fukuoka, way over in Kyushu, so this is the last we’ll be seeing of her in Tokyo!”
“This slut admitted it and she still wasn’t fired?”
“So why wasn’t Akimoto fired…”
“She was just banging people as part of her job so she was blameless.”
“So the rest of HKT are OK with having lascivious whores in their ranks?”
“They can’t be too pleased at being used as a dumping ground for scandals.”
“If none of it was true why can’t she say which parts aren’t true?”
“Probably just the part about him being handsome wasn’t true.”
“She got off real light!”
“Especially since she has essentially admitted it was all true.”
“So now she’s reduced to doing local pachinko ads in Fukuoka…”
“From heaven to hell in one fell swoop.”
“What the hell is HKT48 anyway?”
It’s been ten years and looking back, there are some things I’d like to point out.
Whatever decision Sasshi chose at that time outside her activities from the group should be her own business. People back then said she was only sorry she got caught. If none of this was brought to light, we would not be obsessing over it. On the one hand, 48g’s moniker was and has always been “Idols You Can Meet.” However the members and their oshimen spend that meeting together was never specified. But It’s been a general consensus that the handshake event was the epitome of that moniker. When fans found out it went beyond that, you can’t blame some of them for reacting the way they did. Expectations played a big role in this. Prior to AkB48, the jpop idol business was never about cutesy girls parading their likeness for the sake of luring potential buyers to buy their stuff. It had always been about the music to get the viewer distracted from everyday life. 48g’s marketing of rooting for the girl you like to reach center position, to be the top of SSK, etc…played a big part in creating this fantasy world for the otaku who could not separate fantasy from reality. So the built attachmthent created problems. Some say you can’t blame the group since this was only a business scheme. And you can’t fault the fan for reacting if they are the main buyer of their product. What this did was only expose a blemish in the J-idol industry. But even that does not add up when no other J-idol group have never faced such scrutiny as 48g has in just their 7th year in existence when Sasshi’s sex encounter happened in 2012.
My only gripe with Sasshi after the fact is she goes around media circuits, talk shows and such acting like she’s the “end-all-be-all” when it comes to what a J-idol is suppose to be. She acts as if what she did should not hurt the industry or her group. The fact that some fans put her on a pedestal only makes them seem more like cucks to those who don’t follow the group or industry. As of 8/7/22 writing this, Sasshi is now a producer of a new J-idol group not related to 48g. She doesn’t do magazine shoots and I’ve even heard ekimen she approached turned her down so much she resorted to getting a face lift to look better. 48g is not the same and only hold on to what prior generations have done to get their group name etched in the industry. But their idols and moniker no longer hold any value to the common domestic fans. What gave me second hand embarrassment was Akip trying to keep 48g relevant by getting his foot into the kpop industry only exposing them to Koreans who can clearly see how fundamentally unprepared the 48g girls with almost ten years in the entertainment business were when faced with attempting kpop singing and dancing standards compared to Korean rookies. But that’s for another discussion.
Spot on!
I know this article is old, but hey i’m sure the idols today are doing a better job having sex under the radar, but I mean they might aswell become JAV stars if they believe sex will boost their popularity. The don’t even have to have intercorse just giving the fans a BJ or handjob would be even more anonymous.
Wait a minute…….You mean to tell me this WOMAN (she is over 18 years of age) for some reason is forbidden from having sex ???? Are you shitting me???? By the time I was her age, and yes I am male, I had sex with more women than I could remember. Seems to me she is normal but expected to be Godlike instead of human. Utter bullshit!
Sad story…but i believe there is no girl who walk into the entertainment industry could save her virginity for long or at least keep herself out of scandals…the entertainment industry is a double edge blade for them…
THIS IS NOT ANYTHING TO BE ASHAMED OF.
Heck, in a country full of virgins, I’m proud to see someone getting some action. Happy for her.