TOKYO –
Japan’s males’s underground idol scene is drawing scrutiny after a authorized revision concentrating on host golf equipment left what business insiders describe as a grey zone the place some performers use intimate fan providers and expensive perks to generate giant sums of cash.
The revised leisure enterprise legislation, which took impact in June 2025, banned so-called romantic gross sales ways wherein host golf equipment exploit clients’ romantic emotions to induce them to spend closely on meals and drinks. But interviews with folks aware of the scene present that some males’s underground idol teams are utilizing providers resembling these of malicious host golf equipment, together with extreme bodily contact with followers, to earn excessive revenues.
Men’s underground idols, usually often called “menchika,” carry out at small dwell homes and occasions whereas incomes cash primarily by means of merchandise gross sales, photograph classes and particular fan advantages. In some instances, the space between idols and followers is extraordinarily shut, with hugs, extended hand-holding, cheek-to-cheek photograph poses and different types of contact turning into a part of what followers pay for.
One individual related to the business stated teams that interact in bodily contact have change into extra distinguished, including that many followers coming into the scene are ladies roughly between the ages of 18 and 30. “I do think it is not normal when groups that involve physical contact start appearing,” the individual stated. “That is also part of the appeal, but depending on the venue, the special benefit sessions can become quite extreme.”
The tradition is claimed to have developed round 2011, when male idol choices exterior main businesses had been restricted. At the time, the market was largely dominated by Johnny & Associates, LDH and Korean pop teams, whereas teams reminiscent of Chotokkyu and Nagoya-based Boys and Men started increasing the vary of male idol acts. Unlike main company teams, nonetheless, males’s underground idol teams developed nearer to dwell home and fan-event tradition.
An business insider stated there could now be about 2,000 such teams throughout Japan. Some performers begin out aspiring to be idols, whereas others later transfer into host membership work. The tradition of paid fan interactions drew partly from maid cafes, the place followers may take immediate pictures and obtain written messages, however early operators didn’t anticipate that feminine followers would request extremely suggestive or intimate poses from male performers.
“At first, there were almost no rules,” the insider stated. “There was no assumption that fans would ask male idols for obscene contact or poses involving a lot of touching.”
As some teams allowed extra contact, others got here underneath stress from followers to do the identical. Members had been reportedly advised by followers that rival teams supplied nearer bodily contact, making a race to offer extra intimate providers. People within the business additionally stated some producers got here from the visible kei band scene, the place shut fan interplay had already existed, and tailored these practices to males’s idol occasions.
The attraction for some performers, in accordance with business insiders, is that the enterprise can seem simpler than host work. Performers can use their seems to earn cash with out essentially consuming alcohol with clients, and with out devoting themselves absolutely to singing or dancing. “There are people who think they can make money easily if they look good and can do a little bit,” one individual stated. “It also satisfies their need for recognition.”
The lack of clear authorized therapy is a serious concern. In atypical grownup leisure venues, sitting subsequent to a buyer or offering shut service can fall underneath regulated classes requiring particular licenses. But related conduct at idol occasions might not be dealt with the identical approach, leaving operators in a grey space. One business supply stated clearer guidelines may pressure teams to function extra correctly and push out people who refuse to conform.
The monetary construction additionally encourages escalation. Groups that don’t present extreme providers could wrestle to earn sufficient to pay for music movies, costumes and different manufacturing prices. Some underground idols change into trapped in a cycle wherein they want more cash to enhance their actions, however can solely increase it by providing extra intense fan providers.
At joint dwell occasions, often called taiban, performers from a number of teams seem on the identical invoice. Former contributors stated they noticed senior teams supply particular profit classes wherein followers handed over tickets and had been instantly hugged earlier than taking cheki immediate pictures. In some instances, idols and followers stayed pressed collectively, with their faces extraordinarily shut.
One former performer stated he had initially supported a no-contact coverage, however after seeing the extent of contact at taiban occasions in Shinjuku, his personal sense of boundaries turned dulled. “I started thinking maybe patting someone on the head would be acceptable,” he stated.
Some particular advantages go far past atypical photograph classes. Fans can accumulate factors by shopping for tickets, cheki pictures and different objects, which can then be exchanged for rewards reminiscent of brief dates, photo-booth outings, Disney dates and even helicopter dates. One individual stated a helicopter date may value about 8 million yen in cheki spending alone, with dwell tickets and different prices paid individually. Such rewards additionally change into a type of standing amongst followers, who use them to indicate how a lot they’ve spent.
The scene contains a variety of teams, from bigger male idol acts in a position to carry out at substantial venues to smaller underground teams with little draw. In some teams, a single fan could spend a number of million yen, making broad recognition much less necessary than securing a small variety of heavy spenders.
Venues have additionally change into extra cautious. In areas reminiscent of Kichijoji and Shinjuku, one individual stated there could also be 10 to twenty dwell occasions a month for a given group, with many held in Kichijoji, however dwell homes have change into much less keen to hire house to males’s underground idol teams due to the poor repute of their particular profit classes.
Some teams are stated to function in closed circles, avoiding joint occasions and utilizing company-run dwell homes, making their actions more durable for outsiders to see. Industry insiders stated this isolation permits extra excessive practices to proceed whereas limiting info from reaching the broader music scene.
The fan mentality has additionally modified. Rather than feeling ashamed about spending giant sums, some followers view heavy spending as a supply of pleasure. “They want to think, ‘I spent this much,’” one business observer stated. “Spending money satisfies their desire for recognition.”
A authorized skilled stated routine hugging, extended hand-holding and related providers may make it simpler to guage the exercise as a type of buyer leisure underneath current legislation. However, the present wording of the leisure enterprise legislation might not be ample to manage such idol actions straight, and extra language or new operational tips could also be wanted.
The skilled stated broader social recognition of the issue would possible be vital earlier than authorities transfer to shut the loophole. If the general public sees such actions as a approach to evade host membership laws, new guidelines or enforcement practices may emerge.
One motive host golf equipment and males’s underground idol teams entice specific concern is that younger feminine followers could also be extra in a position to increase cash by means of intercourse work, the skilled stated. Because youth itself can change into a supply of economic worth, the spending stress can push followers towards decrease ages and higher vulnerability. “If people around them are earning money that way, the younger they are, the more likely they may think they can do it too,” the skilled stated. “That is probably the biggest problem.”
Source: 産経ニュース