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Japan's wacky world of celebrities

By Chris Betros

Oscar Promotion's A-team includes Aya Ueto, third from left, Ryok

TOKYO — They are everywhere — on TV variety shows, in dramas, singing at concerts, endorsing products on billboards and in commercials, attending glittery events. No matter what channel you watch or which magazine you read, you'll see the same faces — Aya Ueto, SMAP, Yuko Takeuchi, Ayumi Hamasaki, Yukie Nakama, Becky, Kyoko Hasegawa, Papaya Suzuki and countless more.

The "talent" business in Japan is very different from the West. Someone like 19-year-old Ueto, for example, would seem to be making a fortune. After all, she is the TV commercial queen, a movie star, as well as a regular at promotional events. Yet she is just an employee of her agency, Oscar Promotion. She is paid a wage and a percentage of what Oscar negotiates with its clients — the opposite of the U.S. where the stars pay their agents a percentage.

The production companies recruit their stars at a young age, train them and then supply them to the media, movies and events. When a new TV show or product endorsement is announced, the media get faxed invitations to the press conference which they dutifully attend. The photos are then used to fill the tabloid magazines, while the TV variety shows replay the same footage four or five times on each segment.

"It's like a revolving sushi restaurant or a UFO Catcher at a game center: there is a never-ending selection to pick from," says Dave Spector, an American who has been a commentator on TV variety shows in Japan for 20 years.

Japan's entertainment world is a tightly knit relationship between the powerful production agencies and the media. Companies like Oscar, Johnny's Jimusho, Sun Music and Yellow Cab have tremendous power when it comes to their talents, so much so that very few newspapers, magazines or TV stations dare carry negative stories. "The production companies are money-making machines," says Tario Cham, who has operated the website jpop.com since 1996. "They work very hard to create an image that sells but also work very hard to protect that image."

Thousands want to join Johnny's Jimusho

Johnny's receives thousands of applications from wannabes every year. Boys in their pre-teens join the Johnny's empire as Johnny's Juniors, and receive dancing and singing lessons. At first, they appear as background extras on variety shows, where their role is to laugh at the jokes of the A-team. The five-member group SMAP is probably the company's most successful "product."

At Oscar, which has more 3,500 members, the emphasis is on girls. "Each year we hold a contest for the Bishojo 31 Club, attracting more than 100,000 applicants aged between 10 and 19," says Ichiro Imai, general manager of Oscar's publicity division. "The lucky 31 get lessons in dancing, acting, modeling, styling, manners and Japanese culture." Ueto and Ryoko Yonekura are two well-known graduates of the Bishojo Club.

But how talented are the talento? "In many cases there is no talent evident," says Spector. "The Japanese enjoy the freshness of unjaded greenhorns and derive pleasure in watching them mature into more qualified personalities, whereas in the West, there is little patience for unpolished apples. Performers are expected to hit the ground running ... or look for another line of work."

Of course, it depends on how a talent is being marketed. "SMAP was originally sold as a 'boarder band, in imitation of another Johnny's group, Hikaru Genji, who were roller skaters," says Mark Schilling, author of "The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture."

"Vocally, they may have been crap, but at least they could skateboard. Then they learned basketball, cooking, wine, etc. I have no doubt they served excellent meals on SMAP X SMAP. With the girls, the ones who make it tend to have something going for them besides a cute smile. Both Namie Amuro and Ayumi Hamasaki were serious fashionistas whose ever-changing looks had a huge impact on their teen fans. On the other hand, Morning Musume was no overnight success; the first cohort had to sweat through episode after episode of a TV reality show before they were annointed as 'stars.'"

Agencies decide who goes on TV

Once the stars are groomed, they are farmed out to variety shows. "The production companies basically dictate to the networks who to use," says Spector. "The TV stations allow this because they also are given use of top talents in exchange for the B or C list. This contrasts, for example, with most talk shows in the West where one-on-one interviews are the norm. Sanma's popular talk show on NTV — 'Odoro Sanma Goten' — has as many as 15 people talking at once with Sanma at the helm. Viewers are used to seeing superfluous guests; completely uninteresting types become so familiar that after many years they morph into passable if not talented fixtures on TV."

With TV dramas, the stars usually do one 12-episode season and then move on. Very few series last more than one season. "Many of the young stars are idol/actor hybrids," says jpop.com's Cham. "You can find many Johnny's members every season acting in different dramas, like 'Gokusen 2.' You can imagine how many Johnny's fans tune in just to see them."

However, salary is not linked to a show's ratings. Networks classify all actors in pay categories, ranging from 3 million yen an episode, then 2 million yen, 1.5 million yen, and so on down to 800,000 yen. Yukie Nakama, currently Japan's most popular actress thanks to her starring role in "Gokusen," is in the 2 million yen bracket, even though her show garnered a whopping 30% rating for its finale last month. Contrast that with the millions of dollars the cast of "Friends" were paid per episode.

Equally important for the stars are TV commercials. Ueto leads with 18 contracts, according to Video Research House. Actress Hasegawa is second with 8. Other stars in demand for ads are Hamasaki and actress Yu Yamada, 20, who represents Vodafone.

"We chose Yamada because she has a special affinity with youth," said a Vodafone spokesperson. "In our ads, we don't think it's desirable to have a celebrity that is too distant from customers but, at the same time, we like to have someone that people can aspire to. 'Joie de vivre' and 'positive' are key elements of our brand image and Yamada is a perfect fit in this sense."

Commercials can be the launching pad for an idol. "In America, you'd never see the cute girl in the Juicy Fruit chewing gum ad become an idol," says Cham. "But in Japan, it's where many idol careers are born. For example, Mayumi Ono, a relatively unknown gravure (semi-porn) idol, shot to stardom in the ACOM commercials as the pretty face who helped put youngsters into debt with loans and financing from ACOM. In America, they don't do that kind of marketing. While Britney Spears has her own perfume, you don't see her management signing her up to endorse every product left and right.

"Another difference in marketing tactics is exposure. If Hamasaki comes out with a new single, it will be all over the airwaves, which is probably similar to what would happen in the US. However, in Japan, you'll also see the artist appear on every music TV show every night on a different channel to perform the new song."

Big money for showing up at events

Event appearances are also big money spinners. The agencies charge up to 2 million yen for their elegantly dressed stars to show up at gala occasions for an hour or two. Some launches for fashion brands like Gucci and Cartier require the celebrity to have good taste in fashion. One regular guest at this kind of event is Uno Kanda, 31, who confesses to being a brand-name shopaholic.

"These activities are more like part-time jobs," said a production agency spokesperson. "Even publicity events, such as serving as an honorary policewoman for a day bring good money." Ueto, Aya Matsuura and Rei Kikukawa have done a lot of honorary work. The in-demand Ueto also threw out the opening pitch for the baseball season opener last week.

Having a celebrity walk the red carpet at a movie premiere is another revenue source. Not only that, when Hollywood stars visit Japan, the movie distributors often hire an attractive celebrity to present them with flowers at the news conference or premiere because it generates enormous publicity. A spokesman for one distributor said that the Kano sisters once got 500,000 yen each just for talking about the movie in front of the cameras.

'Cute' factor no longer enough

On the other side of the spectrum, what kind of fans drive the business? Are they all pre-pubescent teens screaming for the "cute" factor? Not necessarily, says Schilling. "There are girl idols whose core fans seem to be socially immature guys or pervy middle-aged men (the target market for the gravure photo magazines), but the ones who make it big also have to appeal to their own sex, who are less easily impressed by 'cute.' They have to dance, dress and otherwise present themselves as 'cool' people worthy of emulation."

"Older" stars have a following, too, among them, actresses Naomi Kawashima, 41, and Hitomi Kuroki, 44. Kuroki, especially, has remained a darling of the public for ages. Two years ago, the National Tax Agency used her as its poster girl. Within a week of the posters being put up, nearly 320,000 were ripped off. Others, like Seiko Matsuda and Rie Miyazawa have had all flourishing, though occasionally bumpy careers after their idol days ended, says Schilling.

"However, the era of the 'kokumin-teki' (national) idol has pretty much passed," he says. "Where is the Sayuri Yoshinaga of today — i.e., an idol who is everyone's dream sister, daughter, teen girlfriend? Who exemplifies all the commonly perceived virtues of Japanese womanhood — purity, cheerfulness, long-suffering endurance?"

A star's "shelf life" may depend on how scandal-free they remain. "We try to teach our talents things like how to hold their alcohol, how to spend money wisely," says Oscar's Imai. "You never know when a photographer is lurking, so we tell them to be careful where they go and who they are with."

But sometimes the inevitable scandal erupts, and here, too, notes Schilling, it is interesting to see the difference between Japan and the U.S. "Japan has a culture of shame, so that when a talent punches out a cab driver or knocks the hat off a cop in a drunken rage, they have to practice 'jishuku' (self restraint), which starts with the public apology and continues with the self-imposed break from public appearances. The U.S. practice is to deny, spin and, when all else fails, try rehab, get religion or go to prison. Then, when you get out, publish a tell-all book and reap the rewards of being a repented sinner. Japan is harsher that way: You get no points for finding Jesus here."

April 3, 2005

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Interesting article.
Mawashi   (Mar 31 2005 - 10:15)	Rate | Report

Puke machine
Menkui   (Mar 31 2005 - 12:27)	Rate | Report

Ah yes, cable...
Flying_Monkey   (Mar 31 2005 - 16:25)	Rate | Report

Japan's wacky world of celebrities
Bikkurin   (Mar 31 2005 - 17:05)	Rate | Report

Bikkurin - me too!
Dids   (Mar 31 2005 - 23:52)	Rate | Report

....
Anjiro   (Apr 2 2005 - 09:15)	Rate | Report

real good article here
patthatt   (Apr 2 2005 - 13:22)	Rate | Report

Who cares?
aobajo   (Apr 2 2005 - 13:56)	Rate | Report

This is like most of the rest of modern Japan...
mareo   (Apr 3 2005 - 20:36)	Rate | Report

interesting
tfchui   (Apr 5 2005 - 23:07)	Rate | Report

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