Minegishi Minami, the AKB48 member who famously shaved her hair after being the centre of a sex scandal in January this year, has appeared in women’s magazine Fujin Koron, reflecting on her previous behaviour.
But when Japanese netizens saw the article appear online, they demonstrated that they were still unforgiving of Minegishi’s one-night stand, blasting her attempts to elicit sympathy from former fans.
But has Minegishi suffered enough? Or was her behaviour a betrayal of the most dedicated group of fans in the world of J-pop?
From Sponichi.co.jp:
AKB48’s Minegishi Minami Takes Off Her Wig For The First Time, “My Parent’s Tears Were the Most Difficult To Bear”
Minegishi Minami, the 20 year old member of AKB48 who was at the centre of the “overnight stay and close-cropped hair scandal” in January, accepted a solo interview for women’s magazine Fujin Koron published by Chuo-Koron-Shinsham, appearing on the cover of the April 22 edition.
She attended shows as a trainee with her wig on, so the interview was her first public appearance without a wig. She said about her close-cropped hair, “I decided to do it on my own and haven’t regretted it at all”, although she apologised about her causing controversy, “I ruined the image of AKB48. It hurts me and I feel bad about it”.
She also said when she shaved her head, Takahashi Minami, a leader of the group had cried out all the time and “the hardest thing was that I actually made my parents cry”. She went home and slipped into bed but her mother also got in and shed tears.
Regarding her future, she told about a fresh start and resolution, “I would like to be a good daughter for my parents that I caused a lot of grief to. Being celebrated by many people and graduating from AKB48, that’s my goal for now”.
She showed her dedication to the group saying that she was “only able to live as a member of AKB48” and explained why she will stand for the group’s 5th general election June 8.
Comments Yahoo! Japan:
ルーキー（cpz…）さん:
Don’t make it a heartwarming story.
You asked for it.
ヤシマソブリン（yas…）さん:
It wasn’t “hard to betray my fans”. Ah well that’s the best we can hope for.
てんま（ten…）さん:
She’s utterly a tragic heroine.
you*o_*i*（you…）さん:
Stop! Disgusting!
She only shaved her head to please herself!!!
tetenryuryu（tet…）さん:
Well, it’s only her parents’ disciplinary issue.
正義と真実の人（seg…）さん:
She was ranked down to a trainee but appeared on a cover? Lack of remorse surely?
The representative dishonour of Japan.
leo**0116（leo…）さん:
FUGLY
GGR105（ggr…）さん:
Ignoring fans eh? I’m more than convinced that fans are just money trees.
無頼人（ang…）さん:
Matters of anti fans or fans for other members aside, you should know that you DID hurt those who had believed in your words and actions and supported you since the case was disclosed.
ベン（ish…）さん:
Ah okay, tears from your few fans, that’s not what you feel bad for then?
閲覧ありがとうございます（ton…）さん:
She is still very much alive, way too dramatic…
She did it of her own volition, and now she’s making a joke of it, so we’re bound to wonder whether she really regrets what she has done.
黒木眼医者（kur…）さん:
With this action, it can hardly be said that she’s really feeling sorry for her previous behaviour.
It couldn’t be helped if it was taken as her self-advertisement.
kur*gu*an（kur…）さん:
Don’t really understand why gross-takus support this ugly shit.
勝ち犬の近吠え（max…）さん:
Whoa, you’d get more work if you caused a scandal.
motomy（mot…）さん:
Don’t even deal with this moron.
一義（www…）さん:
What? She took her responsibility and shaved her hair without being asked to eh?
ｈｉｗａｍａｔａｎｏｂｏｒｕ（rav…）さん:
Well, that’s not what her parents cried for – making her otaku who are her fans buy CDs through a fucking scam (for the record, she made them overly excited about meeting her when they were buying loads of CDs, but on the day she was ill w), and in the meantime, living it up at parties, having one-night stands with guys like it’s nothing (despite her parents that believing that she was staying out because of work) then ending up with the revelation about her being a slut — that must be exactly why she cried, isn’t it?
