Today's era is known as the Idol Sengoku Period. In Japan, there are more than 1,000 idol groups that are active, and the number of people exceeds 10,000, making it the largest in history. If idols are seen as a career option for women, there will be a variety of employment directions and possibilities.
Hashimoto Yuki became an idol after entering the University of Tokyo. Her group, Masquerade Women, was ranked No. 1 on the CD sales charts. Her stage name is Sakura, and she is a core member of the group.
Live performances are held twice from the evening of weekdays and are held almost every day. After the 3rd lesson, Hashimoto will change into a stage costume in the bathroom, and as soon as the 4th lesson ends, he will go straight to Akihabara.
After Hashimoto retired from the regiment, he was elected to the Shibuya Ward Council
Dressing up in gorgeous costumes to class will be treated like a freak, but this will save time. The performance is followed by reflection sessions, new songs and choreography exercises. After that, Hashimoto wrote the university's project report directly in the background, then took a nap, went to the bath in the morning, and then went to school to attend classes. Every day was busy, but I finally managed to juggle being an idol and studying.
As the job search approached, her parents asked her, "When are you going to be an idol?" "Friends at the university have naturally decided where to go into well-known big companies.
Hashimoto also conducted job search activities. She was accepted as a reporter for Fuji Television, but she always felt a little out of place. While even being called a freak, I have spent 4 years different, do I really have to do the same work as ordinary people? Let's continue to be an idol. So the UTokyo graduate chose the profession of idol.
When Yufu Terashima entered Waseda University at the age of 19, she joined the idol group "BiS". With no salary, she works part-time in cafes in the morning, attends classes in the afternoon, and starts attending live performances in the evening, living a busy day. In May of his 4th year of university, he quit the group and participated in an educational internship since June.
After starting the internship, Terashima came up with a lot of ideas. For her, a Japanese teacher is a career that she dreamed of from an early age alongside her idol. Teachers can have a huge impact on a child's life. This work cannot be done with the idea of continuing to be an idol.
The opportunity to become a teacher may still exist later, and the only way to become an idol is now. In February, when he was about to graduate from college, Terashima debuted as a solo idol.
Yufu Terashima
Terashima will participate in activities to enhance local vitality together with healing mascots from all over Japan. In the future, it is also planned to carry out activities to promote the importance of language. She introduced herself at the concert, saying, "Graduated from Waseda University, she is a serious idol." Every day, she explores the image of an idol that only she can show.
Ayana Kinoshita became an idol in the first year of high school. In an audition attended by more than 1,000 people, sun music was selected as an idol group "Sunmyu" that has cultivated a large number of well-known characters such as Matsuda Seiko (singer and actor) for more than 20 years.
The work of idols cannot last forever. Kinoshita has another vaguely conscious job, which is the same tourism industry as his father. With most of the group members transferred to correspondence high schools, Kinoshita decided to enter the university from prefectural high schools. She chose tourism-related majors and also obtained the national qualification of "Travel Business Acquisition Manager".
Aya kinoshita
Unexpectedly, the popularity of "Sunmyu", which received attention after its debut, lasted for 8 years. Kinoshita played what he learned in college, and after graduating in March this year, decided to follow the path of idols. She plans networking with fans or participating in tv travel shows, and is trying to expand the breadth of her idol work in her own way.
There are also people who take the opportunity of graduating from college to stop being idols. Hanazaki Natumi, the captain of popular group tipToe, will graduate from university in March 2020 and work for a general company. She believes that the experience of the idol era will become her weapon, and she does not hide her idol when looking for a job.
He became an idol in the age group of 15 to 24 years old and ran all the way for nearly 10 years. But one day that day will come. The change of members and the dissolution of groups, known as "graduations," were major turning points for idols.
Hashimoto graduated from Masquerade Woman in March and was elected to the Shibuya District Council in the unified local elections in April. She became a politician because she wanted to make the younger generation more energetic. After becoming an idol, this time it is necessary to send a signal from the political field. She said, "I hope to inspire young people who give up their dreams because they are women, because they have disabilities, because they don't have money, etc., and try to minimize the number of people who give up their dreams."
Mizuguchi Louise, the captain of the popular group Afilia Saga (now renamed "Pure Love Afilia"), now works as a producer as a regular employee of the largest performing arts firm MAGES. She became an idol at the age of 22 after graduating from college. She worked very hard, but as she approached her 30, she couldn't help but think about what to do in the future. At this time, the president of the firm suggested that he use the experience of the idol era to engage in the work of cultivating and supporting the younger generation.
Since the time of active duty, Mizuguchi prefers to make his partners more concerned than to highlight himself. At MAGES, there is a regular employee who has been an idol in addition to Mizuguchi. She said, "It's not bad to be an idol who can be employed."
I am very happy to become an idol of my vision, but where will I go in 10 years? Many idols have such concerns. Mizuguchi said his experience "may have shown a path to younger generations who are uneasy about the future." Being an idol is hard, but it's even harder to give up willingly. This is the profession of idol.