Rise of J-pop (Week 9)

The Japanese idol industry is one of the most potent carriers of kawaii in Japanese pop culture.

Idols are young, popular, singer-entertainers trained in singing, dancing, and performing. Yet, their success is not rooted in perfection, but in relatability. Unlike Western pop stars, Japanese idols are crafted to feel accessible—approachable girls-next-door who shine not because they’re flawless, but because they seem just within reach. Their charm is made tangible through small venues, fan meet-and-greets, and live appearances, where fans can meet their idols directly. 

In the 1980s that we witnessed the “golden age of idols.” The era saw a surge of young talent, none more iconic than Matsuda Seiko. Seiko wasn’t glamorous in the way Western stars were—she was flat-chested, bowlegged, and unpolished. But it was exactly this imperfection, paired with her bashful demeanor and childlike clothing, that made her lovable. She embodied burikko, a term used to describe exaggerated kawaii behavior—shy smiles, an innocent demeanor, and demure gestures.

But towards the end of the 1980s, the popularity of idol culture grew stale, resulting in the “idol ice age.”
The public grew weary of the artificiality and various scandals that dimmed the industry’s glow.

Then came the economic crash of the early 1990s—Japan’s “lost decade.” With young people out of work and under pressure, the public sought comfort, nostalgia, and emotional escape once again. Kawaii made a triumphant return—and idols came back with a vengeance along with it. People searched for happiness in the form of kawaii, and many found that idols fit the bill perfectly.

At this time, J-pop, or Japanese popular music, began incorporating a more global sound, and was played alongside foreign music on Japanese radio. But even with a hefty Western influence on the sound of Jpop, Jpop idols never quite caught on on a global scale. In an era of Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera, the cutesy image of J-pop idols just didn’t blend well in the West. However, the same cannot be said about other Asian countries. Idols were hugely popular in the rest of Asia. Satellite networks like Star TV broadcast Japanese idol dramas to Taiwan, while music exports skyrocketed. By 1995, nearly half of Japan’s television exports went to East and Southeast Asia. Idol groups and soloists like Ayumi Hamasaki, SMAP, Utada Hikaru, and AKB48 became household names across the region.

For many young East Asians, Japanese pop culture offered  a way to experience the West through an Asian lens—what scholars call an “Asianed West.” With Japan’s status as an industrialized and modernized nation, Japanese music, media, and fashion were carriers of an urban and trendy lifestyle that many young people in Asia found attractive and relevant to their own changing lives. Additionally, asian fans found that Japanese idols were more relatable to them culturally and ethnically. Rather than chase an impossible ideal of the likes of Madonna or JLo, Japanese idols presented a more attainable vision. The kawaii, burikko behavior displayed by J-pop idols was similar to practices of aegyo in Korea, and sajiao in China and Taiwan, forms of deliberate cuteness used to express affection, charm, and playfulness.