People have sex. Itâs a natural and normal part of being a human being. Famous folks have sex, too. (They also take craps and put on pants one leg at a time). In Japan, even pure idols snog and screw. Mind blowing, isnât it?
The most recent issue of tabloid Bubka purports to have indecent photos of voice actress Aya Hirano, wait for it, kissing a man. In what looks to be in bed. And she might be naked, but itâs hard to tell, because the photos are only headshots.
Hirano is best known for voicing the title character in anime The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, as well as games like Dissidia 012: Final Fantasy and most recently Yakuza: Of the End. Sheâs one of the first voice actresses to make the leap from otaku fan favorite to the mainstream, appearing on variety programs and in commercials.
There hasnât been confirmation that the photos are of Hirano. Her typically chattery Twitter feed has gone silent, and her talent agency hasnât commented yet. (Kotaku is following up.)
Bubka wonât say explicitly that the photos are of Hirano. Instead the magazine writes that the ânyan nyanâ (screwing) photos could be of âNational idol HiraXX Ayaâ.
Japanese web forum 2ch imploded over the photos. Some netizens said the pics were fake.. But internet sleuths got to work and were able to match Hiranoâs teeth and mole to the woman in the photos.
Bubka blurred out the manâs face.
Earlier this summer, Hirano was the victim of death threats. Last summer, she caused an uproar when the 23-year-old talked about previous boyfriends, even going as far as saying she liked older men and discussed being cheated on.
https://lastchance.cc/online-death-threats-lead-to-arrest-5807255%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
In Japan, idols like Hirano are supposed to be just that, idols. They are placed on pedestals and worshipped by fans. They might appear in provocative swimsuits or suggestive photos, but many of them are not permitted to publicly date. Itâs akin to Beatlemania in the early 1960s when John Lennon hid that he was married. Trifles like relationships, getting dumped, are all too humanizing. Itâs the private and the public worlds crashing together, and in many ways, the Japanese entertainment business is old fashioned.
Idols might be worshipped by fans, but that doesnât mean they should be suffocated.
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You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.
