While it’s easy to think that the United States has cornered the market on the commoditization of young girls for the male gaze, in many ways we don’t hold a candle to — wait for it — Japan. Kyoko ...

The idol phenomenon in Japan, which emerged in the 1970s, highlights young artists, often teenage girls, who sing and dance ...

Kyoko Miyake’s pop culture profile spotlighting Japanese singers premiered in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary Competition. By Justin Lowe The Japanese pop music trend featuring young, ...

The Japanese ‘idol’ scene today mainly conjures up images of pop groups performing choreographed song-and-dance routines. But rewind a few decades – to when idol culture first surfaced in the early ...