Japanese police have launched a probe over a controversial magazine picture of a child in a provocative pose with a naked pop singer, its publisher and reports said Friday.
About 670,000 copies of the popular weekly Young Magazine were pulled from stores ahead of its planned sale last weekend because of a storm over the photograph, which showed singer Tomomi Kasai with a young, apparently Caucasian or Eurasian child cupping her breasts.
In the photograph, the blond-haired boy is shown reaching from behind to cup the breasts of 21-year-old Kasai, who until last year was a member of highly successful all-girl group AKB48, as she stares into the camera.
The photograph, on an inside page of the weekly, was released as part of a publicity drive for a book of pictures of Kasai produced by the same firm.
http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/police-to-investigate-former-akb48-singers-child-porn-picture
Tomomi Kasai’s debut photo book, titled
Tomo no koto, suki? (
“Do you like Tomo?”), is scheduled for release on February 4th, and the alarming picture was to be used as its cover. Kodansha is also the publisher of the photo book, and the plan was for it to be advertised in last week’s issue of
Shukan Young Magazine. The issue of the magazine has now been cancelled altogether, and Kodansha adds the photograph with the young boy has been pulled from the forthcoming book. Interestingly, Yahoo Japan’s auctions site has even banned the listing of the now-renown issue of the magazine, making it even harder for those young men who are desperate to track down a copy.
Japan’s huge publishing sector includes magazines and graphic comics containing images that may be considered obscene in other developed countries. It is not uncommon to see people reading such material on commuter trains.
Young Magazine, which has a sizable readership of mostly young men, publishes comic strips on a variety of themes including definitive works such as the science fiction “Akira”, which became a cult movie series.
AKB48 is one of the world’s highest-grossing acts. It comprises a 90-strong pool of girls in their teens and early 20s who are rotated in and out of the public eye, based on their popularity.
Idols who have left the collective have had varying degrees of success, with at least one turning to pornography.
http://japandailypress.com/publisher-apologizes-for-inappropriate-picture-of-tomomi-kasais-breasts-1821800
