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Special TV Program Preview – Rino Sashihara and the Idol Parliament!
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Rino Sashihara‘s first act upon taking the office of chairwoman of the Idol Parliament was to have a group of representatives convene and discuss the particular laws of the land for the upcoming Fuji TV program “Sashihara Gicho to Aidoru Kokkai” (指原議長とアイドル国会, Chairwoman Sashihara and the Idol Parliament) which will air on December 22, 2016*.
© Fuji Television
*The television program is scheduled for December 22nd but with it starting at 26:15 (2:15am), it will actually be broadcast early December 23rd.
Tokyo Girls’ Update was fortunate enough to be invited to the filming of the program, so here is a short preview of what to expect when “Sashihara Gicho to Aidoru Kokkai” airs.
Sashihara was joined by Teruyuki Tsuchida (Sashiko no Kuse ni) as her vice-chair and announcer Mizuki Sano as the secretary. Nanase Nishino, Mai Shiraishi, Rina Ikoma from Nogizaka46 were there as special committee members. 3 members from 11 different groups took part in the legislative session.
HKT48 – Haruka Kodama,Hana Matsuoka, Sakura Miyawaki
ANGERME – Momona Kasahara, Mizuki Murota, Akari Takeuchi
Team Syachihoko – Chiyuri Ito, Nao Sakura, Honoka Akimoto
Babyraids JAPAN – Erika Denya, Rikako Oya, Nao Takami
PASSPO☆ – Ai Negishi, Mio Masui, Shiori Mori
Wasuta – Nanase Hirokawa,Ruka Mishina, Ririka Kodama
Kamiyado – Mika Ichinose, Mei Hashima, Hina Koyama
OSAKA☆SYUNKASYUTO – EON, MAINA, ANNA
LinQ – Ayano Yamaki, Yuumi Takaki, Sakura Araki
Maneki Kecha – Reona Matsushita, Miyu Nakagawa, Chiai Fujikawa
UPUPGIRLS (KARI) – Manami Arai, Akari Saho, Minami Sengoku
Idols and Social Media Problems
The first order of business was to look at the problems idols face when using social media to stay in touch with their fans. While some idols are quite diligent about maintaining their visibility through constant and consistent posting, it seems that the consensus is that being so diligent might not be so important. Nao Sakura admitted to only posting in the evenings and Rikako Oya shared that Rio Watanabe, the youngest member of Babyraids JAPAN rarely blogs or tweets. When it was asked if they worried about losing fans through their inactivity, Akari Takeuchi felt that fans were used to their idols being the way they are.
EON revealed that she actually lost followers from tweeting too much. The members of Team Syachihoko added that they would lose about 1,000 followers on their official account every time they would post running commentary while watching a DVD.
Sometimes it’s not just the frequency of content that may turn fans off as Manami Arai shared that she would often get replies calling her annoying for tweeting about things she liked but vowed to stay true to herself and keep doing it anyway. Sashihara agreed by offering that it’s impossible to predict what people might like.
One of the bad things about being online is that people may be different than they are in real life because they can be more anonymous. MAINA showed displeasure at how some fans would be really nice and polite in person but talk trash on Twitter. Akari Takeuchi recalled there being several comments on ANGERME’s blog from people questioning why some of them were in the group.
On the topic of posts going viral and causing a buzz online, the scandal of Minami Sengoku blogging about taking home a piece of coral from Okinawa and the following apology blog post was brought up. With Akari Saho’s idiosyncratic Twitter account and her karate training, UPUPGIRLS (KARI) seems to still be talked about quite a bit. Sashihara was amused at what Saho had become after singing anime theme songs in Shugo Chara Egg! so many years earlier.
Idols and Photography on Social Media
The members of Wasuta shared how they encourage fans to take photos and video of them performing since it was a fan who took that picture which made Kanna Hashimoto (Rev. from DVL) known as the “once in 1,000 years idol”.
A minor commotion broke out as Sashihara noticed that the members of OSAKA☆SYUNKASYUTO looked nothing like their profile pictures, causing her and Tsuchida to get up and compare. They explained that the pictures had been taken a long time ago as the discussion turned to all the different apps and filters idols use when posting selfies online. While apps like Beauty Plus were praised, others like SNOW (an Asian Snapchat rival) were panned.
Other topics discussed during the recording were the issue of being the center member, what idols want to do after graduating/retiring, and food. Of course, with that many idols gathered together, they weren’t just going to talk the entire time. Be sure to tune in on December 22nd to see what else will be revealed!
Photos by Mime Soga
© Fuji Television
After the filming was over, Sashihara went to meet the press, expressing her excitement at having the opportunity to appear with so many different idols and talk about their experiences, calling it a “small dream come true”. Admitting that she was more of a Morning Musume. fan than an idol fan, as many people think, she commented that she came to like everyone that appeared. Talking at length about her love for Morning Musume., Sashihara hoped that there would be a chance to have them as a guest on a future program, in particular, her beloved Masaki Sato.
Sashihara Gicho to Aidoru Kokkai (指原議長とアイドル国会)
December 23, 2016 (Friday)
Fuji TV
2:15am – 3:45am
Related Link
Sashihara Gicho to Idol Kokkai Official site: http://www.idolfes.com/parliament/
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Kai Okudara
Writer, researcher, photographer, foodie, KSDD
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