Complete Sacrifice

Imagine if your bosses ordered you never date or get married, or leave your workplace without their permission?

These requests might seem out-of-line... unless you're in Japan.  Two recent incidents demonstrate the extraordinary demands made by employers in this country and the extent to which some employees sacrifice freedom and individuality in order to please their bosses.

The first incident made international headlines.  Minami Minegishi, a member of Japan's fabulously successful pop idol group AKB48, shaved her head and issued a tearful YouTube apology for... wait for it... being caught leaving her boyfriend's apartment:

Japanese pop idol shaves head and apologizes for having boyfriend/

AKB48 is a pop phenomenon in Japan and the group's nearly 100 members must adhere to a strict code of conduct which includes no boyfriends or dating.  The edict is supposedly to project a clean, wholesome image but critics say it's really intended to project a notion of the "availability" of the band members, extending the fantasy of desirability to the group's enormous fan base.

More on pop idol's "disgrace" at having a boyfriend

Minegishi is 20 years old and should be beyond this idol mythology.  Seeing her apologize for her “thoughtless and irresponsible behavior” was shocking.  Many Westerners might have rather seen her show some backbone and tell the AKB48 producers to "Sod off!   

That would have made her a hero, rather than a pathetic, sobbing loser.

However, in Japanese culture, her apology works.  In Japan, women are expected to be soft-spoken, ultra-feminine, non-confrontational and, more than anything, young and seemingly available to men.

Strong, adult women are not rarely seen in Japan which, in my opinion, speaks to a regressive view of sexuality in Japanese culture.  One almos never sees expressions of strong, grown-up women in Japanese media or advertising.  Women her simply aren't allowed to be confident in their own sexuality.

I call it the "cult of the Japanese schoolgirl."  And it's kind of sad. 

The second incident that speaks to the complete control of workers in Japan involved a young baseball player named Shohei Otani, the latest phenom to hit the pro leagues here.  Otani is the teenaged fireballer who was persuaded to stay in Japan rather than explore his desire to sign with a major league team:  

Japanese phenom stays home

Otani, who is 18 years old, was informed by his manager that he was not allowed to leave the team's training camp without permission.  The team maintains it's for his own protection but many think management is merely worried about Otani getting into trouble and embarrassing the team.   Former Fighters' star Yu Darvish was once suspended after being caught smoking under-age.

In Japan, sacrifice is noble and valued especially in the workplace, where individuality and the right to a private life take second place to the goals of the organization.