Is AKB48G prohibited from dating, or not?

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With the controversy of Okada Nana being outed by Bunshun for possibly having a relationship with a fellow actor and also the past controversies surrounding AKB48 members in the past for dating other men or possibly being photographed with other men, it has been written for many years that there is a no dating rule or “prohibition of love” rule within the organization.

On the 21st, AKB48G (AKB48 Groups) General Manager Mukaichi, whose trend has been attracting attention, commented on the intention of the previous night’s post, saying, “There is a strong perception in the world that AKB48 = dating is prohibited, so first we will correct that gap, and then what will we do about that rule in the future? I wanted to tell them that they should think about whether or not they should,” she explained. On top of that, she apologized for causing a misunderstanding, saying, “I’m sorry for making a statement that could be taken as lifting the ban on dating”.

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— 向井地 美音 (@mionnn_48) November 20, 2022

Various comments were split such as “As long as you are an idol, you should have professionalism”, “If you have a boyfriend but you can’t hide it, it’s over”, then sympathetic comments such as ‘The ban on dating is too strict in this day and age” and “Idols are human too’.

Longtime producer Akimoto Yasushi said on a radio show, “I never said that love is prohibited”. On top of that, he compared AKB48 to a baseball club member aiming for Koshien, and expressed his opinion. “However, I think it’s quite difficult to aim for Koshien while falling in love”.

For idols, love scandals with the opposite sex have been a major source of damage since the Showa era, but it was AKB48, which was born in 2005, that clearly began to use “no romance”.

A veteran idol critic explained to Sponichi, “Actually, even AKB48 has never had a clear rule against dating”. It is said that the origin was in the theater performance held at the AKB48 theater.

About 1 year and 3 months after the formation of the group, AKB48’s Team A performed “Tadaima Renaichu”. A year and a half later, the “Love Ban Ordinance” performance was held in the form of a “sequel”.

The idol critic continued, “Strangely enough, around the same time, a two-shot purikura with a 15-year-old trainee at the time was leaked, and the group dismissed her on the grounds that he acted carelessly without realizing it. As a result, the recognition among the fans that “AKB48 is forbidden to date” was established”.

After that, some members graduated due to scandals with the opposite sex, while others were dismissed. AKB48’s popularity skyrocketed without a clear consistency, with some members failing to reach the goal and some members not being punished in a visible way.

On the 21st, Mukaichi, whose trend has been attracting attention, commented on the intention of the previous night’s post, saying, “There is a strong perception in the world that AKB48 = dating is prohibited, so first we will correct that gap, and then what will we do about that rule in the future? I wanted to tell them that they should think about whether or not they should,” she explained. On top of that, she apologized for causing a misunderstanding, saying, “I’m sorry for making a statement that could be taken as lifting the ban on dating”.

How will the members take the public’s perception of AKB, which has been highlighted by this incident, and make use of it in their activities? We will see.