By James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)
As Westerners we consider the Japanese as a polite people, but when it comes to a j-pop idol concert, that politeness quickly disappears. On one hand they may bow to you out of respect, on the other hand they have no second thoughts of taking you down if you get between them and their performing idol. YouTuber Storehouse Channel (保管庫ちゃんねる) was witness to such an incident on the 2nd day of the Tokyo Idol Festival, the world’s largest idol festival, held annually In the Odaiba and Aomi area.
Recorded for posterity by Storehouse, a mass of fans who were in attendance to see Keyakizaka46 perform, broke security barriers and rushed the stage. In the video security can be seen trying their utmost to push back the tsunami of fans, but it was like throwing a pebble to break a wave. Idol fans were eventually stopped (or they stopped) at the 2nd barrier just in front of the stage that is normally reserved for press and VIPs.
YouTuber Storehouse kept filming the video during the charge of idol fans until it was too late to run for safety. The camera is knocked back and the angle suddenly shoots skyward before settling towards the ground. The last shot is focused towards the ground on the other side of the 2nd barrier and someone’s pair of Pumas. During the scuffle you can hear one person yell “Yaba!” (Oh no!) while yet another yells “Sagare!” (move back). The video ends when a hand comes up to cover the camera lens. Otaku no culture has not heard of any reports of injuries as a result of the incident.
Keyakizaka46 (欅坂46) is a Japanese idol group and is the 1st sister group of Nogizaka46 (乃木坂46). Their 1st single “Silent Majority” released on April 6, 2015 with 1st generation members being officially announced on August 21, 2015. Their latest single “Sekai ni wa Ai shika nai” released August 10, 2016 in Japan and is available in four different versions. Keyakizaka46 is produced by Yakimoto Yasushi and is currently under contract to Sony Music Entertainment Japan.
Source(s): News on Japan and Rocket News 24.
Video Source(s): 保管庫ちゃんねる and Nogizaka46 Keyakizaka46.
