A commercial showing members of wildly popular all-girl band AKB48 passing bite-sized

A commercial showing members of wildly popular all-girl band AKB48 passing bite-sized candies seductively from mouth-to-mouth is under fire in Japan for encouraging homosexuality.

The advertisement, which aired in March, shows the school uniform-clad young women — all in their late teens or early 20s — intimately exchanging the sweet, with the close-up footage slowing as their lips near.

A broadcasting standards watchdog said Thursday the majority of the 116 complaints it had received in March about commercials concerning young people related to this advert.

“The commercial may encourage homosexuality,” one of the complaints said, adding “oral flora” was also a concern, according to the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization.

AKB48, one of the world’s highest grossing acts with more than $200 million in CD and DVD sales last year, have become a phenomenon in Japan and other parts of Asia over recent years.

With a total of around 90 all-female performers, ranging in age from early teens to mid-20s, their bubblegum pop and synchronized dancing has proved a huge hit with pre-pubescent girls.

A spokesman for UHA Mikakuto Co. which makes the sweets, said the reaction to the TV ad, which aired for 10 days to March 25, had been mixed.

That commercial would do just fine in the US!

Source AP