{"id":12949,"date":"2012-04-23T03:04:38","date_gmt":"2012-04-23T03:04:38","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2012-04-23T03:04:38","modified_gmt":"2012-04-23T03:04:38","slug":"Japan-all-girl-group-ad-encourages-homosexuality-","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=12949","title":{"rendered":"Japan all-girl group ad &#8216;encourages homosexuality&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>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.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The advertisement, which aired in March, shows the school uniform-clad young women &#8212; all in their late teens or early 20s &#8212; intimately exchanging the sweet, with the close-up footage slowing as their lips near.<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"500\" height=\"315\" src=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/DPI-YNpAh28\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The commercial may encourage homosexuality,&#8221; one of the complaints said, adding &#8220;oral flora&#8221; was also a concern, according to the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization.<\/p>\n<p>AKB48, one of the world&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p><strong>That commercial would do just fine in the US!<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em>Source AP<\/em><br \/>\n<!--break--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A commercial showing members of wildly popular all-girl band AKB48 passing bite-sized candies seductively from mouth-to-mouth is under fire 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