Takagi Sayuki left Juice=Juice and Hello! Project as of 02/13/2021

[Sohee]

The fact that UF let her post that, I feel, goes to show "who's side" they're on in this whole thing.

[Nayoko-Kihara]

^ My thoughts exactly.

[Jessi]

Wow. What a powerful statement.

But also with what happened recently regarding the head of the Olympics organizing committee, I wonder if things in Japan are finally starting to change. Maybe not institutionally, but people are getting upset and speaking out against sexism more and more. It’s definitely a start.

[CaptainBerryzGiraffe]

Yeah, not only the fact that UF allowed that - but it also shows the class of UF. They have generally been on the more progressive side of things, and it's clear from most (At least, recent...) contexts that they usually have the "look, we're only doing this because we have to because it's the social norm, but know that if the circumstances were different, we wouldn't be doing this" attitude.

[Celedam]

Yua Mikami (current AV star, former member of SKE48) shares her thoughts…

[Zunu]

Yeah, not only the fact that UF allowed that - but it also shows the class of UF. They have generally been on the more progressive side of things, and it's clear from most (At least, recent...) contexts that they usually have the "look, we're only doing this because we have to because it's the social norm, but know that if the circumstances were different, we wouldn't be doing this" attitude.

It really makes me glad that Oda was able to speak her mind. But at the same time if I'm keeping it 100 I have to admit to myself that "we wouldn't be treating our girls this way except for the regrettable fact that society forces us" isn't really THAT super-progressive. Naturally they would rather not have to be bothered with watching over and punishing their girls who want to date. After they've invested so much time, money and hope on that girl (especially a once-in-a-generation level talent like Sayuki), it's a hassle when they are suddenly forced to change all the big plans they had. If it were up to the industry itself, fans would look the other way and stay loyal no matter what, the judgment of the management company would never be called into question by society, they could do whatever they wanted in terms of freedom or restrictions with no ill effect, even cases where managers slept with the talent would be overlooked. It hurts both their bottom line and their autonomy when a scandal comes out and they're forced to react. So, for me, I'd call them "progressive" when they actually take the courage to stand up and say, yeah no, we're not making her resign, she's 23, who she chooses to spend time with off the clock is none of our concern. Or at the very least, if they really want to speak out against societal strictures, they should come out and say so directly instead of vicariously through the talent.

But, CBG, you're definitely not wrong, the fact that they're letting Oda speak so frankly seems to confirm that, among the major idol houses, UF does allow its adult women a measure of independent thought and expression and their stance does give one the hope that they are at least willing to consider gingerly pushing the envelope toward more autonomy. I'd just personally consider that more along the lines of "lowkey progressive aspirations" as opposed to real progress.

Meanwhile, Yuuri, who's a notorious "player," suffers no consequences whatsoever, not even to my knowledge having to say a little "oops sorry I got my gf fired hehe."

[aerosuffly]

Meanwhile, Yuuri, who's a notorious "player," suffers no consequences whatsoever, not even to my knowledge having to say a little "oops sorry I got my gf fired hehe."

Did he even acknowledge Sayuki as his girlfriend? I really hope he did ...

[CaptainBerryzGiraffe]

Yeah, not only the fact that UF allowed that - but it also shows the class of UF. They have generally been on the more progressive side of things, and it's clear from most (At least, recent...) contexts that they usually have the "look, we're only doing this because we have to because it's the social norm, but know that if the circumstances were different, we wouldn't be doing this" attitude.

It really makes me glad that Oda was able to speak her mind. But at the same time if I'm keeping it 100 I have to admit to myself that "we wouldn't be treating our girls this way except for the regrettable fact that society forces us" isn't really THAT super-progressive. Naturally they would rather not have to be bothered with watching over and punishing their girls who want to date. After they've invested so much time, money and hope on that girl (especially a once-in-a-generation level talent like Sayuki), it's a hassle when they are suddenly forced to change all the big plans they had. If it were up to the industry itself, fans would look the other way and stay loyal no matter what, the judgment of the management company would never be called into question by society, they could do whatever they wanted in terms of freedom or restrictions with no ill effect, even cases where managers slept with the talent would be overlooked. It hurts both their bottom line and their autonomy when a scandal comes out and they're forced to react. So, for me, I'd call them "progressive" when they actually take the courage to stand up and say, yeah no, we're not making her resign, she's 23, who she chooses to spend time with off the clock is none of our concern. Or at the very least, if they really want to speak out against societal strictures, they should come out and say so directly instead of vicariously through the talent.

But, CBG, you're definitely not wrong, the fact that they're letting Oda speak so frankly seems to confirm that, among the major idol houses, UF does allow its adult women a measure of independent thought and expression and their stance does give one the hope that they are at least willing to consider gingerly pushing the envelope toward more autonomy. I'd just personally consider that more along the lines of "lowkey progressive aspirations" as opposed to real progress.

Meanwhile, Yuuri, who's a notorious "player," suffers no consequences whatsoever, not even to my knowledge having to say a little "oops sorry I got my gf fired hehe."

You're correct - I didn't think of that, and I understand what you mean. However, "progressive" is in relation to everything around it: it's one thing to be truly "progressive" and do something that can potentially cause your whole business/life/etc to collapse (and let's be honest, at the END of the day UF is concerned about their own reputation, earnings, etc, more than anything else), and it's another thing to be gradually progressive towards normalcy of a topic. It's definitely a possibility that something like this could cause a Wota outcry or something similar which they don't want to happen. I'm of the opinion that a gradual shift towards that as the norm is the way to go - by allowing Oda this avenue to talk about it, it might lead to others to follow. It's one step in the right direction, I think. An abrupt change (and then everyone just labeling Sayuki as 'the black sheep' and moving on) vs slowly shifting the goalposts.

Obviously both have their own ups and downs and I'm not by any means a societal expert lol. I think UF made the mistake here to throw Sayuki out, don't get me wrong, I just think that the way they're handling this has its merits as well.

[Celedam]

Umm, we still don't know what discussions were had, whose decision it was, or what they will do next. Sure, the optics are not great (and even that is relative), but all it really means is a lack of transparency.

[Sohee]

The fact that UF is one of the "better" idol agencies out there and they treat their girls way way better than many other places, as well as Sayuki's history with them, is what makes me think she had her graduation planned. It'd make sense with the audition, too.

So if we assume that she was planning on graduating in summer or whatever, it makes perfect sense to me, for them to just have her quit now and /not/ have to deal with possible hate and backlash she could get during the promotion of the upcoming single (not to mention online comments) or whatever. As well as forcing her out on stage in front of so many fans who many, for sure, support her. But among those there are definitely the crazies as well and being in Sayuki's position even if she doesn't think she did anything wrong and even with the backing of UF, it would still be awkward and weird to go out and perform on stage when you could possibly have possessive lunatics in the audience.

Just speculation, but her having planned to graduate is easy to imagine. Not to mention all the other personal details we have no idea of knowing... idk. I have a feeling that it didn't go down as bad and horrible between UF and Sayuki, as it (understandably) feels like it did for fans. Which, honestly, is all I care about.