I was curious about how current day Japanese idols feel about this situation so I decided to put the question to Ai Takahashi.

“The level of quality of Korean idol groups is extremely high. Their songs, their dance moves, everything about them is just flawless. They’re well balanced in every aspect. I’m sure it’s all relative to the amount of training they put in behind the scenes though.”

Did you ever feel any pressure after the all these groups started to emerge?

“I’m a fan of K-POP myself but I guess there was a bit of pressure there, yes. More and more groups kept coming and I really didn’t want to lose out to them. Of course we had the Morning Musume history on our side but I wanted to prove we were more than just a long-standing brand name. I didn’t want to disappoint our fans, so we had to push ourselves even harder and focus on improving any of our weak points.”

These would have been the things going around in Ai’s mind around the same time that Morning Musume bowled me over with their live performance in Paris. From Asia to the world: Japan’s efforts not to lose sight of the Korean idols, already one step ahead on the global offensive. Looking at it from a broader perspective, you could also say it’s a mammoth offensive on the part of Asia to break into the European/American music scene. Japan has nothing to lose through such attempts but the problem is the Japanese people and whether they have what it takes to adopt this new perspective and adapt themselves to a global market.

“I really wanted to establish a name for ourselves overseas. The concerts we held in Paris and L.A. were so important to me.”

Hearing Ai mention that she has such fond memories of her overseas performances makes me feel even luckier that I got to be there for one of them myself. And the fact that these performances were paid events surely holds great implications for the potential of Japanese artists for the future.

“I hope that even more people overseas come to know Japan and the sound of Japan. Yes, I think Japan has a specific sound. If the product is uniquely Japanese I believe you can market it for an international audience.”

Japanese idol’s breaking into international markets is not an issue that only pertains to the idols themselves though. You could say the same thing about anime, but whether it’s anime or idols, the important thing is not to lump things into one category, but rather embrace the individuality in everything. The need to consider how best to raise these products of Japan and market them for an international audience with the full support of the Japanese economy is by no means a recent endeavor; it’s an issue that has been at our doorstep for some time now.

Perhaps we’ve left it too late to catch up to the Korean boom now, but better late than never. Let’s just say it’s another urgent matter for Japan that needs addressing sooner rather than later.

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