Japanese idol sued for dating

A former female pop star was sued by her talent agency for dating a fan. She won a legal battle as the court ruled that the former star was entitled to pursue happiness.

Her talent agency sued her for 9.9 million yen in damages because she started dating her male fan and it was against the contract she had with the agency.

Apparently the agency didn’t sue her until after the former star threatened to quit and did not appear at a scheduled show.

I am so glad that the judge rejected the damage claim.

“We have to admit that forbidding pop idols to date by claiming compensation for damage goes too far,” the judge said according to public broadcaster NHK.

I guess everyone including idols has the right to pursue happiness even though it means that they date “fans.” I have heard that AKB members (Japanese female idol group) aren’t allowed to date until after they “retire” but it is not clear if the agency actually has a written contract.

It really is unreasonable to expect girls in early 20s not to date because they are going to find a way to do that anyways.