The lolicon circus continues to gather steam.
JAKARTA — An AKB48 song blares from a hall in central Jakarta, as 44 girls inside wearing colorful gym clothes and cute sport shoes follow the instructions and movements of their performance instructor.
The song, “Heavy Rotation,” is the 17th single by all-girl group AKB48, one of Japan’s most popular idol groups. The girls in the park are auditioning for JKT48, which by the end of the year will be formed in Jakarta and become the teen idols’ first official overseas sister group.
Billed as a “unique idol group with Indonesian culture,” the auditions for JKT48 have attracted hundreds of girls, some as young as 13, while others are in their 20s.
Ayana Shahab, 14, whose mother is Japanese and father Indonesian of Arab descent, has been a fan of AKB48 for years.
“AKB48 are my idols, because they are cool . . . and nice to their fans,” Shahab, one of the finalists for JKT48, said during a break in her training.
“I want to be like them and that’s why I applied to become a member of JKT48,” said Shahab, a junior high school student. ..read more
November 04, 2011, 4:27am
