Music critic and lyricist Reiko Yukawa’s comments on X about the metal dance unit “BABYMETAL” are causing quite a stir. ( Photo: The girl rock band that was once called “post-BABYMETAL” is here. Yukawa quoted music critic Peter Barakan’s past comment (already deleted) that “If Japan is evaluated by such a fake, I think it is the end of the world. Yukawa, who says he is a BABYMETAL fan, wrote in X on September 16, “Like a puppet show, the three members are backed by a group of male musicians who are hiding behind them. Then what are they? They are beautiful, cute, and well choreographed. I am one of those who are attracted to and appreciate their intense beauty and youthfulness, like Himiko. But it’s never about musical ability or charm, is it? It’s really a gendered, water-business kind of evaluation,” she posted. However, many fans reacted to this “last sentence” on social networking sites, saying that it was “too rude to call them ‘water peddlers,'” “You don’t understand anything,” and “If you call yourself a fan, you should know what they are trying to do. Mr. Yukawa later apologized, saying that he had “overstepped the mark” and that he was “sorry” for using the term “mizu-shobai-ish. He then explained that in a broad sense it refers to the popular business in general and that he did not intend to be discriminatory, adding that he himself is ‘one of the mizu-shobai,’ but the firestorm has not subsided at all. Musician and music producer Haruo Chikada, who posted, “I completely agree with Mr. Yukawa,” was also under fire. BABYMETAL, the band in the middle of the uproar, has built a solid following by appearing at festivals around the world and touring the globe numerous times. (Billboard 200). It was the first time in the history of the group that all members are Japanese to reach the Top 10. They are also popular in European countries, and can be said to be global artists representing Japan in both name and reality.
