Kanasugi Fumio

I'm beginning to think the fanmen are starting to outnumber us lol. Kanasugi Fumio is a 55-year old broadcasting writer (he has worked with his favorite Sho-kun before). He became an Arashi fan when someone invited him to the Gaisen con last January (he's a Vegas fan, and he wrote that Arashi's set-up could probably rival Cirque du Soleil's lol), and since then he's gone to the April and October Dome cons, watched Haikei, Bambino, and YamaTaro, etc. etc. etc. Most striking is Mr. Kanasugi's firm belief in...Arashi's potential political power (!).

On the AAA DVD (limited ed of course) which he got so engrossed in watching that he actually forgot to attend a meeting:

What is most amazing is that these young Taiwanese and Korean women have been following and loving them for eight years.

While it has become a borderless world, there are many Koreans who say that they hate Japan, and it was hard to imagine that they would call out a Japanese idol's name so ecstatically like that.

Despite this, the union of Japanese idol and Korean youth came into reality so splendidly.

The idol power that makes possible, through the bodily expressions of song, dance, and talk, what even important politicians and scholars could not quite achieve.

I remembered the words of Professor M*, who was also there at their Tokyo Dome concert during Golden Week: "What amazing power. If only we could beam it to politics..."

While watching the DVD, I also began to think that maybe the idol is actually the one who can exercise the greatest political influence.

Not that I'm saying that we should use their popularity for political propaganda.

For instance, if their show, and the documentary that reflects their true selves can be broadcast in the countries of Asia, the scary image of the Japanese that their young people have would likely change considerably.

And when the youth changes, the country also changes, so the more power the idol has, the more this image will change.

Come to think of it, the idol group that is Arashi not only has the idol potential, but they might also have the potential to better the image of Japan!...Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit...?

*I think he's referring to the main caster of NEWS ZERO, Murao-san (a former government official)

On their latest Dome concert:

Today, Japan is being tossed about with great force in the whirlpool that is "Time".
The manner of its contribution to the world. Its leadership as the forerunner of Asia.
Yet with each passing year, with politicians at the forefront, these adults stray more and more, and their words and actions continue to become less serious.

Under such circumstances, the performance that Arashi offers to their fans, with their honest words, song, and dance, seems like it's really resonating in their hearts.

If we could concentrate their power and pour it into peace and environmentalist activities and such, it might really be possible to "change the times", like Sakurai-kun said.

To the people who say that politics and entertainment are on different dimensions. And to all the politicians who have yet to see an Arashi concert. For the love of learning, I encourage you to enjoy it once.

Well, because it's amazing. It makes me want to wager on the possibility.

I love stalking fanmen; they write stuff we don't XD