Bieber: We’re Going To Japan!

TMZ reported in early May that some staff members of his world tour “mutinied” while the tour was in Australia, saying they didn’t want to go to Japan because of continued earthquakes and the ongoing nuclear crisis caused by the March 11 tsunami.

Bieber is scheduled to play in Osaka May 17 and in Tokyo May 19.

Bieber’s manager Scooter Braun reportedly berated the crew and told them to “do the right thing by these kids,” meaning Bieber’s Japanese fans.

The crew countered that Slash and Avril Lavigne had already canceled their tours (though, at the time, Lavigne’s “postponement” hadn’t officially been announced in Japan), supposedly because of radiation fears, but Braun came back with Maroon 5, who went ahead with their own Japan tour the week before Bieber is in Japan.

On May 8, the singer tweeted, “5 shows left of this leg of the #myworldtour! Manila, Hong Kong, Taipei, Osaka and Tokyo! Like I said…we are going to JAPAN!”

Several gossip websites have said that Bieber said he would perform without a crew even if it meant playing smaller venues. Such a move might also disappoint fans if it means some of them can’t get in. The Zepp Osaka show is already sold out, and tickets to the Tokyo Budokan concert are nearly gone.

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