More JYJ Drama

Korean vocal trio JYJ’s June 7 charity concert at Tokyo’s Kokugikan has become even more controversial that it already was.

JYJ, which consists of the three member who left the popular K-pop quintet TVXQ (Tohoshinki in Japan) over a dispute with its Korean management, wanted to hold a charity concert for the victims of the March 11 Japan earthquake/tsunami but had trouble securing a venue.

The Japanese media suspected the difficulties were due to interference from the group’s Japanese management company, Avex Holdings.

Avex claims sole rights to JYJ’s activities in Japan and would not let the group perform in Japan without its permission. The reasons for the interference were never explicitly spelled out, though some believe Avex was under pressure from the Korean management company of the two remaining TVXQ members, who were also represented by Avex in Japan.

Eventually, JYJ and its Korean agency made an independent agreement with the Japan Sumo Association, which runs the Kokugikan, and held the concert. Now, according to weekly magazine Gendai, Avex is suing the Sumo Association for 143 million yen ($1.8 million) in damages, saying that the sumo body interfered with Avex’s business.

In addition, Gendai reports that Avex had been visited by right-wing organizations who threatened the company unless they allowed the group to perform the charity concert. This is mildly ironic, considering that Japanese nationalists normally aren’t very sympathetic to the activities of Koreans in Japan.