Japan: K-Pop Concert Draws, Disneyland Performer Awarded Compensation

K-Pop Big In Top 50 Japan Concert Draws

AP Photo / Kin Cheung – TVXQ
AsiaWorld-Arena, January 19, 2013

Japanese magazine Nikkei Entertainment released its annual list of the top 50 concert draws for 2017 based on attendance, with three of the top 10 acts being K-pop artists – BigBang (No. 2), TVXQ (No. 7) and SHINee (No. 8).

The top draw of the year was the R&B boy band Sandaime J Soul Brothers, which is part of the massive R&B collective Exile Tribe. They performed 37 times during the year in front of a total of 1.8 million fans, according to Nikkei. Three of the top 10 acts belong to the biggest boy band stable in Japan, Johhny’s and Associates. What was perhaps most surprising is that none of the top 10 draws were female artists. The closest female group was No. 11 – the idol collective Nogizaka 46, with 467,000 tickets sold for 38 concerts.

Among the top rock bands were the veteran group Mr. Children at No. 6 (784,000 tickets over 30 shows), the relatively new J-rock group AAA at No. 9, and Southern Allstars leader Keisuke Kuwata as a solo act at No. 10, with 488,000 people attending 20 concerts, according to Nikkei.

The only non-Korean foreign act to make the Top 50 was Paul McCartney, who attracted a relatively measly 174,000 people. Given that he played just four shows, it was quite an efficient use of his time, though not as efficient as BigBang leader G-Dragon, who played for 259,000 people at five gigs. 

Disneyland Performer Awarded Work Injury Compensation

In a first, a costumed performer at Tokyo Disneyland was awarded compensation by a court for a disorder she says was caused by her work at the famed theme park.

The unnamed 28-year-old female employee normally performs in parades as any one of Disney’s various trademarked characters wearing costumes that weigh around 10 kilograms, according to park management, Oriental Land Company. During the last two months of 2016 she appeared in more than 50 Christmas-themed parades, each of which lasted 45 minutes.

While the parade went on, she was required to keep her arms raised above her head. Eventually, she started developing pain in her neck, left arm and fingers. By the time she visited a clinic in January, the pain had become unbearable. The clinic diagnosed her with thoracic outlet syndrome, which is caused by compressed nerves.

The award was unusual in that pain disorders are difficult to connect directly to work responsibilities, but in this case labor authorities did not dispute the woman’s claim. Oriental Land has said it will try to find “less physically demanding” work for the woman.