By Ko Dong-hwan There’s growing speculation that a Japanese member of K-pop girl group Twice was forced to pull out of the outfit’s ongoing world tour because anti-Japan fans had been attacking the star online amid worsening Korea-Japan ties. Growing anti-Japanese sentiment in South Korea has even led to calls for Japanese members of K-pop outfits to be removed from the acts. The moves come after Japan excluded South Korea from its “ white list ” of trading countries early this month and reduced Japanese exports of semiconductor materials to South Korea , a global chip-making giant. After Twice ’s management firm, JYP Entertainment, announced on July 14 that Mina would miss the tour because of “mental distress” , speculation mounted on fan sites that anti-Japan fans may have traumatised the star. JYP said on Twice’s official homepage that Mina was “suddenly feeling extremely nervous and anxious about performing on stage”. “We do not exactly know the name of the condition, but are inquiring with medical institutions to verify the cause,” the agency said. Chinese boy band star’s parents’ bubble tea shop shut after three days The agency said the decision to drop Mina from the tour was made after a thorough discussion with the star and the group’s other eight members. Twice completed the first leg of their world tour in Los Angeles on July 19, attracting an audience of 11,000. After continuing to Mexico City, Newark, Chicago and Kuala Lumpur, the band will play across seven Japanese cities from October 23. Read the full story at the Korea Times .