JYP’s plans for all-Japanese K-pop girl group Nizi spark social media backlash

Plans by K-pop producer Park Jin-young, founder of JYP Entertainment, to launch a Japanese-only girl group – dubbed Nizi – to emulate the success of his South Korean band, TWICE – has sparked criticism.

In February JYP and Sony Music agreed to recruit girl group members aged between 15 and 22 who can speak Japanese fluently. Park plans to launch the new group in November 2020.

The move sparked controversy because Park said that only Japanese girls and women will be eligible to audition for a place in the K-pop group.

Some South Korean K-pop fans expressed their displeasure that other candidates will be excluded – accusing Park of being pro-Japanese in social media comments.

One internet user tweeted: “Why would the Korean producer put his efforts towards helping globalisation of a Japanese girl group?”

Another fan criticised Park for cashing in on the growing popularity of K-pop to make profits for himself and his company.

“Many K-pop groups, such as BTS, EXO, BLACKPINK and TWICE, have worked very hard to lift the status of K-pop on the global stage,” the social media user wrote.

“Now Park is using K-pop’s influence for his own sake – to earn more money for himself.”

Other social media posts said Park should “focus more on managing the K-pop girl groups his company already has”, such as JYP’s recently launched band, ITZY.

Park and Shunsuke Muramatsu, Sony Music’s executive vice-president and director, signed a contract over the Nizi plans in Tokyo on February 7.

Park said he wanted to create a Japanese version of TWICE – formed of three Japanese, five Korean and one Taiwanese members – which has enjoyed huge success in Japan.

All the Japanese girls and women chosen at the auditions for Nizi will become JYP trainees and then undergo a rigorous six-month training course, in fields such as singing and dancing, under the guidance of JYP in Seoul.

Park said he agreed with Sony Music’s view that only Japanese candidates should be considered for the new girl group to help J-pop develop.

He said the move to launch Nizi is part of his plans to expand the global appeal of K-pop.

In the past Park has expressed interest in expanding its popularity worldwide and recruiting talented performers abroad, rather than simply exporting K-pop to other countries.

Last year, BTS – the seven-member boy band that is South Korea’s leading K-pop export – cancelled plans to work with Akimoto Yasushi, a television and music director, after criticism from K-pop fans.

JYP has yet to make an official detailed statement about its Nizi project.

This article was originally written by Jung Hae-myoung for The Korea Times.

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