In January, the announcement that the all male pop idol group Arashi will go on hiatus by the end of next year caused quite a fuss. Over the course of the past 20 years, Arashi has continually performed in live concerts and on TV, making it one of the country’s most popular groups. Many people are disappointed to hear this news, especially seeing as last year the even more experienced top-ranking pop idol group SMAP broke up. In Japan, groups hoping to become idol (pop stars) pop up all over the place. People say that idol used to be professional performers that were either good looking or had some other kind of appealing quality. Arashi and SMAP are loved by many fans and should be true idol groups. However, there are many – most particularly handsome men or cute women – who declare themselves to be idols on making their debuts in the entertainment world. You could say that “aidoru” has become a term to refer to a particular occupation. When they make their debut, to make themselves seem more approachable and boost their popularity as a girl/boy next-door type of aidoru, they hold events at which fans can shake them by their hands. Fans cheer them on, gaining satisfaction from seeing how these budding aidoru progress into fully-grown stars. In January, an incident occurred in which male fans visited a member room of an all-female aidoru group in Niigata without being invited. You could say that this happened because of the peculiarities of the Japanese aidoru business.