Japanese group Arashi was flooded by criticism after member Matsumoto Jun said that the success of Kpop and other Asian artists should be credited to their founder Johnny Kitagawa.
In an interview with Arashi, the group talked about the group's recent moves to go international with the release of three English singles.The group also collaborated with international superstar Bruno Mars for a project.
Arashi talked about their gratitude to Bruno Mars for writing the song "Whenever You Call" for them. To do so, the Grammy winner listened to their songs and watched a lot of their videos.
When asked about his opinion about the success of Asian acts in the global music industry, Matsumoto Jun credited the state of the Asian pop market to the work of Johnny Kitagawa in the 60s. He said that Arashi's founder Johnny did the legwork and set the foundation for the success of Asian artists on the global stage.
He added that he is happy that the foundations that Johnny laid out all those years ago are now crossing borders. He said that Johnny's legacy continues with the current crop of Asian artists who are making a name for themselves in different parts of the world. Jun further explained that Kitagawa's creation of popular Jpop groups made an impact on Asian pop culture, even outside of Japan.
However, Korean netizens took issue with Jun's comment, saying that Arashi should not diminish the success of Kpop by taking credit for its achievements in the international scene, All Kpop reported.
Some said that Arashi members must be feeling inferior to the success of Kpop artists, leading them to make the statement.
Arashi is currently doing a promotional run for their final projects before they take an extended hiatus at the end of the year. The group has been actively promoting for over 20 years and is considered one of the most successful Jpop groups in history. Their compilation album 5x20 All the BEST!! 1999-2019 was the bestselling album in Japan last year, selling 3.3 million copies, Japan Today reported.
The group's journey was recently featured in a Netflix documentary which was viewed by millions of fans. The group recently staged an online concert at the Olympic Stadium that was completed for the postponed 2020 Olympics. The concert, which streamed on November 3, also marked the group's 21st debut anniversary. It can be recalled that Arashi first debuted in Japan on the 3rd of November, 1999.
