Little idols': Japan's dark obsession with young girls

TOKYO: In a cramped and dark venue in a sleazy Tokyo district, dozens of middle-aged men cheer at a performer on stage: The object of their adoration is a six-year-old girl.
Decked out in make-up with ribbons in her hair, Ai is dressed like an adult, but still looks very much a child.
She is a so-called "idol" singer -- common in Japan, where rights groups have complained that society's sometimes permissive view of the sexualisation of young girls puts minors at risk.
It was only in 2015 that possessing child pornography was criminalised and authorities are struggling to bring the country into line with other advanced nations on the issue.
In the crowd at an idols show, Soichiro Seki, 40, says he watches young girls on stage twice a week. He insists he goes just to encourage the performers and feels no shame.
But he did concede that other fans objectify them. "(For them) coming to a concert like this and visiting a hostess club in Kabukicho are essentially the same thing," he said, referring to Tokyo's major red-light district.
Idol Tama Himeno, who has performed on stage since the age of 16, says the men attending her shows worship the performers and crave communication with young girls that they cannot get elsewhere.
Most fans are "pure," insists Himeno, now 24, although she admits she was once offered 30,000 yen ($260) for her used pantyhose.
"Men idolising young girls is relatively accepted in Japan," said Himeno, citing the "Tale of Genji", an 11th-century classic depicting a nobleman's romantic relationships with women, as well as a small girl.
For Ai's manager Hidenori Okuma, the men are attracted by the thought of contact with a "girl next door".
"Meeting and chatting with high-school idols has become so popular," said Okuma.