Japanese TV personality Terry Ito does not want to see KARA disband

Terry Ito, an influential figure in Japanese television, recently shared his thoughts on KARA in his online column, which was titled, “Let’s start a KARA shouldn’t disband movement!”.

Within the posted article, Ito used his knowledge of the popular K-pop girl group, who are currently going through a dispute with their agency. Being the age that he is, he speaks about still remembering which member is Gyuri, which member is Seungyeon, and how he knows who Nicole, Hara, and Ji-yeon are. From the beginning of his post, he referred to the “KARA should just disband” movement that’s going on within internet portals. He addressed this by saying that, “It would be a waste if they disbanded.”

Terry Ito shared his experience of how he met the girls of KARA through his morning show“Sukkiri” last autumn. On the show, he showed KARA around Tokyo, visiting the Tsukiji FishMarket and the Tokyo Tower. He even took them over to his home, a tamagoyaki (cooked egg) sweets shop, where he had them try some of the delicacies they sell. Through this interaction with KARA, he commented, “They get upset when they lose a game, they get embarrassed when they mess up, and they get amazed at the smallest things,” which he felt was different from the typical Japanese gyarus. But what seemed to really capture his heart was when KARA later commented on a different show that “the best food they had in Japan was ‘tamagoyaki sweets.”

When hearing about the dispute KARA is currently going through with their agency, Terry Ito expressed how he felt he couldn’t just sit around. He hopes that KARA and their agency will see that Japanese fans wish them the best, and that they are rooting for them. Even with this complicated ordeal going on, he shows his wish for the chaos to just go away. He commented on his column saying that, “I hear a voice saying it’s not as easy as wishing this would stop, but at the same time, we can’t give up hope. We shouldn’t say that the so called ’slave contract’ Korean entertainment industry is behind, and compare it with the Japanese entertainment industry either, because that will solve nothing.”

He made a reference in his post about the people of Egypt who used Twitter and the internet as tools to drive President Mubarak out of office. He wrote, “One small rally can change the world. The sexy hip dance has appeal because the five members of KARA are doing it together. There will be no merit to anyone if the group disbanded. KARA can’t go through a tragedy like TVXQ,”showing his concern and hope for KARA.

He concluded his article by showing his desire to join the “KARA should stay together” movement.

Although KARA will be releasing their new single “Jet Coaster Love” later this month, their dispute with their agency is not over and continues to worry fans everywhere. However, it is certain that Japanese fans like Terry Ito wish KARA the best and don’t wish to see them disband.