Chinese members of K-pop idol groups are going to be absent from the 2022 Asian Artist Awards.
On December 13th, the 2022 Asian Artist Awards (AAA) will be held at the Nippongaishi Hall in Nagoya, Japan.
The lineup includes 18 actors and 35 singers, from SEVENTEEN, Lim Young Woong, PENTAGON, KARD, THE BOYZ, Stray Kids, to WJSN Chocome, ITZY, NMIXX, New Jeans, LE SSERAFIM, and more.
However, Chinese members Jun and The8 from SEVENTEEN have announced their absence from this year’s AAA.
On December 11th, Pledis Entertainment, SEVENTEEN’s agency, said, “SEVENTEEN members Jun and The8 will not attend the 2022 Asia Artist Awards in Japan to be held on December 13 due to individual schedules. Therefore, SEVENTEEN will participate in the award ceremony as a 11-member group.”
Shen Xiaoting, a Chinese member of Kep1er, will also not attend. Kep1er’s agency explained, “Shaoting is unable to attend the AAA due to health reasons.” (G)I-DLE, which includes Chinese member Yuqi, is also not part of the lineup at this year’s AAA.
The news of Chinese idols’ absence seems to be due to the date on which the 2022 AAA is held.
On December 13, 1937, during the Sino-Japanese War, Japanese troops occupied Nanjing, the capital of China, and carried out a large-scale massacre, also known as the “Nanjing Massacre”. The exact number of victims was not identified, but it is known that 20,000 to 300,000 Chinese were brutally massacred by the Japanese army for about six weeks, and that 20,000 to 80,000 women were raped.
However, in Japan, the scale of the victims is reduced to tens of thousands, or in the case of far-right forces, they claim that the Nanjing Massacre itself is a fabricated lie. The attitude of the Japanese far-right forces, who do not want to admit responsibility for war crimes, is a cause of historical conflict between Japan and China.
In this situation, some speculate that the reason for Chinese idols’ absence from 2022 AAA is because it overlaps with the memorial day of the “Nanjing Massacre” victims on December 13th.
The 2022 AAA will be held in Nagoya, Japan on December 13th (Tuesday). The red carpet will start from 2:30 pm KST/JST on the same day. The main awards ceremony will be held from 4 pm KST/JST. On the next day, December 14th (Wednesday), the gala show 2022 AAA AFTER STAGE will be held at the same place.
Source: Nate.
