Japanese media criticize SHINee for using SMAP’s popularity for promotion

Recently, SHINee was forced to cancel their event in Japan due to safety issues as too many fans were gathered in the area. However, media in Japan have been reporting that the reason why there was such a big crowd was because the organizer of the event stated that the group holding the event is “a 5-member group with a name beginning with the letter S.” This made the crowd believe that the organizer was referring to a popular Japanese group, SMAP. This has angered netizens and resulted in criticism that SHINee was trying to boost their popularity with SMAP’s name.

Following the cancellation of the event, SHINee expressed, “Given that there was such a big crowd, it is a shame that we had to cancel the event. But we still want to thank our fans for their support.” However, local Japanese media later revealed that there has been a mistake as the only reason why so many fans gathered is because there were workers handing out fliers on the streets, with a message telling the fans to find 5 Santa Clauses with the name starting with S. As the clue given fits SMAP, rumours began to spread that SMAP would be at the event, and the crowd started to gather based on false information.

It will never be known as to whether the organizer’s intentions were to mislead the public; however, with the event canceled, it is a big disappointment for the fans who attended the event in hopes of supporting SHINee.

Source: TVBS via koreaboo