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Great Expectations
An unconventional academy in Okinawa is grooming promising young performers for the world stage
By HANNAH BEECH Naha
Factories nationwide may be idled by the recession, but one conveyor belt in southern Japan is still in overdrive. Its product? Teenage pop stars. Some of J-pop's biggest names--from pert diva Namie Amuro to girl groups Speed and Max--are products of the Okinawa Actor's School, an unconventional academy where 400 students forgo traditional subjects like math and science in order to cultivate their inner beat and learn to market their outer appeal.
Tucked into a shopping mall crammed with Titanic posters and neon platform shoes, the talent school is the creation of Masayuki Makino, 58, the flamboyant scion of a well-known entertainment family. Unlike other music moguls, Makino tries to nurture creativity instead of mass-producing interchangeable idols. The formula seems to strike a chord with teens: at a nationwide series of auditions last summer, 50,000 wannabe stars vied for the chance to come under Makino's tutelage.
A kinetic man with an easy walk and quick grin, Makino makes high demands of his students, who pay $175 a month in tuition. While other talent academies offer only limited after-school tutorials, the Okinawa Actor's School asks its top enrolees to skip high school altogether, arguing that the country's straight-laced education system could stifle their creativity. "Japanese schools squeeze all the imagination out of students," says Makino. Still, dropping out of school is a risky move. Only a few Actor's School graduates land major recording deals, leaving the others vulnerable to dead-end jobs. But with the link between formal education and lifetime employment frayed by years of recession, more and more youngsters are willing to take the risk. Okinawans, who make up most of the student body, are especially eager. Straggling at the tail end of the Japanese archipelago, Okinawa is the nation's poorest prefecture. Unemployment hovers around 8%, nearly double the national average, and 40% of college graduates can't find jobs.
Makino himself is no stranger to taking risks. Nearly 30 years ago, the self-confessed playboy moved to sunny Okinawa to escape the burdens of adulthood. He opened a few bars in the low-slung prefectural capital of Naha, then ignored the accounts to flirt with his prettier patrons. By 1983, Makino was desperately low on cash, and he seized on training Okinawa's young talent as a last ditch money-maker. His impetuous style has permeated the brightly painted school, which revels in controlled chaos. Students belt out scales to the pounding rhythm of techno-music. Posses of hip-hop dancers groove in a strobe-lit studio, surrounded by graffiti murals and flashing videos. The kids have rhythm, a swing of their hips more native to Brazil than Japan.
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THIS WEEK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Tom Wagner--Saba for TIME
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Young Japan Home
The Me Generation:
The country's privileged youth are struggling to define what they want. Their efforts--both frivolous and fundamental--are already beginning to transform the culture
Day in the Life:
What a 17-year-old girl does--and buys
Culture Club:
Tokyo has taken over as the source of what's hip and happening for the rest of East Asia
Sound Factory:
An Okinawa school turns out stars
Talk Talk:
What teens are chatting about online
Not Playing Ball:
A fresh generation is starting to shake up the hidebound world of Japanese baseball
Outside the Box:
Breaking the education straitjacket
Viewpoint:
Actress Youki Kudoh says respect the old ways
Viewpoint:
Parents should examine their own ethics
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