Japan’s biggest music festival, 2012 FNS Song Festival, announced it’s third list of acts to perform at the festival. But the list does not include any Korean singers.
Fuji TV, producer of the festival, made the list announcement through their official website on November 22. The original list included 73 teams, with an additional eight announcements made bringing the total up to 81.
The festival is due to be on December 5.
The 2011 lineup only had 61 teams on the schedule, even with 20 more teams added to the list, no Korean singers have been included yet.
The Korean singer boycott comes from the demand from Japanese politicians over the issues surrounding Dokdo. Many broadcasting companies and officials are being very careful around the sensitive issue. Korean singers in Japan might be facing a tough time with any end of year festivals.
TVXQ (DBSK) amassed 550,000 fans for its Japan tour this year and next year are looking to launch a five-dome tour. KARA are also planning to extend their activities in Japan with a Tokyo Dome concert in the early part of next year.
Many achievements have been gained among some of the biggest names in k-pop with SHINee, Kim Hyun Joong, Kara, Girls′ Generation (SNSD) and TVXQ awarded by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for selling more than 100,000 copies of their albums in Japan.
There is still, however, a possibility that the 2012 FNS Song Festival could include k-pop names as the final lineup is still yet to be confirmed.
