TWICE to debut in Japan, which should be interesting even for reasons unrelated to TWICE

TWICE are going to make their official debut in Japan soon, and quite frankly, I’m kinda fascinated.

https://twitter.com/JYPETWICE_JAPAN/status/829011861618122752

TWICE stans “hacked” the site and apparently the label will be Warner Music Japan.

https://twitter.com/Tzuyu4President/status/829029532174671872

Anyway, I would say there are less than a dozen Korean artists who are mainstream relevant in Japan right now, so it’s safe to say the Hallyu Wave is effectively dead. However, Korean artists will still try, because having a middling career in Japan nets better returns than similar status back home (and because even if they have only a few thousand fans, they can still do concerts for them). Given that, I’m actually kinda fascinated by how JYP Entertainment handles the debut (remakes or will he actually put effort into it?), how TWICE ends up doing, and whether they’ll even be able to properly promote.

Judging by this ad, JYPE are gonna be taking it quite seriously at least.

わあ…… 気合いを感じる…… pic.twitter.com/xoSA8W4dNu

— MMT🤯 (@1224mn) February 7, 2017

TWICE should, in theory, be able to make this work. They already have a budding fanbase and recognition among youth in Japan, Tzuyu has gone viral multiple times, and they have three Japanese members in Sana, Mina, and Momo. And yet, I’m sorta skeptical. This is not the same market BoA and TVXQ broke into, or even the one SNSD and KARA thrived in, but rather one with far more closed doors.

Either way, genuinely interested in this for reasons beyond TWICE, and I’m also interested in getting your takes on this.