As summer started, things were on an upswing for Momoka Tojo. In June, she became a member of idol singer group Katacoto Bank (stylized as KATACOTO*BANK), and in July she’d be celebrating her 20th birthday, traditionally considered the start of adult life in Japanese society (though legal adulthood in the country now begins at 18). “Last chance to see teenage me,” posted Tojo to her Twitter account on July 22, the day before her birthday.
A few days later, on July 26, Momoka posted photos from her birthday celebration, showing her eating cake and posing with balloons of the number 20. That’s not out of the ordinary in today’s social media-infused idol community, but what was unusual was that the photos weren’t of Momoka alone, but of her celebrating with a young man, and it was just the two of them celebrating. It’s long been the norm for idol unit management and talent agencies to prohibit, or at least strongly discourage, performing idols from dating, either through explicit contract clauses or through less direct forms of pressure.
After the photos began to attract attention online, Momoka deleted her post which contained the images, and the Katacoto Bank official Twitter account issued a statement the next day which includes an unorthodox “punishment” that has been placed on Momoka, in which she will now post a good-night photo of herself, alone, every night, for an entire year. The statement says: "Before going to bed last night, Momoka Tojo mistakenly .