”Buy a memorial album and get nude photos from your 20s as a gift” sparks controversy in Japan - Korean media

A Japanese record company has released a memorial album for a late female singer and is advertising it as a special bonus, which includes nude photos of the singer taken when she was in her 20s, creating a hot topic.
On the 16th, local media such as Japan's Sponichi reported that the record company New Century Records will release the memorial album for Aki Yashiro, "Wasurenaide ne," on its own label on the 21st.
The problem is that the album includes two fully nude photos taken by Yashiro with a Polaroid camera when she was around 24 or 25 years old.
The president of Million Kikaku, her management office, took a firm stance. He said in an official statement, "We absolutely cannot tolerate this.
"This is an inappropriate act," he said, "and we are preparing all legal action, including criminal and civil. This is not only a case of defamation of the deceased, but also a serious matter that amounts to the distribution of obscene material."
The management office has sent a certified letter to the record company through a legal representative requesting them to stop using the album photos. However, no official response has been received to date.
Aki Yashiro passed away in December 2023 at the age of 73 from rapidly progressive interstitial pneumonia. New Century Records owns about 250 recordings of the deceased's songs.
Aki Yashiro is one of Japan's leading enka singers, having debuted in 1971 with "Love is Death". Since then, she has been a top female singer representing the Japanese enka world for decades.
She continued to hold the position. She was not only a singer, but also an actress and painter, and was loved in many fields.