Is the BTS Japan Lottery Unfair? Or Is It Hope? — 'Universal Design for Adult ARMYs' as Considered by a Former Johnny's Fan

“I've been supporting them for years, so why can't I win?”
I'm sure there are quite a few ARMYs who have thought this.
I am what you might call a 'Dynamite-era' ARMY. I learned about Bangtan studies during the pandemic, and before I knew it, I was in my 6th year?! Time flies. I feel like I've built up enough history as an ARMY to say, 'It's been years.'

Well, today I was inspired by an article by Neiro-san.

While deeply nodding along to the 'Japanese agrarian blood, sweat, and tears sentiment' (I named that myself) in this article, I found myself wandering through my own memories, so I'm going to write them down.

I know the era of rapid-fire phone dialing

A long time ago, I was a Johnny's fan.
This was around the 2000s.
Tickets were 'first come, first served.' You would keep calling from the moment sales started, secure a public phone that was said to connect faster than a home landline at the time, and mash the number repeatedly starting just before the time. If you got through, you won; if you didn't, it was over.
The ticket wars back then were a battle of stamina, reflexes, and information, in a slightly different form than today.

When I was young, there was a part of me that enjoyed it like a 'game'.
But looking back now, it was a somewhat harsh system.
Though it's incomparable to BTS ticketing in other countries today...

The lottery system was a 'salvation'

I liked the Juniors and the groups that debuted from them.
Around the time my eldest daughter was born, I started watching '8-ji da J' and 'The Shonen Club' on TV without much thought. I got my eldest daughter involved, and my Johnny's fan fever grew hotter.
Just watching on TV wasn't enough. I started buying albums, of course, and also set my sights on concerts.
My daughter was a '95-liner, and by then she was getting into the upper grades of elementary school. She was at an age where we could go together.

Eventually, a fan club system was established, and a lottery system was introduced.
In 2006, I joined 'You&I' (the joint FC for NEWS, KAT-TUN, and Kanjani8) which had just been launched.
My goal was the concerts.

The lottery is not a guarantee. There are losses.
But there was a clear difference there.

“As long as you are a member, the right to apply is equal”

This sense of security.

Once you start working or raising children, it becomes difficult to stay glued to your screen to get information.
Traveling to concerts isn't easy either.
In that context, the lottery was a 'system that allowed participation even without time.'

If you lose, you feel down.
But there are people on social media who are just as disappointed.
“It didn't work out this time, but maybe next year.”
I feel like those words kept the fandom together.

The scene on social media when the JPFC advance lottery results were announced this time gave me a sense of déjà vu, and this was it.

Is there a place for us as we age?

Let me share a few more memories.
At the time, that system also had a category called 'parent-child seats'.
They were limited to the stands, but they were a welcome presence for the child-rearing generation.
Fans who had supported them since their Junior days eventually transitioned into the child-rearing generation.
I think those seats were designed with that change in mind. (Though that is just my personal opinion.)

Even as fans age, there is a place prepared for them.
That was actually a very important message.

And the massive fandom that is BTS

Back to the present.

BTS is not just a presence in Japan. They are a group with a massive, worldwide fandom.

Naturally, I don't know to what extent Japan's unique system influences things.
(I remember seeing a mention somewhere that K-pop referenced the Japanese Johnny's system.)

However, the Japanese lottery system appears to be supporting the diverse layers of Japanese ARMYs as a result.

It's fine for those who have free time, can plan strategies, and can master the latest tools.
But there are definitely ARMYs in the child-rearing generation, the generation busy with work, the middle-aged, and the elderly.
The lottery serves as a 'guarantee of the right to participate' for those groups.

Japanese people and the culture of lotteries

From here, I'm going into social analysis mode. (A bit of an exaggeration. It's a rough take.)

While Japanese society likes competition, it is also a culture that places great importance on 'procedural fairness.'
There is a tendency to value 'whether the rules are applied equally' more than meritocracy.

The lottery is not equality of outcome.
But it does guarantee equality of process.

This way of thinking might just fit the Japanese sensibility.
For the details on this, the aforementioned article by Neiro-san has a more thorough analysis, so please check that out!

Is the lottery universal design?

Recently, I've even started to think that this Japanese-style lottery system is a form of universal design (UD).
Universal design is originally the idea of designing things so that as many people as possible can use them, regardless of age, disability, or environment.
It's a concept that was originally used in the fields of architecture and product design, but I want to try applying this to 'mechanisms for participation' as well.

Even if you have a physical disability,
even if you live far away,
or even if you cannot be glued to the internet at all times,

you can still stand at the starting line of applying.

Of course, there is room for improvement and transparency regarding the odds of winning.
Even so,

a design that makes you think 'it's not zero'

holds great significance within a massive fandom.

To be honest, of course I want to win.
I wish for that intensely.

But at the same time,
I am also somewhat comforted by the fact that this system allows me to 'keep belonging'.

The lottery system can seem somewhat inorganic and cold.
But,even when there are moments of despair,
hope is not completely severed.

That might be the quiet power that the Japanese lottery system possesses.

That is why I am waiting for hope within those rules again today.


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