Translated by Mandilinn
December 25, 2014

It’s still not over! The news of singer Namie Amuro’s (37) desire for independence started an uproar during the summer, but it seemed to have subsided. It turns out it hasn’t. Towards the end of the year, she rekindled her desire for independence. Furthermore, she’s in discussions to expand and add on overseas activities. What in the world is happening?

News surfaced that in May of this year, Namie directly went to the president and executives of her management company Vision Factory and demanded her independence, calling her contract “a slave contract”.

“Namie finally exploded after putting up with different things over the years, but she eventually issued a letter of apology for calling it a slave contract and creating a big deal over it. That was around when she had started on her tour.” (Entertainment Stockholder)

But it doesn’t seem to have helped.

“The relationships between the company and Namie are currently beyond repair. She only speaks to them now through a representative. The fact that she’s a big live artist and that was on tour when this happened was a good thing for her and even though the company kicked up a fuss, because of the tour, everything eventually quieted down.” (Entertainment Official)

Currently, her independence plans are progressing steadily, and now she’s dreaming of global expansion.

“When Namie initially began talking about her independence, one of the main reasons for it was that she wanted to begin expanding overseas. Including Utada Hikaru and in recent years, Perfume, more and more artists have begun expanding overseas, and she’s been watching their efforts. Namie is filled with desire now to not only be independent, but to make her dreams come true.” (Entertainment Official)

It’s said certain officials in the industry are shocked that she’s not only continuing to fight, but is planning an overseas expansion. There are also rumors Namie is planning a U.S. concert in the summer of 2015.

“Naturally, she’s already held a meeting with her staff and preparations are currently being made. This year’s tour ended on the 23rd, and she’s supposed to enter discussions about her independence once again.”

The uproar she started during the Summer has spread throughout the entire entertainment industry.

“Entertainment executives have been trying to contain her because if she’s successful, this could mean major things for relationships between management and artists, but some major leaders in the industry have taken sides with Namie.”

There’s no doubt the independence issue has been rekindled.