Kpop Review

WEST Nakama Junta Apologizes for Taking Picture of Someone's Mailbox – Why Is It Big Deal? 

In his post with about 20M views, Japanese idol Nakama Junta issued a public apology after netizens heavily criticized him for taking a photo of a “Mickey Mouse-shaped” mailbox.

Earlier on June 15, Nakama Junta of the Japanese boy group WEST. took to X to apologize after being criticized for his recent behavior.

A post shared by instagram

In particular, his apology statement has now about 20 million views wherein he said:

“I deeply apologize for causing concern and inconvenience to everyone with my post this morning. 

We have contacted the owner of the photo in question to apologize and have deleted the post. 

I deeply regret it. I’m very sorry.”

To those who are confused, the issue started when Nakama Junta posted a photo of a red mailbox on his personal X with the comment:

“I was staring out the window of my car when I spotted a mailbox that looked like Mickey Mouse and it cheered me up.” (excerpt from the original post)

Among fans, it is known that he is a huge Disney character fan, including Mickey Mouse. But instead of spreading positivity, most of the comments were criticizing him for taking a photo of someone’s mailbox without their permission, accusing him of invading a normal citizen’s privacy.

Some of the comments are:

  • “Do you know that you are violating the privacy of regular people?”
  • “You took a picture of someone else’s mailbox and uploaded it to social media without permission. You have no literacy or morals.”

A post shared by instagram

A post shared by instagram

After his apology, Junta faced an even bigger backlash, with netizens urging him to just retire from using social media. They said:

  • “Isn’t it a lie that he apologized to the owner of the mailbox?”
  • “If he deleted the photo of someone else’s mailbox after 11 pm, does that mean he attacked the mailbox’s house at that time?!”
  • “That’s too scary.”
  • “He’s always getting flame wars and his usage never seems to improve, so I’m serious, Nakama Junta should retire from social media immediately.”
  • “He really should stop using social media now.”

His supporters also agreed that he should take time off away from X, and if he wanted to post pictures, they suggested he focus on using his Instagram instead.

Surprisingly, contrary to his X, Junta’s IG was bombarded with love and cheering messages from fans such as:

  • “I’m always on your side.”
  • “I always love you and always will.”
  • “It’s going to be okay.”

Meanwhile, Nakama Junta, 36 years old, is a member of Johnny’s WEST, hereinafter WEST.  He was introduced as an additional member in 2014. They debuted under SMILE-UP with its single “EEJANAIKA” from Johnny’s Entertainment.

In 2023, the company changed its name to Starto Entertainment, following the sex abuse issue of its former founder Johhny Kitagawa.

Most Views