Catfights aplenty in AKB48?

It seems that the girls of popular idol group are nowhere as sweet and innocent as they look, as reported by popular gossip magazine Bubka.

Since the management company of AKB48 has a zero tolerance approach to its members dating, those whose relationships are exposed often face being dropped from the group, and this has already happened a few times.

Bubka reported that there is a struggle between groupmates to be the most popular, and catfights are common behind the scenes. There is also much bullying and betrayal between the girls, and some members turn in photos of other members with their boyfriends to gossip magazines. When these gossip magazines publish the pictures and there is much speculation about that member, that member will usually be forced to withdraw since AKB48 does not wish to tarnish its image. For example, Ishiguro Atsuki recently withdrew from AKB48 after sticker photos of her and her boyfriend were leaked all over the internet. It seems that the sticker photos were maliciously leaked by another AKB48 member who was jealous of her popularity. There are also many rumors of a relationship between another popular member, Maeda Atsuko, and actor Yamamoto Yusuke. (Entame)