London: A stunning Japanese pop star shaved off her long brown hair after she broke strict band rules by sleeping with her boyfriend.
AKB48 singer Minami Minegishi took a razor to her head and made a tearful video apology to fans after she was snapped leaving her boyfriend's apartment.
The 20-year-old had spent the night with dancer Alan Shirahama - breaking rules banning band members from dating.
Minami was reprimanded by AKB48s managers after the story leaked - prompting her bizarre video message.
In the tape, posted on the band's website, Minami weeps as she says: "I don't believe just doing this means I can be forgiven for what I did, but the first thing I thought was that I don't want to quit AKB48.
"If it is possible, I wish from the bottom of my heart to stay in the band. Everything I did is entirely my fault. I am so sorry."
AKB48 is made up of 90 members, who regularly appear on television and in shows at their own theatre.
The singers, all in their teens and twenties, are forced to stay single, to preserve their appeal to fans.
A spokesman for the band has confirmed Minami has been demoted to the trainee team "for causing a nuisance to the fans".
But critic Hiroki Azuma said it was "disgusting" the singer felt she had to shave her head - a traditional form of penance in Japan.
And fans have leaped to her defence, describing her treatment as a "public execution show" and the band as a "totalitarian state".
