Regarding A song for xx
I guess that the lyrics are not about Max but maybe she wanted to let him know through this song how she was feeling alone and anxious towards her future.

I've always read A Song for XX was a message to her mother. "XX" being her mother.

She's already said the XX is universal and is addressed to no one in particular.

^she actually said it is about her mother. She revealed it a few years ago, but that she chose to use xx so that for others it can be universal, if I remember correctly. But A Song for xx being about her mother makes a lot of sense, since the person she is talking about praised her for being a strong child and in A Song for xx she is talking from the perspective of a child/teen a lot also.

she said in 2010 that Virgin Road and A Song for xx are for her mother.

As someone who lived in Japan 8 years of their life.......errrr I disagree with this. I understand where you are coming from and your points, but tell all books are not out of the ordinary in Japan. For example, there were a number of explosive tell alls from former Johnny's members that describe rapes within the company and drug problems. As with many things, Japan has a double standard about this kind of stuff.

I think you and Chibi are both being a little over the top and actually the ones who are over generalizing a culture. But that's neither here nor there. I just wanted to highlight this statement because Kuu is really not considered an icon in Japan. I like Kuu, don't get me wrong, but she has long been considered fairly irrelevant. And stating something like that makes me wonder if you really have a grasp on the pulse of the culture in Japan.

^ It's just the songs released while they were together I think. Not all of them are actually about him. M was their breakup song and came out in December of 2000. So they were together behind the scenes from 97-2000. She started dating Nagase in 2001.

^but this book isn't a tell all book about serious issues of the industry, but gossip someone wrote a novel about. I don't think this book can be compared to the books former Johnny's members released. Since there is a big difference between someone writing a book about rape and drugs in the idol industry and Ayu allowing someone to use old gossip about her love life as the basis for his novel, I don't think there is a double standard involved here.

There were sold 38 000 copies of this book. So far it's on the first place at the Oricon chart
https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2141952/

Didn't know oricon also counting book sales

It's selling like hot cakes!
It also got the first place at some point on Amazon and Rakuten Books...

Amazon


Rakuten

Out of print (CDJapan)

It's #1 in its genre, #2 in the general book ranking.

https://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ob/w/2019-08-12/

I still don't know the extent of Ayu's role in the creation of this book. All I know is that no matter where she comes from, Ayu doesn't have to answer to anyone in this life about this. This is about a time in her life when she took a certain man very seriously, a man who changed her life. She has always been very candid about her personal life through her lyrics, including her woes and happiness. Why is this any worse? If she's ok with this kind of publicity, more power to her. I believe Ayu's life is a story worth telling.

She shouldn't have to be ashamed of her life just because some people can't handle the ugly truths about it. Sometimes people live in very dark, complicated seasons of their lives. Are we to insist that people have to sweep their dirt under the rugs just to hide it from onlookers?

I really want this book to be translated so I can read it. I feel like Ayu has shown us her life as a puzzle, each song adding to the number of pieces. This book, though possibly not entirely reliable, gives us a chance to see more puzzle pieces. I always find myself wanting to know more maybe because I am just that nosy or maybe because I'm concerned.

I'm really wondering how this whole thing is going to effect the fandom on this forum. Is this the kind of "scandal" that pushes fans completely over the edge to the point where they're just done? I'm really asking out of curiosity.

Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure the song Who... is about Max.

^ No, it was for her grandmother.

Alright, I found these while I searching for A Song for XX ☕️

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=98881

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=34919

http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=92145


Little story (or history) on how she became Hamasaki Ayumi...
https://ayumihamasaki.fandom.com/wiki/Hamasaki_Ayumi

get that dough gurl

So, I had a realization that I'm sure has either already been thought of or said here, but I'm starting to think that her bizarrely long tour for TROUBLE may not be promotion for the mini album but rather promotion for this book.

It would make more sense this way, possibly.

They clearly we planning that for a while now... Max posted the photo of the book cover on his insta. That TROUBLE cover where he grabs her boob. The playlist with the songs mentioned on the book appearing out of nowhere...

The way it's being promoted even resembles the TROUBLE promo.

I just wonder if this will injure him at all. This is a freaky way to celebrate 20 years of stardom!!

Well, he is on it too... So he at least agreeded to take the risk