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She is a part of the media cartell / clique that dominates broadcasting in Japan, so we can assume she's well-regarded: outside of music, once you're "in" this family and accepted you tend to stay there longer than elsewhere - a few big stars still dominate for example chat shows.
As for the music industry side, it's likely to be "still makes money - so, fine". While she wouldn't be seen as innovative, there's nothing wrong with plying the mainstream. If there's any bad feeling, it'd only be down to envy that she's remained successful so long.
Regarding the press, in Japan there is less of a tradition of tabloids exposing scandals and prying into private lives than the US, and far less than in the UK. Stars there tend to get an easier ride, though the public are more likely to believe lies if they are printed by someone.
As for the public, there's a risk that people are "sick of her dominating" the media.
But the Japanese public are more used to blanket advertising - and probably just see it as effective advertising rather than have an "oh no you can't escape Ayu, she's everywhere, it's ridiculous" reaction. Her gradual evolution and wideish variety of music styles probably help a little in this regard.
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