It is contractual, in that they have to ask. They're not always given permission - there was a HUGE issue made of it when Ayumi Hamasaki and Nagase Tomoya from Tokyo wanted to get married and they weren't allowed to. In the end, they broke up and I understand it really affected them both pretty badly.
Anyway, it's been relaxed a lot in recent years I've heard, but only as far as the senpai groups and the older groups. Anyone younger than KT is still forbidden (and rightly so - HeySay are still CHILDREN ffs) to date, period.
That clip you showed me pretty much said it all - Taec said it perfectly - in the entire time between the news breaking and him leaving, NOT ONE PERSON (fan-wise) stood up for him. NOT ONE. So wtf are they supposed to do? They thought it would help him and them...it wasn't a case of them forcing him to go or do anything he didn't want to do. Anyone who says otherwise can just stfu and gtfo and stop calling themselves a fan cuz they are NOT.
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Anyway, it's been relaxed a lot in recent years I've heard, but only as far as the senpai groups and the older groups. Anyone younger than KT is still forbidden (and rightly so - HeySay are still CHILDREN ffs) to date, period.
That clip you showed me pretty much said it all - Taec said it perfectly - in the entire time between the news breaking and him leaving, NOT ONE PERSON (fan-wise) stood up for him. NOT ONE. So wtf are they supposed to do? They thought it would help him and them...it wasn't a case of them forcing him to go or do anything he didn't want to do. Anyone who says otherwise can just stfu and gtfo and stop calling themselves a fan cuz they are NOT.