Johnnys’ Jr. group leader makes breakthrough discovery in marine biology in downtown Osaka

You don’t get much more Japanese than an idol fishing for eel on the Dotonbori.

Being a TV personality on Japanese variety shows really involves enduring a range of experiences, with some good, like sampling fine cuisine, and some bad, like getting a pie in the face.

I’m not really sure where conducting marine biology research usually rates on that scale, but for Ken Kojima, the leader of Ae! group, an idol unit belonging to the Johnnys’ Jr. roster, it became a historic moment in the city of Osaka.

▼ Ae! group performing their single “Firebird” live

While filming a segment on the MBS variety show Kansai Johnny Haku, Kojima took part in a survey of Osaka’s famous Dotonbori River that runs through right the…