The goal is a curated sense of kawaii, of cuteness that is not simply cute. Kawaii is "not just something you love," University of Tokyo's Roland Kelts told The Washington Post in 2008. "It's something you want to protect." When 20-year-old Minami Minegishi, an idol in AKB48, admitted to spending a night with her boyfriend in 2013, she shaved her head and offered a public apology for being "thoughtless and immature," according to the BBC.