Japinoy pop star Alan shirahama holds fan meet in Cebu

CEBU, Philippines — In an effort to entice first-time visitors to the Philippines, especially among the younger demographic, the Department of Tourism’s Tokyo office invited Japanese-Filipino star Alan Shirahama for a fan meeting in Cebu, held March 3 at JPark Island Resort and Waterpark.

“This is one way of attracting younger Japanese to come to the Philippines, also since Cebu is one of the favorite destinations of Japanese travellers,” Niel P. Ballesteros, Attache and Director for East Japan, told The FREEMAN.

Shirahama, 30, was born to a Filipino mother and Japanese father. His younger brother, Ryu, is currently training with Korean entertainment company SM, while his elder sister Loveli, is a model and television personality who had also been tapped as a Philippine tourism ambassador before Alan.

The star has more than three million followers in SNS (1.3 million in Instagram and 1.7 million in X, formerly Twitter).He is a member of the famous Japanese singing and dance groups, Exile, (a popular boy’s group which has sold more than 24 million records in Japan alone), Generations, from Exile Tribe (sub-group within Exile), and PKCZ (a group of artists composed of Shirahama, Exile Makidai, Verbal of m-flo and DJ Daruma). He has also starred in movies such as “Daytime Shooting Star”, “Prince of Legend”, and “One in a Hundred Thousand.”

“We’re popular for being a repeater market. But the very important part is how to invite them to do the first step to go there for the first time. So we strategized to invite Alan and for him to also invite his fans, many of which are first-timers,” added Jennifer Yamamoto, PR and Marketing Manager of DOT’s Tokyo office, of Shirahama’s visit.

Shirahama was appointed Philippine Tourism Ambassador in Japan during the official visit of President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos to Japan in February 2023. Ever since given the role, he has talked about the Philippines every opportunity he gets. He also became the face of the “LOVE The Philippines” tourism campaign when it was launched last December.

According to DOT Tokyo, the partnership with Shirahama and his managing company, LDH Inc., has “helped create awareness of the Philippines as a tourist destination for Japanese travellers.”

At the fan meet, Shirahama sat down for a Q&A on stage as his enraptured fans – all 69 of them who flew in from Japan, along with 17 staff – listened in awe at their idol. The event also featured a Sinulog dance lesson, participated in by fans who competed for the Sinulog Festival Queen title, before capping it all off with a DJ set by Shirahama.

Prior to the fan meet, Shirahama already indulged in some R&R as he explored some of the city’s tourist attractions for a promotional video that he is doing for the Philippines. He also indulged in marine activities, including island-hopping, snorkelling, jetskiing – promising to return for a lengthier time so he can enjoy each island that he visits.

“I was able to do a video for the Philippines in Manila, but this fan meet in Cebu is where I truly felt being a tourism ambassador,” Shirahama later said during a sit-down interview.