Janet Jackson tour woes continue

Janet Jackson has postponed the Japan leg of her Rock Witchu tour.

Kyodo Yokohama, the Japanese tour manager, said Jackson tour shows were being canceled “due to the impact of the economic crisis.”

Seems that in these tough times, people are saving their money for Madonna tickets!

The five shows were scheduled in Japan between February 16 and February 22 in Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. Her rep says the dates will be rescheduled for later this year and to expect an announcement in late March.

Is the world recession going to reverse itself that quickly?

Jackson, 42, canceled seven US performances in the fall because of an illness her brother Randy said was vertigo. She was briefly hospitalized in Montreal after suddenly falling ill during a sound check. Others say Jackson was suffering from a much more serious ailment: a mid-life career slump.

While Madonna and Tina Turner have enjoyed brisk ticket sales and sold-out shows, Jackson’s first tour in seven years did not fare nearly as well.

“Her music hasn’t really evolved as she has aged as a person,” said Billboard magazine senior editor Jonathan Cohen in October. “She’s still doing the sex kitten thing, which, at 42, really isn’t believable.”

Jackson released her Discipline album in February 2008 to very disappointing sales, coming nowhere near her previous multi-platinum albums.

She dropped out of a planned Saturday Night Live performance later that same month, citing the flu as her excuse. She was spotted in London last week, looking considerably beefier than a top performing artist about to tour should — another clue that it just ain’t gonna happen.