AKB48 Celebrates Their 8th Anniversary

Last December 8th, AKB48 held their 8th year special memorial concert at the AKB48 Theater. 86 members of the group are present and gave fans a special performance.

Each team performed one song, which is then followed by performances by generations of AKB48 members from 15 to 1. The members also share their memories during the concert's hosting segments.

Notable performances of the event include 9th generation members' rendition of "Kimi Dake ni Chu! Chu! Chu!" arranged as "Kimi Dake ni 9! 9! 9!" and Minami Takahashi, Haruna Kojima and Minami Minegishi's rendition of "Heart Ereki".

Towards the end of the concert, Lady Gaga surprised the girls with a special message that you can see above. The concert's final song entitled "Sakura no Hanabiratachi" was performed by the 86 members of the group. The girls then expressed their attitude to their fans after singing it.

[Source: tokyohive]

Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" Music Video Featuring AKB48

Robin Thicke's popular music video, "Blurred Lines" now has its own Japanese version! Featuring in this version are AKB48's Yuko Oshima and Haruna Kojima.

Former AKB48 Member Nozomi Kawasaki Announces Her Marriage

In a recent talk show, Peruvian model Enrique Sakamoto (Kamen Rider Decade) and former AKB48 member Nozomi Kawasaki announced that they got married!


In the TV show, he revealed that he married Sakamoto last February 2013 and they became acquainted about 3 or 4 years ago after he had approached her at Meguro Station in Tokyo. She also stressed that she was not in a relationship with him while she was still a member of AKB48.

From all of us here, congratulations on the happy marriage!

[Sources: Noticias Nippon, tokyohive]

Former AKB48 Member Sayaka Akimoto Visits the Philippines

After 10 years, former AKB48 member Sayaka Akimoto returns to the Philippines for a photoshoot while at the same time, have a little mini vacation of some sorts.

For those who are not aware, Sayaka is half-Filipina thanks to her mom. Her mom also went with her in this trip wherein they went to the beach, Sayaka finally eating Jollibee Spaghetti after 10 years and eat her mom's favorite food, rambutan!

And yes, we look forward to that new photobook. In other Sayaka Akimoto related news, the Detective Conan drama series will air on Philippine cable via HERO TV. She played the role of Sonoko Suzuki in the series, Ran's best friend.

Special thanks to Imnikky for the translation of her blog original blog entry.

AKB48's New Team 4 Announced in 2013 Tokyo Dome Concert

The 3rd day of AKB48's Tokyo Dome concert series announced a new Team 4! Leading the team is 1st generation member Minami Minegishi with members coming from the idol group's 13th and 14th generation understudies.

The members of this new Team 4 are:

• Minami Minegisi
• Moe Aigasa
• Saho Iwatate
• Ayano Umeta
• Ayaka Okada
• Saki Kitazawa
• Ayana Shinozaki
• Yurina Takashima
• Yuiri Murayama
• Shinobu Mogi
• Hikari Hashimoto
• Mako Kojima
• Mitsuki Maeda
• Miki Nishino
• Nana Okada
• Natsuki Uchida

This year's AKB48 Tokyo Dome concert series is called "Manatsu no Dome Tour" and the announcement of the new Team 4 happened on August 24th, the third day of the said concert series.

Source: MELOS no Michi

AKB48's Yuko Oshima Stars in Osamu Tezuka Biography Drama

Additional cast members for the live-action TV adaptation of the God's Beret: The Untold Story of How Osamu Tezuka Created His Black Jack non-fiction manga was recently revealed. The TV adaptation stars SMAP's Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (Ballad: Namonaki Koi no Uta) as Osamu Tezuka.

Kōichi Satō (Sukiyaki Western Django) as Taizō Kabemura, Tezuka's acclaimed editor-in-chief at Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine. AKB48's Yuko Oshima (Ushijima the Loan Shark) as Sakura Odamachi, a modern-day novice editor who is uninterested in manga. However, she travels back in time to the lifetime of manga and anime pioneer Osamu Tezuka. Sending her to the past is a mysterious man played by Fumiyo Kohinata.

Piece's Naoki Matayoshi as manga creator Fujio Akatsuka, Kei Tanaka as Sakura's superior and senior editor, Yoshinori Okada as Showa-era editor Akagi, Hidekazu Mashima as Tezuka's manager, model Maggie as Tezuka Production's chief assistant, Yosuke Asari as a college student and part-timer at Tezuka Productions, Yasuhi Nakamura as aspiring manga creator Hazama, Kōichi Otake and Satoru Matsuo as other company editors and Yumi Asou as a owner of Taizō Kabemura's favorite bar.

Source: Anime News Network

MTV 81 Interviews AKB48's Yuki Kashiwagi

AKB48's Yuki Kashiwagi or best known by her fans as "Yukirin" recently had an interview with MTV 81. The interview is focused on her latest single, "Shortcake" and what she wants to do in the future.

The interview is divided into two parts. You can watch it by clicking the links found below:

Part I | Part II

The first part of the interview is about her experience working solo and how is it different with working with AKB48. She also talked about her latest single, "Shortcake" that debuted in the Oricon charts at #2.

The second part of the interview is about her experience staying in Akihabara and how it changed over the years. Lastly, she also revealed her desire to have an Asian concert tour in the future!

JKT48's Rena Nozawa to Join AKB48

In the June 18th JKT48 theater show, fans reported that Team J member Rena Nozawa will be transferred to AKB48 as a dual team/concurrent role with JKT48. It is said that the reason for the transfer is because her parents will stay permanently in Japan.

Rena Nozawa is a first generation member of JKT48 and the first Japanese member of the group. Because of her connection with JKT48, she is the first member from an overseas AKB48 sister group who is also part of the main AKB48 group.

Details when will the transfer happen and what team she will join will be revealed in the future.

Source: JKT48Stuff

Sakaya Akimoto to Graduate from AKB48

AKB48 member Sayaka Akimoto announced on her official blog that she will graduate from the group and will not participate in the upcoming Senbatsu General Elections.

Today is the deadline for the submission of candidacy in this year's Senbatsu General Elections when she made this announcement. Akimoto has been a member of the group for 8 years now, and the reason for her graduation is to gain more experience outside AKB48 in order to pursue her dream as an actress.

Akimoto previously appeared in dramas such as Majisuka Gakuen. Last year, she is part of the cast of Ultraman Saga as Anna. The date of her graduation was not revealed in the blog entry. From all of us here, we wish you good luck for your future endeavors.

Source: tokyohive

Tomomi Kasai's AKB48 Graduation Details Revealed

The graduation of AKB48 member Tomomi Kasai now has a date. She previously announced her planned graduation from the group in the "The 2nd AKB48 Kohaku Taikou Uta Gassen" event last December 17th.

According to the official AKB48 blog, her graduation from the group will be on May 3rd, after Team A's performance at the AKB48 Theater. In addition, her last appearance in an AKB48 handshake event will be on April 20, which will be held at the Makuhari Messe.

After her graduation, she will release an untitled 2nd single on May 8th, which has been chosen as the ending theme for the upcoming drama "Meshibana Deka Tachibana", in which she will appear as the show's heroine.

Source: tokyohive

AKB48's Sayaka Nakaya to Graduate from the Group this March

AKB48 member Sayaka Nakaya announced in a recent AKB48 theater performance that she will be graduating from the idol group after the upcoming theater performance on March 6.

The reason for her graduation is because she wants to pursue her dream to become a voice actress. This Team K member is currently, the voice of AKB0048's Orine Aida.

From all of us here, good luck in pursuing your dreams!

Source: tokyohive

Yasushi Akimoto is Japan's Most Commercially Successful Lyricist

The total number of sales for singles, which were written by Yasushi Akimoto has reached over 68,591,000 copies, making him the most commercially successful lyricist in Japan that he even surpassed late lyricist Yu Aku's record by 272,000 copies!

Akimoto has written the lyrics for many artists such as Onyanko Club, Tunnels and recently, he's best known for his work in AKB48, SKE48, NMB48 and many more. It's reported that he wrote the lyrics for 506 singles so far.


The best selling single he wrote was AKB48's 26th single "Manatsu no Sounds good!", which sold 1,822,000 copies. Moreover, about 30% (19,987,000 copies) of his total sales come from the AKB48 songs that he wrote.

Akimoto made his debut as a lyricist with "Kotoba ni Shitakunai Tenki" in October 1981. His first chart topping single was Momoko Kikuchi's "Sotsugyou" and a total of 87 singles, which Akimoto contributed the lyrics, have topped the chart ever since.

Source: tokyohive

AKB48 sub unit NO NAME Holds 1st Concert

Last February 17, AKB48 sub unit NO NAME held their first solo concert called "AKB0048 NO NAME FIRST KILALIVE" at Makuhari Messe. The group is composed of AKB48, SKE48 and NMB48 members who voiced the main characters in the AKB0048 anime.

The group appeared in the same blue costumes wore by the understudies in the show's 2nd season. NO NAME performed a total of 7 songs, some of these songs are: Kono Namida wo Kimi ni Sasagu, Aruji naki Sono Koe, Oogoe Diamond and Shoujo tachi yo.

The concert also featured a segment featuring the Akemi Kanda, Ryoko Shiraishi, Sachiko Kojima and Yumi Kakazu, the voice actresses who played the elected members of AKB0048 in the anime. The voice actresses showed the dubbing with the members and a "shuffle live dubbing". The live dubbing challenged voicing for different characters from their actual ones which livened up the event.

Watanabe commented, "We members are very close with each other as it's hard to believe that we were joined from different groups. The live was just so much fun, so it is sad that the time went by so fast."

Hata also said, "Though we have 9 members, it felt like 26 of us (including their characters from the anime) stood on the stage all together."

Source: tokyohive

Tomomi Itano to Graduate from AKB48 this Year

AKB48 member Tomomi Itano or best known as Tomochin by fans has just announced her plans to graduate from the group within the year. Details about it are yet to be revealed.

Tomomi Itano is one of the remaining 1st Generation members of the popular idol group. Outside AKB48, she released her first solo single, "Dear J" on January 2010. In term of acting, she appeared in a couple of drama titles such as "Majisuka Gakuen" and "Sakura kara no Tegami".

Along with fellow AKB48 member Tomomi Kasai, they both appeared in the 2009 tokusatsu TV series Kamen Rider W as Queen and Elizabeth in which they released a single called "Love Wars". Tomomi Kasai will also graduate from the group this year.

Source: JEFusion

Tomomi Kasai Graduates from AKB48

AKB48 member Tomomi Kasai has announced that she will graduate from the group during "The 2nd AKB48 Kohaku Taikou Uta Gassen" event held at TOKYO DOME CITY HALL last December 17th.

Kasai appeared alone in front of her fans, and first thanked them for being able to make a solo debut with her single "Masaka" on the 26th. She then announced, "There is one more shocking announcement to make. I, Tomomi Kasai, will graduate from AKB48."

Tearfully, she explained the reason why she will graduate, "I joined AKB48 when I was 14, and have been in the group for 6 and a half years. It made me learn a lot of things. Now that I received a chance for a solo debut, I would like to send songs with my own ability from now on."

The details on Kasai's graduation will be announced in a later date.

Source: tokyohive

AKB0048 next stage Anime Promo

The official website of the AKB0048 anime has just posted the promo for its second season called "AKB0048 next stage". The final episode left a cliffhanger with an announcement of the General Elections and a new Center Nova.


AKB0048 is inspired by the popular idol group AKB48 with its core members being successors of the original AKB48 members. AKB0048 next stage begins this January 5th, 2013.

Atsuko Maeda's Last Appearance on MUSIC STATION As An AKB48 Member Revealed

It was revealed that Atsuko Maeda's last appearance on the TV show MUSIC STATION as an AKB48 member will be on August 17th. On that episode, her fellow AKB48 members will perform a special medley to commemorate Maeda's graduation.

She made a total of 21 appearance in MUSIC STATION as an AKB48 member and twice as solo. Maeda looked back on her memories on the program and said, "The most impressive memory is when I fell down during the performance at super live on December 24th, 2010. I was laughing, like 'Oops!'"

After the 3-day concert at Tokyo Dome and the last state at the AKB48 theater on the 27th, Maeda will be graduating from the group. She revealed her thoughts, saying, "Since Tokyo Dome concert was the goal for people who created AKB48, I always wanted to meet expectations, but I honestly did not think we would be able to. If I graduated from the group without being on the stage on Tokyo Dome, I would have regretted it."

Source: tokyohive

AKB48 Releases “Gingham Check” Music Video Preview

The official YouTube channel of idol group AKB48 posted a 49-second preview for their 27th single “Gingham Check” music video. It was directed by Korean music video director Joseph Kahn.


The music video not only features Yuko Oshima as the center and the top 16 members who won the “4th AKB48 Senbatsu General Election,” it also include appearances from Kouhei Takeda (Hana Kimi, Kamen Rider Kiva) and Ultraman Tiga's Golza.

AKB48's “Gingham Check” will be released this August 29th and available in four different versions: CD+DVD Limited Edition A and B, and CD+DVD Regular Edition A and B, for 1524 yen each. Pre-order your copies now at CDJapan to get limited edition photo!

AKB48's NO NAME Debut Single, Over 47,000 Copies Sold

It has been revealed that idol group AKB48's new sub-unit NO NAME's debut single “Kibou ni Tsuite” have sold over 47,000 copies to debut at #3 on Oricon's singles ranking chart for the week of July 30th to August 5th.

NO NAME is composed of Mayu Watanabe, Sayaka Nakaya, Amina Satō, Haruka Ishida, Sumire Satō, Karen Iwata, Kumi Yagami, Sawako Hata, and Mao Mita — the anime series' nine lead voice actresses.

“Kibou ni Tsuite” was released last August 1st, and available in four different versions: CD+DVD Limited Edition TYPE A and B, and CD Only Regular Edition TYPE A and B, for 1524 yen and 952 yen respectively. Order your copies now at CDJapan and get exciting bonuses!

Source: Mantan Web via Anime News Network

AKB48's AKB 1/153 PSP Dating Game Promo Streamed

Here is the promotional video for the upcoming third installment of idol group AKB48's PlayStation Portable dating game. “AKB1/153 Love General Election”. The promo features some of the 153 idols you could date.

It is the third "ultimate dating fantasy game" inspired by the all-female idol group AKB48, where the player can choose one of the members after each one confesses her love.


“AKB1/153 Renai Sōsenkyo” features 153 members of the idol group, compared to the previous roster of 48, including members of AKB48 sister groups SKE48, NMB48, and HKT48.

“AKB1/153 Love General Election” will be available in PSP and PSVita, and will be released on December 20th, for 7329 yen. Pre-order your own copies now at CDJapan and get exciting bonuses!