Pop Japan

Akihabara48, famously nicknamed as AKB48, is a Jpop idol girl group. They originally had 48 members but have expanded to around 130 total members. The group was named Akihabara because it is where the group's theatre is located.

Yasushi Akimoto, the music producer of the group had an ambition. The whole concept of AKB48 was to create a Jpop idol group with its own theater, so the group can perform live to their fans daily, unlike exisiting pop groups who just occassionally perform in concert venues and on television. Because the group has a lot of members, they are divided into groups who perform on rotation in their theatre or perform simultaneously in different events outside the theatre. The success of the group became global, already having a lot of sister groups not only in Japan, but also in China, Indonesia and with upcoming teams in the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.

Most of the members are quite young, ranging from mid-teens or early 20s.

Photo by Danny Choo. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en)

Tags: music, akihabara48, akb48, jpop, idol, yasushi akimoto, china, philippines, taiwan, thailand, indonesia, sister group