AKB48’s ‘Unit Matsuri’ & ‘Request Hour’ available for live stream in their entirety

As announced previously, AKB48 will be holding live events “Unit Matsuri” and their annual “Request Hour Set List Best 100 2013” in January, and it was announced on AKB48 Theater manager, Togasaki Tomonobu’s Google+, that they would live stream those event through AKB48’s official YouTube channel. Last year, only the final day of the “Request Hour” was available for a live stream, but this year, you can check the whole...

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Short PV for SKE48’s “Sore wo Seishun to Yobu Hi” revealed

The short PV for “Sore wo Seishun to Yobu Hi“, which is one of the coupling tracks for SKE48’s upcoming single “Choco no Dorei” (to be released on January 30th), has been released on their official YouTube channel. “Sore wo Seishun to Yobu Hi” is a graduation song that Akimoto Yasushi wrote for the 9 members (Kuwabara Mizuki, Takada Shiori, Hiramatsu Kanako, Yagami Kumi, Akaeda Ririna, Ogiso Shiori, Ueno Kasumi,...

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AKB48’s Kobayashi Kana rumored to be in a relationship with former Johnny’s

Rumors have been spreading across the web that AKB48 member Kobayashi Kana is in a relationship with a former Johnny’s actor. The rumor spread on January 13th when a convenience store worker tweeted that Kobayashi came to the store with a man who is said to be her boyfriend. This tweet became a controversy among fans and Kobayashi herself came to know about it. She denied the rumors saying, “I was surprised when I woke...

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HKT48 to release their debut single on March 20th

It was announced that AKB48’s hakata-based sister group HKT48 will be releasing their debut single that is currently untitled, on March 20th. The oldest member of the group, Sashihara Rino eagerly said, “The date has finally been set. I want people all over Japan to know the charms of HKT48!” They are the 4th group out of the AKB groups in Japan to make their major debut. AKB48 was first in October of 2006, SKE48 followed in...

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Check out the details on AKB48’s 30th single “So long!”

AKB48 will be releasing their 30th single on February 20th, and now more details on the upcoming single have been revealed! The title of the 30th single is “So long!“, and it’s said to be a soft and heartwarming song with the theme of graduation. There will be Type-A, K, and B, as well as a theater edition. You can check out the details for each edition below! ===== AKB48 30th single “So long!” February 20th 2013 on sale <Type-A> 【CD】 １．So long...

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Kodansha postpones the release of “Young Magazine” next issue due to a photo of AKB48’s Kasai Tomomi

On January 11th, Kodansha announced that they postponed the release of their weekly manga magazine “Young Magazine“, which was supposed to be released on the 12th, as there was an inappropriate photo on a page. According to the announcement, they’ve decided on the postponement since the photo on the advertising article for AKB48 member Kasai Tomomi’s upcoming photo book was “socially unacceptable as it would give unpleasant...

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Itano Tomomi wants to get her driver’s license this year

On January 11th, AKB48’s Itano Tomomi attended a new CM press conference for ‘Goo Kantei‘. For this year’s goal, Itano declared that she will get her driver’s license and her own car. “I will obtain my license, get a Hummer, and be able to drive it,” she said. She continued with a smile, “If I’m going to ride a Hummer,...

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Details on NMB48’s first album revealed

NMB48 will be releasing their 1st album titled “Teppen Tottande!” on February 27th, and after the group’s theater performance on January 9th, more details on the album have been revealed. There will be four editions for the album; regular editions Type-N, Type-M, Type-B that come with a DVD that has different contents, and a theater edition. Reportedly, the album will have about 15 ~ 16 tracks including their previous 6 singles, 7 new songs,...

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19 works from AKB48 simultaneously rank on Oricon’s ‘TOP 100′ weekly album chart

The 19 works includes 18 of their “studio recordings collection” released on January 1st and their “1830m” album released back in August 2012. 11 of the “studio recordings collection” also ranked in the TOP100 the week before due to pre-orders, and following the official start of album sales, 18 have made it into the ranking.  The top ranking work is the “Team B 3rd Stage ‘Pajama Drive’” album at 17th place. TOP100 Ranking Records: 1....

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SKE48 reveals the short PVs for their upcoming single

SKE48 will be releasing their 11th single titled “Choco no Dorei” on January 30th. Recently, some of the short version music videos for the single including the title track have been revealed through their official YouTube channel. ===== “Choco no Dorei” “Darkness” (Seven Dancers) *to be included in <Type-A> “Bike to Sidecar” (14 Carat) *to be included in <Type-B> ...

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The winners of “THE JAPAN GOLD DISC AWARD 2013″ revealed

The winners of “THE JAPAN GOLD DISC AWARD 2013” have been revealed. The ‘Japan Golden Disc Award’ is headed by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), and the RIAJ initiated this annual event in 1987 to recognize outstanding artists and works that have contributed to the recording industry. The winners are chosen based on the actual sales number of music software (deducting the number of the returned goods from the number...

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16 senbatsu members for Nogizaka46’s 5th single revealed

On the January 6th broadcast of TV Tokyo’s ‘Nogizaka tte, Doko?‘, the 16 senbatsu members forNogizaka46’s upcoming 5th single was announced. During the senbatsu announcement for their previous single, “Seifuku no Mannequin“, memberAkimoto Manatsu’s return and the formation of ‘Hachifukujin‘ became a hot topic. For their upcoming single, the 8 members of ‘Hachifukujin’, which include Akimoto, Ikuta Erika, Ikoma Rina, Sakurai Reika, Shiraishi...

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The title of Takahashi Minami’s solo debut song revealed

The title for AKB48 member Takahashi Minami’s solo debut song has been revealed to be “Jane Doe.” As announced earlier, the song will be used as the opening theme song for upcoming drama “Saki” starring Nakama Yukie (start airing on January 8th). It’s a ballad rock with the lyrics written from a man’s point of view that he can’t resist falling in love with one woman even after being disrespected, deceived by her, and losing everything. The...

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12 AKB48 works simultaneously rank on Oricon’s ‘TOP 100′ weekly album chart

12 works by popular idol group AKB48 have simultaneously ranked on Oricon’s latest ’TOP 100′ album chart for the week of January 7th . Until now, the best record for the “number of albums ranked simultaneously on the TOP 100″, for a female group, was 5 works. Both Candies (in 1978) and KARA (in 2011) achieved that record. However, to have over 10 works simultaneously ranked on the ‘TOP 100′ f0r any...

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AKB48’s Fujie Reina hosts live event, ‘Idol Hatsumode’

On January 3rd, AKB48’s Fujie Reina hosted the live event, ‘Idol Hatsumode‘, in Tokyo. While wearing a pink kimono, she excited the crowd by holding talk sessions with idol groups such as Up-Up Girls (tentative), YGA, Alice Juban, and Naaboudoufu@nana. After the event, Fujie commented, “It was difficult because it was [limited on time], but I learned from it.” In idol group nanoCUNE, there was a member still in elementary school. ”She...

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AKB48’s Kashiwagi Yuki performs her solo debut song on CDTV Special

On TBS‘ ‘CDTV Special Toshikoshi Premier Live 2012→2013‘, AKB48 member Kashiwagi Yukiperformed her solo debut song for the very first time. As reported earlier, Kashiwagi will be making her solo debut on February 6th with the single, “Short Cake“. This song will be used as the theme song for the idol’s firststarring drama, ‘Mierino Kashiwagi‘, which will start its broadcast on January 11th. Check out the performance...

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AKB48 takes “Japan Record Award” for second consecutive year

On December 30th, the annual music awards show, ”The 54th Kagayaku! Japan Record Awards” was held, and announced that AKB48’s “Manatsu no Sounds good!” (written by Akimoto Yasushi, composed and arranged by Inoue Yoshimasa) has received the grand prize “Japan Record Award.” This is the second consecutive year for AKB48 to receive the award since they won the award with “Flying Get” last year. Winning the “Japan Record Award” successively...

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Takajo Aki and Nakagawa Haruka make JKT48 theater debut with fellow JKT48 members

On December 26, former AKB48 members and currently JKT48 members Takajo Aki and Nakagawa Haruka made their stage performance debut with the setlist of “Renai Kinshi Jourei” as a part of Team J at the JKT48 theater.  The performance was done completely in Indonesian. Takajo expressed her strong determination with, “I am extremely happy that everyone could come watch us debut.  From here on out, this JKT48 Theater is my home.  As...

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No Sleeves reveal PV for “Kirigirisujin”

AKB48’s sub-unit No Sleeves will be releasing their new single “Kirigirisujin” on January 16th. “Kirigirisujin” is a party-tune that has a message of ‘Let’s just sing, dance, and make happy memories without worrying about future.‘ It was written by Akimoto Yasushi, and composed by Kiryuin Sho ofGolden Bomber. Regarding the song, Kiryuin commented, “As a musician, I’m honored to be able to work with the Akimoto Yasushi-san....

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Nogizaka46 to release their 5th single in March

It’s been revealed that Nogizaka46 will release their 5th single on March 13th. This surprise announcement was made during Nogizaka46’s first one-man live, ‘Nogizaka46 Zepp Live in Tokyo‘, on December 27th at Zepp Tokyo. The title and other details have not been revealed at this time. However, the senbatsu members will be announced during the January 6th broadcast of TV Tokyo’s program, ‘Nogizaka tte Doko?‘. Stay tuned for...

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