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November 17, 2025
 

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AKB48

Haruna Kojima in Tokyo in April 2017 following her last show as a member of the AKB48 pop group
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 29, 2024
Man held for allegedly assaulting Japanese celebrity Haruna Kojima
The man is suspected of hugging and pushing the former member of pop group AKB48.
Japan Times
LIFE / Digital / Japan Pulse
Feb 11, 2023
Minami Minegishi: AKB48’s tear-stained pioneer
One J-pop idol’s shocking show of penance in 2013 foreshadowed the price of fame on the internet.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music
Aug 5, 2021
Former AKB48 idol Miyu Takeuchi takes her musical career into her own hands
Singer Miyu Takeuchi got her start just shy of the spotlight in Japan's idol-pop group, but has taken her creative output into her own hands as a solo performer on YouTube.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Feb 22, 2020
‘33⅓ Japan’ has nerdy but accessible tales of albums and artists
With the '33u2153 Japan' series, music aficionados bring classic Japanese albums and artists to life in nerdy, but accessible, prose.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 13, 2020
Japanese students take idol worship to a whole new level
Take a look at the world of Unidol, in which teams of Japanese university students emulate the moves of pop groups in a battle to be the greatest idol copy dance club.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / BIG IN JAPAN
Jan 18, 2020
Japan's news outlets take one step backward before moving forward
Before going forward into the new year, an extra edition of Shukan Shincho (with a Jan. 27 publication date) flashed back in time to track down author Ben Goto. Now a spry 89 years old, Goto achieved instant fame with a 1973 publication titled "Great Prophecies of Nostradamus." His book initially sold...
CULTURE / Music
Nov 15, 2019
Da Pump, Arashi, Twice among lineup for 70th 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' music show
Alongside perennials will be acts making their first appearances on the music battle show, such as Foorin, King Gnu and Kis-My-Ft2
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / 2010S: DECADE IN REVIEW
Nov 15, 2019
Through scandal and stellar sales, AKB48 dominated the past decade in Japan
Do you know the songs? 'Heavy Rotation,' 'Gingham Check,' 'Ponytail to Shushu' .... Even if you don't, you're likely aware of the sales model that AKB48 has exported to the rest of the world.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 26, 2019
Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Filming and acting outside your comfort zone
When Japanese directors of a certain age and status film abroad, they usually head for developed countries, not developing ones. Although, to be fair, their choice of foreign locales often comes down to box-office calculations. Japanese audiences enjoy seeing famous European sites on the screen (and...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jun 12, 2019
'To the Ends of the Earth': Tough times for travel reporting
Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Atsuko Maeda make an odd couple: The former is best known abroad as a master of horror, starting with his 1997 international breakthrough "Cure," while the latter was a star of idol-pop group AKB48, but has since gone on to a thriving acting career.
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
May 30, 2019
Rino Sashihara: Can one 'idol' beat the system?
An idol group such as AKB48 is designed for members to be easily replaced. The performers existing in these environments constantly get shuffled around and eventually "graduate" — a term used for when they leave. Fans might become attached to a specific member and follow them on their musical journey....
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Apr 4, 2019
A look at some of Japan's lesser-known idol-pop players
I made my first trip to Japan just over 10 years ago to see concerts by Morning Musume and AKB48, two of the country's biggest idol-pop groups this century. What struck me most about the experience was the camaraderie among the fans, it was a closeness that was unlike anything I'd seen with Western pop...
JAPAN / History / Defining the Heisei Era
Nov 24, 2018
Defining the Heisei Era: Examining the rise of otaku culture
With the number of children shrinking, popular entertainment naturally began targeting the otaku population that didn't hesitate to open their wallets for material many considered juvenile.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Nov 11, 2017
Fuji TV's wishful thinking is food for thought
Since 1987, Fuji TV has owned Monday night, specifically the 9 to 10 p.m. time slot, when it broadcasts fluffy romantic drama series starring the season's hottest actress and often a prominent member of a boy band.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Sep 14, 2017
AKB48 sets a chart record, but Daoko and Kenshi Yonezu are playing the long game
Call it the end of an era. Last week, AKB48's 49th single "#Sukinanda" sold over 1 million copies to take the top spot on the Oricon singles chart. Besides being the first song in the No. 1 position to feature a hashtag in its title, it also propelled the idol group over J-pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / STRANGE BOUTIQUE
Mar 26, 2017
Music's shifting tides reveal a hunger for artistry in Japan
Music is often characterized over-simplistically as a battle between rock and pop, seriousness and fun, but the two are always in an ever-shifting balance. With this column coming to the end of its six-year run, it feels timely to cast a look back — and perhaps also a hopeful eye forward — over the...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 31, 2016
Girl group's Nazi-like costume draws online backlash
The idol group Keyakizaka46, a branch of Japan's top-selling girl band AKB48, has sparked outrage on social media over their Halloween costume, which resembled the uniform worn by Nazi SS officers before and during World War II.
LIFE / Language / COMMUNICATION CUES
Jul 25, 2016
Sashihara wins AKB48 general election
About 30,000 people packed a baseball stadium in Niigata for the annual event to announce the most popular members of the AKB48 family of all-female idol groups.
JAPAN / Media / Japan Pulse
Jun 10, 2016
AKB48 spends summer vacation at USJ
Visitors to USJ will be able to see the AKB girls in the flesh from July 21 through Sept. 4, just in time for summer vacation for students.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jun 10, 2016
AKB48 management firm 'reviewing' Shanghai sister group amid 'contractual violations'
AKS, the firm that runs the all-female idol group AKB48, announced Thursday it is "reviewing" operations of its Shanghai-based sister unit, SNH48.
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) — a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
China warns citizens not to visit Japan as row over Taiwan heats up
Chinese tourists wear kimonos as they visit Sensoji temple in Tokyo's Asakusa district on Saturday.
From France to Mali, a deportee's struggle far from home
Moussa Sacko, a Malian deported from France — where he had lived since he was a young child — stands on a street in Bamako, Mali, in December. Compared with his home in France, Bamako feels like a different planet, Sacko said.
Kyoto gets its own teamLab, largest in Japan
Visitors wearing kimonos look at digital artwork at the newly opened teamLab Biovortex in Kyoto.
Ashfall warning in Japan as volcano erupts
View of Sakurajima from the mainland of Kagoshima Prefecture
The challenges awaiting Japan’s new finance minister
Finance minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions from reporters in a group interview on Oct. 24.
At Ginza’s newest hotel, luxury is a private treasure
At Fufu Tokyo, each guest room comes with its own private "onsen" (hot spring) — a luxury nearly unheard of in the heart of Tokyo's capital.
Japan fully enters sports streaming era as fans face new dilemmas
Sports fan Tadashi Yokoyama streams basketball and fencing on three screens.
Stablecoins: Boring goes big, and now in Japan
Noritaka Okabe, CEO of JPYC, acknowledges a number of potential risks related to stablecoins.
Shohei Ohtani collects fourth MVP Award with 2025 NL honor
The Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani was named National League MVP for the second straight season on Thursday.

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