AKB48 (read “A.K.B. Forty-eight”) is a Japanese girl group. As of April 2013, the group has 86 members.^[1] The girls range in age from early teens to mid-20s.^[2][3] Produced by Yasushi Akimoto, it is one of the highest-earning musical acts in the world, with 2011 record sales of over US$200 million in Japan.^[4] It has achieved such popularity in Japan^[5] that it has been characterized as a social phenomenon.^[6]

As of January 2013, the group’s seventeen latest singles topped the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. In 2010, “Beginner” and “Heavy Rotation” placed, respectively, first and second in the list of Japan’s best selling singles for the year.^[7] In 2011 and 2012 AKB48’s singles occupied the top five spots of the Oricon Yearly Singles Chart.^[8][9] The band has sold over 20 million CDs,^[10][11] and holds the record for most singles sold in Japan by a female group.^[12]

AKB48 is named after Akihabara (Akiba for short), the area in Tokyo where the group’s theater is located. The idea of AKB48’s producerYasushi Akimoto was to create a girl group that, unlike a regular pop group, which gives occasional concerts and that is mostly seen on TV, would have its own theater and perform there on a daily basis; the fans would always be able to go and see the girls live. AKB48 still performs at the theater daily, with tickets distributed by lottery.^[13] Akimoto has also expanded the AKB48 concept to several sister groups throughout Asia.

AKB48 was founded based on the “idols you can meet” concept.^[14] The group’s producer Yasushi Akimoto decided to create an idol group that, unlike a regular idol group that gives occasional concerts and that is mostly seen on TV, would have its own theater and perform there on a daily basis; the fans would always be able to go and see the girls live.^[15][14] AKB48 performs at the theater daily; because of demand, tickets are now distributed only via a lottery.^[13] The AKB48 Theater is located in the Don Quijote store in Akihabara, Tokyo.^[13]

The group consists of three “teams” (subgroups): Team A, Team K, and Team B. Having several teams not only allows the group to reduce the load on its members, since a daily concert at the theater is given by only one team, but also gives AKB48 opportunity to perform in several places and even countries simultaneously.^[16] Each of the teams also has a unique image.^[17] According to member Misaki Iwasa, Team A represents freedom, Team B is very idol-like with cutesy costumes, while Team K has a strong and powerful image.^[17] According to an early press release, the group intended to have 16 members on each team to make a total member count of 48^{[14][18][19][20]} but had varied the member count over time,^[5] and had as many as 92.^[21] A number of aspiring members (so-called trainees or kenkyūsei (研究生^?))^{[note 1]} learn the group’s songs and are appointed as understudies for the main members, so that a replacement is always available. In addition to singing performances, members are heavily promoted throughout the Japanese mass media.^[13] The group regularly holds “handshake events”, where fans get a chance to shake hands with the group’s members.^[13]