2005–2006: Creation and independent releases In July 2005,
Yasushi Akimoto held an audition for a new theater-based idol girl group. Of the 7,924 who auditioned, 24 were chosen as first-generation group members. performing to an audience of seven; attendance quickly increased. In January 2006, AKB48 cafe waitress
Mariko Shinoda joined Team A as a "1.5 generation" member when her popularity with patrons prompted Akimoto to give her a special audition. The group's second audition was held in cooperation with telecommunications company
NTT DoCoMo in February 2006, with applicants submitting audition videos on mobile phones. Of 11,892 applicants, 19 were selected, and 18 joined AKB48 as Team K in April. Team K performed
Party ga Hajimaru yo and Team A moved to a new stage program,
Aitakatta. AKB48 released its first independent-label single, "
Sakura no Hanabiratachi", in February 2006. It entered
Oricon's weekly Top 10 chart, with first-week sales of 22,011 (a rarity for an indie-label group). On March 31, Yuki Usami became the first member to "graduate" from the group. On June 7 AKB48 released its second independent single, "
Skirt, Hirari", which sold 13,349 copies on its first day. The group made its first television appearance two days later,
2006–2007: Set List: Greatest Songs 2006–2007 In October 2006 AKB48 announced auditions for Team B, and 13 girls were chosen out of 12,828 applicants in December. The group's first DefStar Records single, "
Aitakatta", was recorded by 20 members of Teams A and K and released on October 25. It debuted at number 12 on the Oricon weekly singles chart, selling 25,544 copies in its first six weeks, and remained on the chart for a total of 65 weeks. On November 3–4 AKB48 performed its first concert, "AKB48 First Concert: Aitakatta ~Hashira wa Nai ze!~" at
Nippon Seinenkan in
Shinjuku. Its music video and lyrics hinted at the subject of
enjo kōsai (compensated dating, remotely related to escort services outside Japan), triggering controversy and negative reviews. On March 18 AKB48 released "
Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō"; debuting at number eight on the Oricon chart, it dropped to number 98 in its second week. The group's second concert, "AKB48 Haru no Chotto dake Zenkoku Tour ~Madamada daze AKB48!~" on March 10, had poor ticket sales. In April 2007 AKB48 posted its Team B roster on its website, with five fewer members than originally announced; AKB48's sixth single, "
Yūhi o Miteiru ka?", was released on Halloween 2007 and sold 18,429 copies (the least of all the group's singles). and reached number six on the
Oricon Top 10 chart in its first week. On February 27, the group released its eighth major-label single, "
Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008", a reprise of its Team A debut single. This version featured ten members from Team A, six from Team K and five from Team B. The single's CD included a poster, and a promotion was planned in which fans who collected all 44 posters would be invited to a special event. The promotion was later canceled by DefStar Records amid concerns about possible violations of
antitrust laws. In June 2008, AKB48 announced plans to launch a sister group,
SKE48, in
Sakae, Nagoya. In August, the group moved from DefStar Records to
King Records. That month
Ayaka Kikuchi was the first member to be fired from the group, for "immature behavior" involving a leaked
purikura photo of her with a boyfriend. Kikuchi returned to the group after a 2010 audition. On October 22, AKB48's tenth single, "
Ōgoe Diamond", was released on King Records' You Be Cool label. With 11-year-old SKE48 member
Jurina Matsui as the single's center and cover girl, it was the first single featuring a member of AKB48's sister group and debuted at number three on the
Oricon Top 10 weekly chart. The group released its 11th major-label single, "
10nen Sakura", on March 4, 2009. Also reaching number three on the Oricon charts in its first week, it was the group's first single to sell over 100,000 copies. The group's 12th major-label single, "
Namida Surprise!", was released on June 24. Promotions included a handshaking-event ticket and a ballot for a member to headline its next single. "Namida Surprise!" sold 104,180 copies in its first week on the Oricon charts. AKB48's 13th single, "
Iiwake Maybe", was released on August 26. Outselling rival
SMAP's single, it reached number one on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and number two on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. AKB48's Team A was a guest of honor at the
Japan Expo in Paris from July 2–5, 2009, performing an English version of "Ōgoe Diamond". The group made its U.S. debut with a show at
Webster Hall in New York City on September 27. In October, three AKB48 singles ("10nen Sakura", "Namida Surprise!" and "Iiwake Maybe") were
certified gold by the
Recording Industry Association of Japan. Its 14th single, "
River" released on October 21, AKB48 released its 15th major-label single, "
Sakura no Shiori", on February 17, 2010. In its first week, the single topped the Oricon chart with over 300,000 copies sold, the most by a Japanese female artist in seven years. This was the group's last single until the release of their first King Records album,
Kamikyokutachi, which would top the Oricon album chart and be certified double platinum by the RIAJ for sales of over 500,000 copies.
2010–2011: Koko ni Ita Koto AKB48's 16th single, "
Ponytail to Chouchou", was released on May 26, 2010. Its sales exceeded those of the previous single, with over 400,000 copies sold on its first day and over 513,000 in its first week. On April 27,
Anime Expo, the largest anime convention in the United States, announced that AKB48 would be a guest of honor, and the group performed on July 1 at the
Nokia Theatre. On October 23, AKB48 represented Japan at the seventh
Asia Song Festival, organized by the Korea Foundation for International Culture Exchange, at
Seoul Olympic Stadium. Four days later the group released its 18th single, "
Beginner". It sold 826,989 copies in its first week, the highest first-week sales for a female idol group single. AKB48 member
Mayu Watanabe appeared on the cover of the December issue of the idol magazine
UP to boy with
Airi Suzuki from the Japanese girl group
Cute, the first
gravure collaboration between
Hello! Project and AKB48. In November 2010, AKB48 participated in several events outside Japan. On November 20, 12 members of the group performed at the Japanese Pop Culture Festival in Moscow. AKB48 performed at the Cool Japan forum in Singapore as part of
Anime Festival Asia X, and at the Singapore Toy, Games and Comics Convention. Group graduates in 2010 included second-generation member
Erena Ono, who left on September 27 to pursue an acting career overseas. The group's first 2011 single, "
Sakura no Ki ni Narō", was released on February 16. It sold 655,000 copies on its first day, surpassing "
Beginner's" first-day sales of 568,000. By the end of its first week the single sold 942,479 copies, the group's best and the fastest sales in Japan since 2000. On February 21, AKB48 announced its first studio album, , which would include 11 new tracks and was scheduled for an April 6 release. Due to the
2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the group stopped its AKB48 Theater performances and canceled some of its public events. AKB48 began the project, collecting donations for earthquake and tsunami relief. One of its concert venues, the
Yokohama Arena, was used for a two-day charity event beginning on March 26 and 12 AKB48 members attended the
Okinawa International Movie Festival that day for the same purpose. On March 15, AKB48 announced that
¥500 million would be donated by the group, its sister groups
SKE48,
SDN48 and
NMB48 and associates of AKS, its management company.
Koko ni Ita Kotos release was postponed until June 8, with part of the album's proceeds donated to disaster victims. On April 1 the group released the charity single on the
Recochoku website as a digital download, with all proceeds earmarked for earthquake and tsunami relief.
2011–2012: 1830 m On May 1, AKB48 announced a new sister group:
HKT48, based in
Fukuoka,
Kyushu, with its theater in the Hawks Town Mall of Fukuoka's Chuo ward. On May 3,
The Straits Times reported the opening of AKB48's first overseas theater in Singapore. The theater, in *scape Youth Park, would host 16 members from AKB48 and its sister groups for two shows a day two days a month. AKB48 released its 21st major-label single, "
Everyday, Kachūsha", on May 25. An "election single", it contained ballots for determining who would headline the group's next single and set Japanese records for first-day (942,475 copies) On June 22,
Oricon reported that for the first half of 2011 AKB48 topped the album sales charts and had the best- and second-best-selling singles ("
Everyday, Kachūsha" and "
Sakura no Ki ni Narō"). The group amassed
¥6.66 billion in merchandise sales. On June 7, before its nationwide concert tour, AKB48 announced the creation of Team 4. It sold 1,025,952 copies on its first day, and became the group's fourth single to sell over a million copies (1.354 million) in its first week. The group's 23rd single, "
Kaze wa Fuiteiru", was released on October 26 and sold 1,045,937 copies on its first day. The next single, "
Ue kara Mariko" (released on December 7), sold 1.199 million copies in its first week. At the end of 2011, AKB48 topped seven of 16 Oricon rankings: total sales by an artist, copies sold for a single, total sales for a single, total sales by an artist (for singles), copies sold for a music Blu-ray disc, total sales for a music Blu-ray disc and total Blu-ray sales by an artist. " and "
Give Me Five!" merchandise in March 2012
Oricon announced on January 6, 2012, that AKB48 had sold 11,787,000 copies of its CD singles, surpassing girl group
Morning Musume's Japanese record for a female group of 11,774,000. "Give Me Five!" was released on February 15. in seventh place at the box office and grossed nearly $4 million by February 19. An
anime series,
AKB0048, was developed by
Satelight and aired from April 29 to July 22. It was directed by
Yoshimasa Hiraike, with group producer Akimoto aiding with planning and supervision. as No Name. After photographs with their boyfriends surfaced, Natsumi Hirajima and Rumi Yonezawa resigned from the groupNippon Budokan concert, AKB48's general manager announced another reorganization of the teams (including the girls who were also members of its sister groups). Nito Moeno and
Tomomi Kasai also made their final appearances with the group. AKB48 released its 31st single, "
Sayonara Crawl" (an election single), on May 22. It sold more than 1.9 million copies in its first month, breaking
Speed's
White Love 1997 record for the highest single sales by a female group. The election candidates were 246 girls from AKB48, its sister groups and former members. The winner was
HKT48 member
Rino Sashihara, a former member of AKB48. During the event, Team A captain
Mariko Shinoda (who placed fifth) announced that she would leave the group in July. On July 31, during AKB48's summer concert series at the Sapporo Dome, guest and former group headliner
Atsuko Maeda sang her new solo single ("
Time Machine Nante Iranai"). On August 21 the group released its 32nd single, "
Koisuru Fortune Cookie". Its music video had 3,800 extras, the most for any AKB48- and sister group-related video. On August 24 the group announced the restoration of Team 4, with
Minami Minegishi as captain and members promoted from the 13th and 14th generation of trainees. On September 18, AKB48 held its annual rock-paper-scissors tournament at Nippon Budokan to determine the lineup for its 34th single, with
Jurina Matsui the winner. After the event the group announced the lineup and performed its 33rd single, "
Heart Electric", which was released in October. Its music video was directed by
Shusuke Kaneko, known for the Heisei
Gamera trilogy
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack and the live-action film version of
Death Note. On December 11 the group released its 34th single, "
Suzukake no Ki no Michi de 'Kimi no Hohoemi o Yume ni Miru' to Itte Shimattara Bokutachi no Kankei wa Dō Kawatte Shimau no ka, Bokunari ni Nan-nichi ka Kangaeta Ue de no Yaya Kihazukashii Ketsuron no Yō na Mono", and on December 31 longtime member
Yuko Oshima announced on
Kōhaku Uta Gassen that she was leaving the group. The group was the 2nd artist by total sales revenue in Japan in 2013, with ¥13.254 billion. On January 22, 2014, AKB48 released the third studio album
Tsugi no Ashiato. It reached number one on the weekly
Oricon Albums Chart, selling 962,000 copies. The group's 35th single, "
Mae shika Mukanee", was released on February 26 and sold 970,413 copies on its first day. AKB48 announced plans for a fifth team, Team 8, with one member from each of Japan's 47 prefectures. On February 24, during the group's Grand Reformation Festival event at
Zepp DiverCity Tokyo, the group announced a team reorganization. This included a captain and co-captain of each team, promotion of AKB48 trainees to regular membership (with assignment to the four teams) and the transfer of members between AKB48 and its sister groups. On April 3 AKB48 introduced its 47-member Team 8 as "the idols who come to you". Akimoto announced auditions for an Otona adult member over 30 years old, to participate in events and be the centerpiece of a Glico Papico commercial. On April 16, AKB48 announced the Otona member: Mariko Tsukamoto, a 37-year-old housewife and mother of two. On May 21 the group released its 36th single, "
Labrador Retriever", which sold over 1,462,000 copies on its first day. On June 7, AKB48 and its related groups announced the results of the annual election to determine the lineup for its 37th single. The winner was Mayu Watanabe with 159,854 votes, and Rino Sashihara was runner-up with 141,954 votes. The top eighty candidates were ranked in five groups of sixteen. In August, AKB48 announced the Baito AKB project, which allows girls to join AKB48 part-time using the job search site Baitoru. 13,246 girls applied for Baito AKB, and after several screening rounds, 53 girls were selected to sign a five-month contract with a possible three-month extension in February. After the end of the project, 11 of the former Baito AKB members entered the yearly Draft Kaigi event aiming to become full members, while others expressed their desire to take part in the auditions for the newly planned
NGT48 group. On December 8, long-time member and general manager
Minami Takahashi announced she will leave the group in December 2015 for the group's tenth anniversary. She recommended that Team K captain
Yui Yokoyama be her successor. The group ranked second overall in Oricon's Artist Total Sales Revenue for the 2014 year, with
¥13.075 billion.
Assault at handshake event At a May 25, 2014 handshake event at the Iwate Industry Culture and Convention Center in
Takizawa, Iwate, group members
Rina Kawaei,
Anna Iriyama and a staff member were attacked by a 24-year-old man with a handsaw. The suspect was arrested for
attempted murder, and the three were treated at a hospital for fractures and cuts. AKB48 canceled its theater performances through the end of May, and handshake and photo-shoot fan events in May and June were postponed. In response to security concerns, the
Manseibashi Police Station of the
Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department asked AKS to conduct security checks of audience members at the theater entrance. Although sister groups SKE48, NMB48 and HKT48 did not suspend their theater performances, they introduced security measures:
metal detectors, not using the theaters' front rows, suspending post-performance "high-five" events and increasing the number of security guards. On May 30, AKB48 resumed its television appearances, and on June 2, the group resumed theater performances with security measures similar to those of its sister groups. Security and bag checks were added at the general-election-results event and Yuko Oshima's graduation concert.
2015: Koko ga Rhodes da, Koko de Tobe! and 0 to 1 no Aida On January 21, 2015, the group released its fourth studio album,
Koko ga Rhodes da, Koko de Tobe!. On March 4, the group released the single "
Green Flash". The group became the first group who sold their 20 consecutive singles in 1 million on the first week. On March 26, member
Rina Kawaei announced her graduation from the group in order to continue her acting career on her own, stating that the previous incident and long period of rest brought her to reflect on her future without depending on the group. On May 10, AKB48 was invited to the annual Japan Day festival in New York, their second performance in the city since 2009. A small away team consisting of members Rina Hirata, Ryoka Oshima, Haruna Kojima, Tomu Mutou, Saho Iwatate and Rina Nozawa performed a total of five songs cheered by a crowd of 5000 attendees. On May 20, the group released the single "
Bokutachi wa Tatakawanai". June 6 saw the announcement of the seventh general election results. The event was broadcast live from
Fukuoka Dome on
Fuji TV, which reported an average viewer rating of 18.8% with a peak of 23.4%. A record 3.2 million votes were cast, with
Rino Sashihara winning the poll for the second time with a record 194,049 votes. On August 26, the group released the single "
Halloween Night". On October 25, 2015, during the handshake and autograph event at Pacific Yokohama had announced the details of AKB48's
42nd Single and Request Hour 2016. The 42nd single was released on December 9, 2015.
Minami Takahashi was the Center in her final appearance on an AKB48 single. On November 18, the group released its third compilation album,
0 to 1 no Aida. This album marks the 10th anniversary of Japanese group, founded in 2005. The group's 42nd single "
Kuchibiru ni Be My Baby" sold 813,044 copies on its first day of release. This brought their combined single sales to over 36,158,000 single albums sold, making them the artist with the highest number of single album sales in Japan, surpassing rock group
B'z.
2016–2017: Thumbnail On January 24, 2016, during the final day of the Request Hour 2016 at Tokyo Dome City, AKB48 performed their 43rd single "
Kimi wa Melody" which released on March 9, 2016. Kimi Wa Melody is the second single to bring back graduates
Atsuko Maeda,
Yuko Oshima,
Mariko Shinoda and
Tomomi Itano being featured on the main track. The single was centred by
Sakura Miyawaki being her first time to have a solo centre on an AKB48 track. In February 2016, a Taiwanese girl
Chia-ling Ma was added to the group as "Taiwan Kenkyūsei". This is the first foreign member in the group. On June 1, 2016, the group released the 44th single "
Tsubasa wa Iranai", the single included ballots for the group's General Election for that year. Results of the election were announced on June 18 at the
Hard Off Eco Stadium in Niigata on BS Sky TV Premium and
Fuji TV, where Rino Sashihara placed first with 243,011 votes. On August 31, the group released the 45th single "
LOVE TRIP / Shiawase wo Wakenasai". On October 3,
Haruka Shimazaki announced her graduation from AKB48 during a new TV commercial presentation of
Baitoru. On November 16, the group released the 46th single "
High Tension". On December 12,
Mayu Watanabe, Rina Izuta and Saya Kawamoto announced a new subsidiary to the AKB48 group known as 'AKB48 China' during a Shanghai press conference and fan meet. Unlike the established Shanghai sister group
SNH48, AKB48 China will act as bridge between Japan and China, bringing Japanese members to the upcoming AKB48 China Theatre. Upcoming promotions include a television drama being filmed and a new online game. On January 25, 2017, the group released the fifth studio album
Thumbnail. On March 15, the group released their 47th single "
Shoot Sign", and
Haruna Kojima announced she would be graduating. On May 31, the group released their 48th single
Negaigoto no Mochigusare, which contained ballots for the general election.
Rino Sashihara won the poll for the third consecutive year, this time with 246,376 votes, and served as the center performer for their 49th single "
#sukinanda", released on August 30. On November 22, their 50th single "
11gatsu no Anklet" was released. At the December 2017 team shuffle event, it was announced that the Team 8 members are to hold concurrent positions () with one of the other AKB48 Teams A, K, B, and 4. Mayu Watanabe graduated from the group at the end of the year.
2018–2021: Produce 48, impact of COVID-19 pandemic In June, 39 members of AKB48 and their sister groups participated in the South Korean television competition
Produce 48, from which
Iz*One was formed.
Sakura Miyawaki,
Nako Yabuki,
Hitomi Honda finished high enough to earn a spot in the group. For the first time,
Jurina Matsui topped the 10th installment of the AKB48 general elections with 194,453 votes. In July, the RIAJ certified "Teacher Teacher" as a triple million, making the group the first girl group to achieve it. Shortly after Produce 48,
Stone Music Entertainment and
Genie Music signed a deal with King Records and AKS and became the official digital distributors of AKB singles in South Korea. On March 13, 2019, the group's 55th single "
Jiwaru Days" was released, with Rino Sashihara serving as the center performer in her last single with AKB48. The single's third song arose from a collaboration between AKB48,
Nogizaka46 and
Iz*One. On September 18, 2019, the group released the 56th single "
Sustainable", their first release of the
Reiwa period and first in six months. On October 19, 2019, AKB48 held a concert in
Taipei Arena with
AKB48 Team TP. Following the
assault on NGT48 member Maho Yamaguchi, the management of AKB48 faced severe public criticism. The year 2019 marked some major changes for the group, as
AKBingo and
AKB48 Show!, two long running nationally broadcast variety shows featuring the group, were eventually cancelled. The Akihabara-based AKB48 Cafe and Shop was closed after eight years of operation. In 2019, three regular annual events were discontinued, including the general election, according to the AKS then-board director "because it exhausted its set purpose after its 10th iteration". For the first time in the group's history, only two singles were released in a year. 2020 began with the announcement of plans to significantly change AKB48 management structures, with individual companies independently running each of the Japanese groups. On March 18, 2020, the group released the 57th single "
Shitsuren, Arigatō". In April 2020, in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting
stay-at-home order, the group launched the OUC48 project, named after the Japanese word for "home", , where the members perform regular stage plays from their own homes using group
video chat, which is broadcast in real time via YouTube. This project is an expansion of an earlier video montage of 103 members singing "
365 Nichi no Kami Hikōki" from their homes, personally edited into a single video by General Manager
Mion Mukaichi, which was received favorably. They did not participate in the
NHK's
71st Kōhaku Uta Gassen due to
COVID-19. On May 22, 2021, the last 1st Generation member,
Minami Minegishi held her graduation concert entitled Minegishi Minami Graduation Concert ～Sakura no Sakanai Haru Wanai～ on
Pia Arena MM. Also, Team 8 held the last leg of their Team 8 National Tour ~47 no Suteki na Machi e~ in Kanagawa, marking the official return of
Hitomi Honda to AKB from her
Iz*One activities. And, they also held their Tandoku Concert, performing 48 songs non-stop, with the setlist being made by
Yuki Kashiwagi. In that concert, the long-awaited 58th single was finally announced, "
Nemohamo Rumor" with the senbatsu also being an AKB-only senbatsu, a first since
Chance no Junban in 2010.
Yui Yokoyama announced her graduation from the group September 12, her graduation concert will be held on December 9 at AKB48 Theater. On December 8, 2021, at their 16th Anniversary concert, the group announced auditions for their 17th Generation. On top of this, a Team Shuffle was also announced, with the changes taking effect on February 6, 2022.
Mion Mukaichi, Manaka Taguchi, Nanami Asai and Narumi Kuranoo were appointed captains of Team A, K, B and 4 respectively. On December 12, long-time member
Miho Miyazaki announced her graduation from the group. Four days later, on December 16,
Rena Kato announced her graduation from the group. They both graduated in February 2022.
2022–present: Comeback after COVID-19, transfer to Universal Music Group and 20th Anniversary On February 23, 2022, the group announced their 59th single "
Motokare Desu" during the group's television show
AKB48, Saikin Kiita? with
Hitomi Honda serving as center position. This single would be sung by 20 members of AKB-only senbatsu and released on May 18, 2022. On May 4, 2022, 11 new trainees from 17th generation members were introduced to the public for the first time. On October 9, 2022, the group announced auditions for their 18th Generation, and released their 60th single "
Hisashiburi no Lip Gloss" on October 19, 2022, with Erii Chiba serving as the center for the single. On February 27, 2023, AKB48 announced that their 61st single "
Doushitemo Kimi ga Suki da" will be released on April 26, 2023, and Hitomi Honda will serve the center position for the single, they also announced on YouTube that they will work with
Universal Music Group (through their
EMI Records banner) from now on. On April 9, 2023, 8 new trainees from 18th generation made their debut at the Theater. On April 29, 2023, the group announced that they are ending their team and captain system, with the last performances for the current teams to be held in August 2023. On July 28, 2023, AKB48 announced that their 62nd single will be released on September 27, 2023, and
Yui Oguri will serve the center position for the single. On October 20, 2023, long-time member
Yuki Kashiwagi announced her graduation at AKB48's Nippon Budokan 3-day concert. Her graduation concert was held on March 16, 2024 at Pia Arena MM and her last official activity with the group was concluded in April. On October 22, at the final day of AKB48's Nippon Budokan concert, the group announced auditions for their 19th Generation. On December 8, AKB48 announced at AKB48 Theater's 18th anniversary that they will release their 63rd single on 13 March 2024, which also served as Yuki Kashiwagi's graduation single, marking her first time serving as the solo center for the single, and her second overall after serving as a double center in
Green Flash in 2015. On October 6, 2024, AKB48 announces their cover album and tenth overall
Nantettatte AKB48 to be released on December 25, 2024, with Yuiri Murayama serving the center position for the album. On 20 December 2024, the group's 20th Generation members were unveiled at the theatre . Their 65th single "
Masaka no Confession", released on 2 April 2025, was centered by trainee Azuki Yagi, marking the first time an AKB48 single was centered by a trainee. AKB48's 66th single "
Oh My Pumpkin!", centered by Yui Oguri, was released on 13 August 2025 as part of the group's 20th anniversary celebrations. As such, the single also involved members from each current overseas sister groups, as well as graduated members
Atsuko Maeda,
Minami Takahashi,
Haruna Kojima and
Rino Sashihara, the first time graduated members has taken part in a single since
Kimi wa Melody in 2016. In December 2025, it was also confirmed that other graduated members will also be invited to perform at the group's 20th anniversary concerts at
Nippon Budokan, AKB48 also announced that they will participate in the
76th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen for the first time in 6 years. == AKB48 Group ==