AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with ...

are a

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

girl group formed on December 8, 2005. As of December 24, 2022, the group consists of 81 members, divided among several teams: Team A with 18 members, Team K with 17 members, Team B with 18 members, Team 4 with 18 members, Team 8 with 29 members which all of them hold a concurrent position with another team., and 10 members of 17th generation trainees The member lineup often changes for some individual reasons, they "graduate" from the group, and are replaced by members promoted from the trainees. Monica Hesse of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' describes the AKB48 audition process as "rolling ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''-esque". The group has publicized special events for choosing the promotional and recording lineup for some of its singles. In 2009, the concept of was introduced. To obtain a ballot, voters have to buy the group's latest "election single", or sign up the official paid fanclub. The members who receive the most votes will get to participate in the recording of AKB48's next single, and are heavily promoted. The highest voted member earns the right to be the center performer during the group's live performances.

Mion Mukaichi is a Japanese idol singer and former child actress. She is a member of the girl group AKB48, serving as captain of AKB48 Team A, and is also the third and current AKB48 Group . As an actress, she is best known for portraying Mio Sato in the '' U ...

is the current leader or "general manager" of AKB48 and all of its sister groups. The results from AKB48's annual general elections from 2009–2018 are included. Dark gray cells indicate that the member did not take part in that election. Light gray cells marked "N/A" indicate the member took part in the election, but did not rank. Members who ranked between #81 and #100 are also denoted by light gray cells. Members are listed by order below as they appear on the official website's roster .

Team A

Team A is associated with the color pink. The current captain is

and they have 18 active members.

Team K

Team K is associated with the color green. The current captain is Manaka Taguchi and they have 17 active members.

Team B

Team B is associated with the color blue. The current captain is Nanami Asai and they have 18 active members.

Team 4

Team 4 is associated with the color yellow. The current captain is Narumi Kuranō and they have 18 active members.

Team 8

Team 8 was formed in April 2014 and originally included 47 members, each representing one of the 47

prefectures of Japan Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (, ''todōfuken'', ), which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper (, ''ken''), two ...

. Their team color is navy. 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. The team was sponsored by

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

from 2014 to 2021. Members of Team 8 are colloquially referred to as "Eighters." As of December 2022, they have 29 active members.

Trainees

Trainees or () is a group of members who just coming into the group but haven't assigned or promoted to a fixed team. Currently the group trainees are 17th generation-members who introduced on May 4, 2022.

References

{{AKB48