is a Japanese

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

groups,

Onyanko Club was a large all-girl Japanese pop idol group in the 1980s. Some members of the group participated in spin-off groups, such as Nyangilas, Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi and Ushirogami Hikaretai. Many of the latter two groups' songs were used as theme so ...

and the

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 it ...

franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, making him the best-selling lyricist in Japan.

Career

Akimoto created the ''Chakushin Ari'' (''One Missed Call'') horror franchise, which began with his novel of the same name and was first brought to film in 2003 before being remade by Hollywood in 2008. He wrote both the novel and the screen adaptation for '' One Missed Call: Final''. Akimoto became a television writer in high school, he has produced many television programs, such as ''

Utaban was a Japanese music variety show, broadcast weekly from October 15, 1996 until March 23, 2010 on TBS. The name of the show is an abbreviation of , meaning "music program". A special version of the show, running for two hours, was occasionally ai ...

''. Akimoto started as a lyricist with

The Alfee The Alfee is a Japanese folk rock band who debuted in 1974, and have been recording and touring since then, with 23 studio albums and 63 singles throughout their career. The band marked its 40th anniversary in 2014 with their 64th single. Histor ...

in 1981; he has written

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...

for various artists such as

Kinki Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...

Tunnels A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A Pipeline transport, pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used ...

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshine Sakae, a ...

SDN48 SDN48 (read "S.D.N. Forty-eight", short for Saturday Night 48) was a Japanese idol girl group, created and produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SDN48 was created based on an "adult idol" concept. Former AKB48 member Kayo Noro was chosen as the captain of ...

NMB48 NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is based ...

HKT48 HKT48 (read "H.K.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. HKT48 is named after the Hakata-ku, Fukuoka city of Fukuoka Prefecture, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at ...

NGT48 NGT48 (read "N.G.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NGT48 is named after Niigata City of Niigata Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at the NGT48 Theater which is located in the fourth fl ...

STU48 STU48 (Setouchi48) is a Japanese idol group and sister group of AKB48 named after the Setouchi Region. The group had a from 2019 to 2021. It is co-owned by the tourism board of Setouchi Region and is highly involved in their promotional efforts ...

Nogizaka46 is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshimotozaka46, a ...

and

Keyakizaka46 , formerly , is a Japanese idol girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was created on August 21, 2015, becoming Nogizaka46's first sister group under the Sakamichi Series. Following the resignation of group's center Yurina Hirate and ...

. He also wrote

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posth ...

's last single during her lifetime, "

Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni is the last single recorded by Japanese enka singer Hibari Misora, as she died soon after its release in 1989. It was composed by Akira Mitake, with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto. It was voted the greatest Japanese song of all time during a national ...

", and

Jero Jerome Charles White Jr. (born September 4, 1981), better known by his stage name , is an American enka singer of African-American and Japanese descent who is the first black enka singer in Japanese music history. In 2018, Jero announced that ...

's debut single "Umi Yuki". He debuted the 1st international sister group of AKB48 called

JKT48 JKT48 (read as "J. K. T. forty-eight") is an Indonesian-Japanese Japanese idol, idol girl group whose name is derived from its based city of Jakarta and the Japanese idol group AKB48. Formed in 2011, the group is the first AKB48 sister group outs ...

. Auditions were held on October 8 and 9, 2011 and the official members were announced early November. And the 2nd international sister group of AKB48 called

SNH48 SNH48 is a Chinese idol girl group based in Shanghai. Following AKB48's creator Yasushi Akimoto's concept of "idols you can meet", the group features dozens of female members around the age of 20, who perform regularly in the group's own thea ...

was announced in October, 2012. On June, 2016 it was announced that SNH48 and its sister groups became fully independent from AKB48 having

BEJ48 BEJ48 (pronounced B.E.J. Sìshíbā, more often called B.E.J forty-eight) is a Chinese idol girl group based in Beijing. It is one of SNH48's sister groups formed in 2016, together with GNZ48. Overview BEJ48 is one of the first two sister group ...

GNZ48 GNZ48 is a Chinese idol girl group established in Guangzhou, Guangdong in 2016. It is a sister group of SNH48, belonging to Guangzhou Star48 Culture Media Group Co., Ltd. GNZ48 currently has members ( regular members and trainees, , informatio ...

SHY48 SNH48 Group() or SNH48 sister groups, shortened to SNH48G, SNH Group, SNHG, refers to the sister groups of the Chinese idol girl group SNH48. Based on AKB48's "idols you can meet" concept, it currently consists of 5 sister groups in locations ...

and

CKG48 SNH48 Group() or SNH48 sister groups, shortened to SNH48G, SNH Group, SNHG, refers to the sister groups of the Chinese idol girl group SNH48. Based on AKB48's "idols you can meet" concept, it currently consists of 5 sister groups in locations ...

as SNH48's Local Sister Groups which formed an alliance known as

SNH48 Group SNH48 Group() or SNH48 sister groups, shortened to SNH48G, SNH Group, SNHG, refers to the sister groups of the Chinese idol girl group SNH48. Based on AKB48's "idols you can meet" concept, it currently consists of 5 sister groups in locations ...

or Star48. The 3rd international sister group of AKB48 called

BNK48 BNK48 (read ''B.N.K. Forty-eight'') is a Thai idol girl group and the third international sister group of Japan's AKB48, following Indonesia's JKT48 and China's SNH48 (''former''). After holding its first audition in mid-2016 and announcing i ...

was announced on February 12, 2017. The 4th international sister group of AKB48 called

TPE48 AKB48 Team TP formerly known as TPE48, is a Taiwanese idol group and the sixth international sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (''former''), Thailand's BNK48, Philippines's MNL48, and China's AKB48 Team SH. The gr ...

was announced on February 4, 2018. And

MNL48 MNL48 (read as ''M.N.L. Forty-eight'') is a Filipino idol girl group based in Manila, Philippines. Formed in 2018, they are the fourth international sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (''former''), and Thailand's B ...

the 5th international sister group of AKB48, the 1st generation members were officially announced on April 28, 2018. Also on the same year, MUM48,

AKB48 Team SH AKB48 Team SH (also known as 冲吧少女组合/Chong Ba Shaonu Zuhe) is a Chinese idol group based in Shanghai, China and an official sister group of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. It was established in 2018 after the dissolution of AKB ...

and

SGO48 SGO48 (read ''S.G.O. Forty-Eight'') was a Vietnamese idol girl group based in Saigon, officially known as Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They were the seventh international sister group of AKB48, after Indonesia's JKT48, China's SNH48 (''former'') ...

were formed too as 6th, 7th and 8th overseas sister groups respectively. Akimoto also got involved in female professional wrestling, introducing wrestler

Cutie Suzuki (born October 22, 1969, as ), better known by her ring name , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler who mostly wrestled for JWP Joshi Puroresu. In 1990 she was featured in an all female wrestling game based on her titled '' Cutie Suzuki ...

. In 2007 he became a professor and vice president at

Kyoto University of Art and Design is a private university in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan. The predecessor of the school was founded in 1934. It was chartered as a junior college in 1977 and became a four-year college in 1991, known as the Kyoto University of Art and Design ...

. On March 17, 2014, it was announced that Akimoto was named a member of the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the 1 ...

Committee and was put in charge of producing the opening ceremony along with photographer

Mika Ninagawa is a Japanese photographer and Film director, director, known for her brightly colored photographs of flowers, goldfish, and landscapes. Biography Daughter of acclaimed theatre director Yukio Ninagawa, she first came to prominence in the late 1 ...

who has previously produced music videos for

, including 2010's

Heavy Rotation In broadcasting, rotation is the repeated airing of a limited playlist of songs on a radio station or satellite radio channel, or music videos on a TV network. They are usually in a different order each time. However, they are not completely ...

and 2013's

Sayonara Crawl is the 31st single by the Japanese idol girl group AKB48; it was released in Japan on May 22, 2013. As of the release day, the CD single "Sayonara Crawl" had been shipped in 2.3 million copies, besting the group's previous record of 2.0 million ...

. A petition against his appointment has been created due his representing the "decline" of the Japanese entertainment industry, with 11,000 signatures as of March 23. He also contributed in forming a South Korean girl group

Iz*One Iz*One ( ; ko, 아이즈원, Aijeuwon; ja, アイズワン, Aizuwan; stylized as IZ*ONE) was a South Korean–Japanese girl group formed through the Mnet reality competition show '' Produce 48''. The group was composed of twelve members: J ...

with collaboration between AKS and Mnet. In 2016, Japanese idol girl group multimedia project between Yasushi Akimoto, Aniplex, and Sony Music Records called 22/7 was formed. The project is described as "idols who transcend dimensions." The members consist of voice actresses who provide the voice and motion capture for their characters, as well as perform as a musical group. In 2017, Akimoto co-founded the

$4.50 Theater Company The is a Japanese theater company established in 2017 by two Japanese producers Yasushi Akimoto and Max Matsuura , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese record producer and businessman. He is the founder of Avex Group, one of the la ...

, in cooperation with the entertainment company

Avex Inc. is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

As of 2019, Akimoto is no longer part of the AKS management and is involved only as the creative producer of

AKB48 Group , or AKB48 sister groups, shortened to 48 Group, 48g, refers to the sister groups of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48. Based on the same concept "idols you can meet", it currently consists of 5 sister groups in locations across Japan and 7 s ...

s. On September, 2022, OVERSE announces the launch of its new idol group project, it will be a new kind of idol group with blockchain and metaverse concepts, and names Akimoto Yasushi as the idol group's general producer.

Criticism

Akimoto has been criticized in the past for song lyrics that some consider to have

misogynistic Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women. It is a form of sexism that is used to keep women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the societal roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been widely practiced f ...

undertones. Specifically, the 2016 HKT48 song " Einstein yori Dianna Agron" was seen as an insult to women's intelligence.

Personal life

Akimoto married

member

Mamiko Takai Mamiko Takai (高井麻巳子, Takai Mamiko, born December 28, 1966, in Obama, Fukui, Japan) is a Japanese idol from the eighties, who debuted in 1985 with the J-pop girl band Onyanko Club, and its first sub-group, duo Ushiroyubi Sasaregumi wi ...

in 1988.

Awards

* 2008: 41st Japan Lyricist Awards — Grand Prix (for the song "Umiyuki", performed by

) * 2009: 51st

Japan Record Award is a major music awards show, held annually in Japan that recognizes outstanding achievements in the Japan Composer's Association. Until 2005, the show aired on New Year's Eve, but has since aired every December 30 on TBS Japan at 6:30 P.M JST a ...

Special Award *2011: 16th The AMD Award — Grand Prize * 2012: 54th Japan Record Award — Lyricist Award. 45th Japan Cable Award, Special Award. * 2017: 19th

Mnet Asian Music Awards The MAMA Awards (formerly Mnet Asian Music Awards) is a major music awards ceremony presented annually by entertainment company CJ E&M. First held in South Korea, the majority of prizes has been won by K-pop artists, although there are other As ...

— Inspired Achievement * 2022:

Medal with Purple Ribbon are medals awarded by the Government of Japan. They are awarded to individuals who have done meritorious deeds and also to those who have achieved excellence in their field of work. The Medals of Honor were established on December 7, 1881, and we ...

References

External links