AKB48 Group

AKB48 Group
Top left: AKB48 in Akihabara, Tokyo Top right: SKE48 in Sakae, Nagoya Middle left: JKT48 in Jakarta, Indonesia Middle right: BNK48 in Bangkok, Thailand Bottom: AKB48 Team TP in Taipei, Taiwan
Background information
Origin	bubblegum pop
Years active	2008–present
Members	Current groups
Past members	Former groups

AKB48 Group (Japanese: AKB48グループ, Hepburn: AKB48 gurūpu), or AKB48 sister groups, shortened to 48 Group or 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 five sister groups in locations across Japan and seven (DEL, SGO, MUB excluded) sister groups in major Asian cities overseas from Indonesia to Thailand. The Japan-based sister groups not only release their own singles, but also perform on some of the AKB48 singles and events. They also send participants in the AKB48 annual events such as the AKB48 general election. The sister groups outside Japan release local-language versions of the AKB48 singles.^[1][2] In their early development, they are often supported by temporary, concurrent members of AKB48, such as Jurina Matsui and Miyuki Watanabe.^[3]

History

AKB48's first sister group,

In 2011 AKB48's first sister group outside Japan, JKT48, was announced; the group is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.^[12] JKT48 was followed by SNH48 based in Shanghai, China.^[13] On June 6, 2016, AKB48 announced it had suspended its partnership with SNH48 due to the latter's contract violations.^[14] Following the statement, SNH48 declared that it had been completely independent from AKB48 from the beginning and SNH48 management had never made any form of partnership with AKS.^[15]

On October 12, 2016, AKS announced the "AKB48 China" project; two members were selected and participated in Produce 101 China. The first group of the project, AKB48 Team SH, was launched in early 2018 and audition began in April 2018.^[16]

The creation of the TPE48 was announced on October 10, 2011, in AKB48's official blog.

On January 1 2024, the formation of KLP48, based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was announced in AKB48's official social media accounts and KLP48's official page. They are set to debut in August 2024.^[29]

AKB48 Group also has their "official" rival group, the Sakamichi Series, also produced by Akimoto Yasushi. The Sakamichi Series consists of groups Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, Hinatazaka46, and Yoshimotozaka46.^[30]

SNH48 Group is also known to be a big rival against AKB48 Group: ^{[citation needed]} After creating their own sister groups BEJ48, GNZ48, SHY48, CKG48, CGT48, IDOLS Ft and JNR48, the group got more recognition in China. Their single "Forest Theorem" was bought 200,000 times in just a few minutes.^{[citation needed]}

Produce 48 and Iz*One

Produce 48

On June 15, 2018, AKB48 groups participated in the Korean

On November 11, The group was scheduled to release their first studio album.[43] However, the release was postponed due to the Mnet vote manipulation investigation.^[44][45] Investigations revealed that the Produce 48 producer Ahn Joon-young had selected the twelve members of Iz*One from the top 20 just before the airing of the finale.^[46] As a result, Iz*One's showcases, promotions, and several guest appearances were cancelled or put on hold,^{[47][48][49][50][51]} which included the release of their concert film, Eyes on Me: The Movie,^[52] and their Japanese promotions.^[53][54] On January 6, 2020, the members' agencies and CJ ENM reached an agreement to resume the group's activities.^[55][56] On April, 2021, they officially disbanded and all members were back to their agencies.^[57]

Current groups

Former groups

AKB48 Group timeline

AKB48 Group timeline

Distribution map

AKB48

SKE48

NMB48

HKT48

NGT48

STU48

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Geographic distribution of sister groups of AKB48 inside Japan

KLP48

CGM48

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Geographic distribution of sister groups of AKB48 outside Japan