AKB48 Question & Answer

That's interesting. I'm almost sure this isn't the only instance of this in their MV's, I vaguely recall something similar in another early video but I can't recall which one.

 

If you remember, I'd be really curious!

 

I've already added it to Moeno's and 10nen Zakura's trivia sections

 

Does anyone know why AKB48 3rd Generation member Saotome Miki was demoted to Kenkyuusei? I've never been able to get the full and true story on that situation. I've read recollections by fans that she asked for the demotion herself while also coming across other fans recollections that she was demoted for breaching terms of her contract and others still made claims she'd broken unofficial rules idols are expected to follow which punishments were more severe for back then if broken.

 

^Thanks @dutchie

 

^That part I hadn't ever heard. Makes me feel less bad that she got demoted no matter why the demotion occurred.

 

Does anyone know the current rules regarding sending fan mail/gifts to the members? There is an address and a few rules stated in the FAQ thread, but those are pretty old, and I'm not sure they're up to date. Seeing one of Yukirin's YouTube videos she got accessories, food/snacks, beauty products and clothing, and most of those things are mentioned as not allowed in that thread.

 

The current rules are on the following page on the AKB48 Official Website:
https://www.akb48.co.jp/letter/

This is the list of prohibited items (via Google Translate):

Back in June last year, Myao released a similar video to Yukirin's in which she opened gifts including food:


if the video does not show watch the video here

Rather strangely at 3:55 the address used for her on the food package is clearly visible, indeed she shows it in close-up to the camera, which to me looks like she's inviting fans to send stuff there? The address appears to be that of her agency HoriPro (it seems to correspond to the one given on the Bloomberg company data site) so does that mean you can send gifts to members at their agency offices?

 

thats exactly what it means. Added plus is that the agencies don't have such restrictive rules, probably one of the reasons why members are happy for agency transfer.

I recall reading some years back that aks had these rules to stop members from getting big headed. From what I recall kks members couldn't receive presents at all, just letters.

 

In Yukirin's latest unboxing video you can spot the Watanabe Entertainment logo on one of the paper bags.

(Link already timecoded)

if the video does not show watch the video here

In general I'd agree with @David61 and @Reveen that the agencies likely have different rules from the respective 48 groups.
Yukirin's case however seems a bit of a funny one. I couldn't find a general policy about which present Watanabe would accept on their webpage. However some artists have policies posted on their profile pages.

On Yukirin's page you can find the following:

https://www.watanabepro.co.jp/mypage/20000016/

Which is just copypasta of the AKB rules.

 

Thank you for all the replies! The official website has an address to be used to send gifts and letters (to my understanding lol) But I'm not exactly getting where I'm supposed to put the members name. Has anyone ever sent any gift internationally before? Is it worth the chance or will it probably just get chucked out?

 

Replace the メンバー名 bit with the members name, preferably in Kanji.

 

May I ask about 48G concert starting and ending times?

Usually, what time should concert goers be in the venue for noon and night concerts? And what time do these concert usually ends? Thank you.

 

I suspect the true answer is that it varies from event to event and from group to group. I've been to 3 evening concerts at Yokohama Stadium which all started at 17:00 and 1 noon one which started at 11:00. Each one lasted about 3 to 3.5 hours as far as I can remember. For all 4 shows the audience was allowed in 2 hours before the start. However in April 2019 I went to 2 SKEBINGO! shows in one day at a smaller indoor venue in Yokohama. I've just checked the start times and the first one began at 13:30 with the second at 18:30. For both of them the audience was allowed in 1 hour beforehand and I think each show lasted for 2 hours.

 

Thank you. I did figure it's probably different per event but I wanted a rough idea. Basically, I'm wondering if I can attend a night concert in Nagoya and be able to take the 11PM night bus back to Tokyo.

Thanks again

 

I've sent stuff to the AKB and HKT addresses before and they've gotten through. As @Puni above said put the members name where it says メンバー名 . I used to put the members name in brackets () which was what they asked for at the time.

I always printed the address out on labels for clarity and I always put the address in Japanese first and in English below.

 

In the first doc I watched, No Flowers without Rain, Team 4 was disbanded. The next one I'm watching, The Time has Come, I've gotten to the big reshuffle announcement (again?) and there's mentions of Team 4 being an actual team. I've paused the doc and tried googling, but I'm still unclear as to what the deal with Team 4 is.

(Though to be honest I'm confused about a lot of the AKB48 history - the group hadn't been around that long and suddenly there's multiple junior groups and sub groups? Yes, I know I'm not a true fan who's been around forever, but I guess that's why I'm so confused. Is there some sort of simplified timeline/chart I can look at?)