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Yasushi Akimoto
is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 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''. Akimoto started as a lyricist with The Alfee in 1981; he has written lyrics for various artists such as Kinki Kids, Tunnels, Onyanko Club, AKB48, SKE48, SDN48, NMB48, HKT48, NGT48, STU48, Nogizaka46 and Keyakizaka46. He also wrote Hibari Misora's last single during her lifetime, " K ...
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Meguro, Tokyo
is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Meguro City. The ward was founded on March 15, 1947. Meguro is predominantly residential in character, but is also home to light industry, corporate head offices, the Komaba campus of University of Tokyo as well as fifteen foreign embassies and consulates. Residential neighborhoods include, Jiyugaoka, Kakinokizaka, and Nakameguro, Meguro, Tokyo, Nakameguro. As of May 1, 2015, the ward has an estimated population of 277,171 and a population density of 18,890 persons per km2. The total area is 14.67 km2. Meguro is also used to refer to the area around Meguro Station, which is not located in Meguro ward, but in neighboring Shinagawa's Kamiōsaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Kamiōsaki district. History The Higashiyama shell mound in the north of the ward contains remains from the Paleolithic, Jōmon, Yayoi, and Kofun periods. The area now kno ...
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Tunnels (owarai)
The are an owarai duo with a long history composed of Tokyo-born and . Both of them attended where Ishibashi, the taller of the two, participated in baseball, and Kinashi participated in soccer. They originated not as a manzai duo, so much as an ippatsu gag and monomane act. During the early 1980s, they became immensely popular with young Japanese audiences, appearing in several television shows, but their popularity exploded with their show '' The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone''. Many times they absorbed more than 30% of nationwide television viewers, a great feat for any television show. They then turned their attention to creating music, spawning a string of hit singles that also generated massive sales and attention. They created many words and expressions that resonated with the youth of Japan included such as and , which are abbreviations meaning "ex-boyfriend" and "ex-girlfriend". Both phrases are still in popular use today. Also, their tendency to use inside jokes that ...
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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 group is named after Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. History 2011–2012: Creation On October 10, 2011, AKB48 announced the creation of TPE48, and will build the theater next year summer. At that time, AKS cooperated with Yoshimoto Kogyo and expected to start audition work in 2012. However, the two sides failed to reach a consensus in the preparation work, and thus they were discontinued after the second half of 2012. 2014–2015: AKB48 Taiwan Audition On December 7, 2014, during HKT48's Taipei concert, AKB48 announced that they will hold an audition for members of the AKB48 in Taiwan someday, but it was unclear whether the audition is related to TPE48. Subsequently, AKB48 officially announced its will hold the "AKB48 Taiwan ...
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Taiwanese Pop
The music of Taiwan reflects the diverse culture of Taiwanese people. Taiwan has undergone several economic, social, and political changes through its cultural history, and Taiwanese music reflects those issues in its way. The music of the country has adopted a mixed style. As a country rich in Chinese folk culture and with many indigenous tribes with their own distinct artistic identity, various folk music styles are appreciated in Taiwan. In addition, people in Taiwan highly appreciate various style of Western classical music and pop music. Taiwan is a major Mandopop hub. Background The Kuomintang-led Republic of China government arrived in Taiwan in 1949, a government that suppressed native Taiwanese culture and implemented Standard Chinese (Mandarin) as the official language. This political event has significant effects on the development of music in Taiwan in the 20th century as it resulted in a gap in the transition of the traditional music culture. In 1987, a revival ...
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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 he was taking an indefinite hiatus from his music career to focus on a career in computers. Biography Jero began singing Enka at the age of six and continued to study the Japanese language all throughout high school and college.
Jero: Japan's First African-American Enka Singer, February 12, 2009
He also studied Japanese for some time at the Kansai Gaidai University school of foreign languages.
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Kawa No Nagare No Yō Ni
is song recorded by Japanese enka singer Hibari Misora, released on January 11, 1989. It was the last single that Misora released as she died soon after its release in June 1989. It was composed by Akira Mitake, with lyrics by Yasushi Akimoto. Regarded as one of the most influential songs in Japan, "Kawa no Nagare no Yō ni" was voted the greatest Japanese song of all time during a national poll in 1997 by NHK, with more than 10 million votes. Reception The single charted at 8th place for more than a year and sold 225,000 copies in Japan. It is often the song of choice for artists performing live tributes to Misora. Covers It is also covered by various singers, including Teresa Teng, The Three Tenors, Masami Okui is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Itami, Hyōgo. She began her professional musical career at age 21 as a concert backup singer. From almost the very beginning of her career, Masami has sung themes for anime television and movies. She ... and Ma ...
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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 posthumously for giving the public hope and encouragement after World War II. Misora recorded a total of 1,200 songs and sold 68 million records. After she died, consumer demand for her recordings grew significantly, and, by 2001, she had sold more than 80 million records. By 2019, record sales surpassed 100 million. Her swan-song is often performed by numerous artists and orchestras as a tribute to her, including notable renditions by The Three Tenors (Spanish/Italian), Teresa Teng (Taiwanese) and Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlan (Mexican). Each year there is a special on Japanese television and radio featuring her songs. A memorial concert for Misora was held at the Tokyo Dome on November 11, 2012. It featured numerous musicians such as Ai ...
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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. The group was rebranded as Sakurazaka46 after their last concert on October 13, 2020. The group's fans are known as Buddies. As Keyakizaka46, the group had released nine singles, eight of which topped the Oricon Singles Chart and ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100. The group had also released three compilation albums, one of which was released by Hiragana Keyakizaka46, a subgroup who later became an independent group, Hinatazaka46. Additionally, the group hosts multiple variety shows, radio programs, and television dramas. History 2015: Formation On February 22, 2015, during the ''Nogizaka46 3rd Year Birthday Live'' at Seibu Dome, Nogizaka46 announced plans to recruit the first generation members for their new project. The new group's name was , named after the Toriizaka area in the Roppongi distr ...
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Nogizaka46
is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as the "official rival" of the group AKB48. They are the first group from the Sakamichi Series, which also includes sister groups Sakurazaka46 (formerly Keyakizaka46), Yoshimotozaka46, and Hinatazaka46. The group's musical catalogue includes twenty-eight singles and five compilation albums. Starting with their third single, each of Nogizaka46's single releases has reached the top position on the weekly Oricon chart. The group has also created radio shows, theater productions, television programs, and films, including '' NogiBingo!'', '' Hatsumori Bemars'', '' Nogizaka Under Construction'', '' Asahinagu'', and a series of documentary films about the group. Nogizaka46 has twice won the Grand Prix at the annual Japan Record Awards, with consecutive wins for " Influencer" in 2017 and "Synchronicity" in 2018. The group has sold nearly 18 million CDs in Japan. History 2011–2012: Formation and early chart suc ...
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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. The group's captain is Azumi Okada and the vice captain is Akari Fukuda. History 2016–2017: Foundation The formation of STU48 was announced in October 2016. The application period for new members was open from January to February 5, 2017. AKB48 members Mayu Watanabe and Yuki Kashiwagi visited the governments of seven Setouchi prefectures (Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Ehime, Hyogo, Okayama, Tokushima and Kagawa) between them to promote the auditions. On February 22, it was announced that Nana Okada of AKB48 and Rino Sashihara of HKT48 would be concurrent members of STU48 and respectively hold the positions of captain and theater manager. On March 19, 44 applicants who passed the auditions to become first generation members were introduce ...
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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 floor of the LoveLa2 shopping mall in Niigata City. After then-member Maho Yamaguchi's assault in December 2018, after which she had claimed that the management had done nothing to address other NGT48 members allegedly involved in assisting her attackers, in April 2019, the NGT48 management dissolved the team system, with all current members unified according to generations. History 2015–2018: Debut The creation of the group was announced on January 25, 2015 on the final, fifth day of a traditional series of AKB48 concerts entitled ''AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 1035 2015''. In October 2015, the Niigata-based company appointed NGT48 a "bakauke PR ambassador", a PR ambassador for its product named bakauke. As of December 2015, ...
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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, Hakata-ku ward of Fukuoka, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at City Bank HKT48 Theater in Fukuoka and has sold nearly 4 million copies of CDs in Japan. History Plans for a group entitled ''HKT48'' were first revealed by AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto on November 19, 2008. HKT48 was officially announced on May 1, 2011, at an AKB48 handshake event. The group was the fourth AKB48 sister group to be launched, after the groups SKE48, SDN48 and NMB48. While the group took its name from its proposed base location of Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, HKT48 was eventually based at a theater in the Hawks Town Mall in neighboring Chūō-ku, Fukuoka. This location is next to the Fukuoka Dome, Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome. In addition, it was announced that the group would be accepting applications from girls aged between 11 a ...
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