Mikeru On Japanese Music Today

The Yomiuri Shimbun paper's website reports that Yasushi Akimoto, the producer and songwriter of the Japanese female idol group AKB48, is entertaining offers for spinoff groups from seven television stations and production companies in six countries. The six countries include Thailand, Singapore, China, and Italy.

According to the website, Akimoto believes that "the era of imitating the West is over. Now we export Japanese culture." The seven companies want to license the rights to localize AKB48's concept and format in their respective countries. In particular, the proposed spinoffs would each have a theater of its own (similar to the one AKB48 has in Tokyo's Akihabara otaku shopping district), 48 members and a name that ends with "48," costumes modeled after high school uniforms, and songs written by Akimoto.

AKB48 performed theme songs for the Deltora Quest and ICE anime projects. The contemporary artist and occasional anime creator Takashi Murakami illustrated the jacket for the AKB48 idol group's June 24 single, "Namida Surprise!" In return, Akimoto wrote the lyrics for the "First Love" tie-in song for Murakami's "Superflat First Love" anime short. Members of the group have made appearances in New York Anime Festival in the United States and Japan Expo in France.