AKB48 is a Japanese idol girl group formed on December 8, 2005. As of 2024, the group consists of 43 members, including 30 official members and 13 trainees.[1] [2]
The member lineup often changes as members graduate from the group and are replaced by members promoted from trainee status. Monica Hesse of The Washington Post describes the AKB48 audition process as "American Idol-esque".[3]
The group has publicized special events for choosing the promotional and recording lineup for some of its singles.[4] In 2009, the concept of was introduced.[5] To obtain a ballot, voters have to buy the group's latest "election single", or sign up for the official paid fanclub. The members who receive the most votes will get to participate in the recording of AKB48's next single, and are heavily promoted.[6] The highest voted member earns the right to be the center performer during the group's live performances.[7]
Narumi Kuranoo is the current leader or "general manager" of AKB48 and all of its sister groups.[8] The results from AKB48's annual general elections from 2009–2018 are included.
Members are listed by order below as they appear on the official website's roster .
| Denotes elections that the member did not take part in | ||
| Denotes elections the member took part in but did not rank | ||
| Denotes ranking between #81 and #100 |
| Name | Birth date (age) | Generation | Election rank | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| data-sort-type="number" | 1[9] | data-sort-type="number" | 2[10] | data-sort-type="number" | 3[11] | data-sort-type="number" | 4[12] | data-sort-type="number" | 5[13] | data-sort-type="number" | 6[14] | data-sort-type="number" | 7[15] | data-sort-type="number" | 8[16] | data-sort-type="number" | 9[17] | data-sort-type="number" | 10[18] |
| 4 October 1994 | 13 | 66 | 51 | 42 | 22 | ||||||||||||||
| 15 June 1997 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 September 1998 | 15 | 21 | 52 | 52 | |||||||||||||||
| 1 August 2000 | 15 | 97 | 32 | 31 | |||||||||||||||
| 29 January 1998 | 15 | 44 | 13 | 17 | 13 | ||||||||||||||
| 26 December 2001 | Team 8 | 51 | 25 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 November 2000 | Team 8 | 34 | 30 | 49 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 October 2006 | Team 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 April 2001 | Team 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 30 December 1997 | Team 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 October 2006 | Team 8 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 27 March 2001 | Team 8 | 67 | 104 | ||||||||||||||||
| 25 May 2000 | Team 8 | 109 | |||||||||||||||||
| 27 October 2003 | 2nd Draft | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 September 2004 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 December 2003 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2 November 2000 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 22 July 2000 | 16 | 55 | |||||||||||||||||
| 20 September 2001 | 16 | 92 | |||||||||||||||||
| 5 December 1999 | 3rd Draft | ||||||||||||||||||
| 27 March 2004 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 February 2007 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 24 June 2004 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 16 April 2006 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 25 January 2008 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 September 2002 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 December 2004 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1 March 2005 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 12 November 2003 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 13 May 2004 | 17 | ||||||||||||||||||
are members who have entered the group but have not been assigned or promoted to a fixed team. Currently the trainees are 18th generation-members who were introduced on April 9, 2023, and 19th generation-members who were introduced on March 17, 2024.
| Name | Birth date (age) | Generation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 December 2005 | 18 | ||
| 5 October 2005 | 18 | ||
| 15 June 2005 | 18 | ||
| 2 February 2006 | 18 | ||
| 5 February 2006 | 18 | ||
| 3 March 2004 | 18 | ||
| 22 March 2005 | 18 | ||
| 8 March 2009 | 18 | ||
| 6 December 2003 | 19 | ||
| 2 January 2007 | 19 | ||
| 18 June 2006 | 19 | ||
| 10 September 2010 | 19 | ||
| 5 June 2005 | 19 |