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Wednesday, 27th February 2013
In Japan Entertainment News,
Japanese group hit 1m record sales with latest single
Japanese super group AKB48 has hit yet another milestone with the launch of their latest single entitled So Long!
Music research company Oricon Inc reported that the band had sold more than one million copies of the song in its opening week.
This is not the first time the pop stars have hit the jackpot with record sales, in fact it is the tenth consecutive time they have succeeded in having a million-selling CD the week of its release.
Overall, the band has had 12 singles which have succeeded in selling one million copies within seven days of going to market.
AKB48 were the subject of headlines across the globe recently when one of the band's members appeared in a YouTube video after admitting that she had spent the night with her boyfriend, which is in conflict with rules stipulated by the band's managers.
The production company which put together the group stipulate that its members must not date.
In the video, Minami Minegishi is seen sobbing while apologising to fans. She has also shaven her head which is considered a form of penance in Japanese culture.
During the video, Ms Minegishi states that she does not want to leave AKB48.
She said: "I don't believe just doing this means I can be forgiven for what I did, but the first thing I thought was that I don't want to quit AKB48.
"If it is possible, I wish from the bottom of my heart to stay in the band. Everything I did is entirely my fault. I am so sorry."
The band, unlike any seen in Europe or America, has more than 90 members, all of whom are meant to remain single. Each girl in the group is a teenager or in her early twenties.
An unnamed spokesman for the band stated that Ms Minegishi would be demoted to the trainee team and stated that she had caused "a nuisance to the fans".
In June 2012, Yuko Oshima was voted president of AKB48 as she was deemed to be the most popular member of the band. The event was given prime-time coverage on the country's TV networks as the three-hour voting was covered live from the Nippon Budokan venue in Tokyo.
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