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AKB48 Launches New Taipei Sister Group 'AKB48 Team TP'
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
AKS, the management company of the AKB48 idol group, announced on Thursday that the group will get a new international sister group based in Taipei, Taiwan named AKB48 Team TP.
While AKS previously announced a TPE48 spinoff group based in Taipei, it recently noted that its licensing agreement with the joint venture for the TPE48 group has been terminated. AKB48 Team TP will be managed by a local subsidiary.
The group will be the eighth international sister group of AKB48, after AKB48 China, JKT48 (Jakarta), BNK48 (Bangkok), MNL48 (Manila), TPE48 (Taipei), and MUM48 (Mumbai).
AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto founded the AKB48 idol group in 2005, and its sixth and latest domestic sister group, STU48, launched in summer 2017. Akimoto also founded AKB48's "official rival group" Nogizaka46.
Recently, Akimoto founded the 22/7 "dimension crossing" idol group. The group has released two singles (the most recent shipped on April 11), both with CG music videos. That project also has a planned anime.
NTV and Akimoto also recently announced an an original anime project titled Kimi dake ni Motetainda (I Want to be Popular Just to You). The project will also hold auditions for male voice actors and performers this summer.
Sources: The Mainichi Shimbun's Mantan Web
