Finally, AKB48 and I cross paths in a longer piece on The Atlantic. The article serves as both an introduction to the massive group for readers who don’t geek-out over Japanese pop music and to examine AKB’s current push throughout Asia. In a great bit of timing, this story about the Jakarta group appeared in The Japan Times today as well if you want an even clearer picture of what is going on. The whole thing really is fascinating, and I’m continuing to follow all of it with a certain gross curiosity.
Also, I want to write a semi-related piece for this blog about AKB48’s impact on Japanese contemporary culture…it will be a bit more insider baseball than anything that could appear on a major publication’s website. Stay tuned!