AKB48 Senbatsu Sousenkyo Goes South in its 7th Year? Location and Details Announced!

| 48 / 46 Group | Posted by Kai Okudara on Mar.23.2015

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For AKB48’s 10th anniversary year, they are holding their annual summer Senbatsu Sousenkyo (election) in Fukuoka? After holding their biggest event of the year in outdoor stadiums for the past 2 years (Nissan Stadium in 2013) and chilly rain in 2014 (Ajinomoto Stadium), AKB48 is moving back into a dome to avoid Japan’s rainy season. Fukuoka Yafuoku! (Yahoo Auction) Dome, which is mere footsteps away from the HKT48 Theater, will be the center of the Japanese entertainment universe on June 6, 2015.

Senbatsu for 2014 (“Kokoro no Placard”) with Mayu Watanabe as center

Participation in this year’s election is limited to the members of AKB48, SKE48, NMB48, HKT48, and “kaigai” (including Haruka Nakagawa and Rina Chikano from JKT48) that apply to be eligible. Members will be able to declare their candidacy from March 25 4:00pm (JST) until March 29 10:00pm (JST). Voting will begin on May 19 10:00am (JST) and run until June 5 3:00pm (JST). Votes may be cast by those who purchase AKB48’s 40th single (title:TBA) which will be released on May 20th as well as those who belong to the AKB48 fan club “Ni-Hon Bashira no Kai”, mobile fanclub members (of any of the 4 groups), members of the AKB48 Official smartphone app, users of AKB48 OFFICIAL NET Internet service, or Live on Demand subscribers (of any of the 4 groups). Every CD and account equals one vote.

Senbatsu for 2013 (“Koi Suru Fortune Cookie”) with Rino Sashihara as center.

The top 16 ranking members in the election will be senbatsu, meaning that they will appear in the main song for the 41st single. Members ranked from 17th to 32nd will be the “Under Girls” and appear in the B-side of the single. Members ranked from 33rd to 48th will be the “Next Girls”, those ranked 49th to 64th will be the “Future Girls”, and those ranked from 65th to 80th will be the “Upcoming Girls”. Preliminary results of the voting will be announced on May 20th at the AKB48 Theater with the final results being announced on June 6th at Fukuoka Yafuoku! (Yahoo Auction) Dome.

Senbatsu for 2012 (“Gingham Check”) with Yuko Oshima as center

While it would seem like Tokyo Dome would have been the obvious choice, the SoftBank Hawks are actually playing the Yomiuri Giants in Tokyo on that day. With baseball season starting in April and running until October, getting a dome on a Saturday must have been quite difficult. Because of this development, will HKT48 fans be able to move the members even higher up in the rankings due to the election being a “home game”? Will Rino Sashihara reclaim her crown from 2013? Will Mayu Watanabe extend her reign? Or will someone else swoop in to win it all?

You can already pre-order AKB48’s 40th single so if you really love your “oshimen” (favorite member), you must vote for her because as Yuko Oshima said in 2011, “votes are love”. Be prepared for AKB48’s biggest event of the year and all the excitement and surprises that come with it! Are you ready?!?!

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