is an upcoming Japanese idol girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, created as a one-year limited group. After a year of activities, members of the group will be assigned to one of the Sakamichi Series groups: Nogizaka46 (seventh generation), Sakurazaka46 (fifth generation), or Hinatazaka46 (sixth generation).
History
The name Aobazaka46 was first revealed in a teaser commercial aired during the Nogizaka Kōjichū variety show on 16 August 2026.
The formation of Aobazaka46 and member recruitment was announced on 18 August, 9 PM JST, through video announcements synchronized between 13 digital billboards around the Shibuya Crossing in Tokyo, featuring prominent members of Nogizaka46 (Sakura Endō, Haruka Kaki, Nagi Inoue, and Teresa Ikeda), Sakurazaka46 (Hikaru Morita, Ten Yamasaki, Airi Taniguchi, and Shizuki Yamashita), and Hinatazaka46 (Nao Kosaka, Hinano Kamimura, Yōko Shōgenji, and Manami Ōno). An announcement of new member recruitment was also made on the official websites of the three groups on the same day, with registration accepted until October 8, followed by several rounds of audition from October to December.Translation: "Aobazaka46", a new group linked to Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46 and set to exist for one year only, has been formed! Auditions to recruit members are now open!
Aobazaka46 would be active for one year, after which its members would be assigned to one of the Sakamichi Series groups as the newest generations: Nogizaka46 seventh generation, Sakurazaka46 fifth generation, or Hinatazaka46 sixth generation. This has been compared to the 2018 , which was also held to recruit new members for the three groups; Nikkan Sports reported that the name , meaning "green leaves", was selected to reflect the members' youth and "imperfection". Writing for Real Sound, music journalist Tatsuya Kawasaki predicted that unlike the Joint Audition, this new system would allow the members to further develop their aptitude and individuality within the one-year working period, which in turn would better indicate their suitability for each group, and that they would later introduce a unique Aobazaka46 identity to their future assigned groups.
A theme song for the auditions titled "Audition" was released on September 26. It was performed by the , consisting of all members who appeared in the original announcement and Nogizaka46's Miku Ichinose, Sakurazaka46's Mio Matono, and Hinatazaka46's Kaho Fujishima for a total of 15 performers, with Nagi Inoue as center (lead performer).
More details about Aobazaka46's one-year activities were released on October 1, which included dance and vocal training, a debut event, an original television program, and original songs and music videos. The disbandment concert and group assignment announcement have been scheduled for December 19, 2027 at the Nippon Budokan.
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