BABYMETAL have been named "Metal Band of the Year" at the 2025 Metal Awards, following a fan-vote with strong international participation, narrowly beating Sleep Token. metalawards.org/2026...

Idol group "Sophià la Mode" has been lauched by O-STAR in Nagoya. The six members include Kanon Isogai (ex-STU48), Miyuka Minami (formerly with OS☆K and O₂, and also a gravure model), and Mei and Rin Koda (two sisters who are former members of OS☆U). The group's concept is "Decorate the World!!"

SKE48 have announced auditions for their 14th generation, opening on January 5. The auditions are open to women aged 12 - 25, regardless of nationality.

Former SKE48 member and talent Jurina Matsui (28) is marrying Tatsunori Tsujimoto (34), a member of boy band "BOYS AND MEN", his agency has confirmed. Details will be provided at a press conference. The couple have been dating for 3 years.

MNL48's operating company has changed its name from "MNL48 inc." to "P.O.S inc." They say the new name is a derived from "Pearl of the Orient Seas", a phrase symbolising the Philippines, though some fans cited another meaning. The new name for the group itself will be announced some time this month.

Reflecting on some of the groups that disbanded or went on indefinite hiatus during 2025.

ASP will disband on May 4, after a final national tour. The WACK group chose the encore of a concert to debut their new single "Pipe Dream", to make the announcement.

Just before midnight NTT, who have been Perfume's technical partner over the years, released a one minute vid, "Arigatou, Perfume".

AiNA THE END revealed that one of the four dancers with her at the Japan Record Awards on December 30 was her younger sister, REiKA. They performed "Kakumei Dochu - On The Way", which was nominated for the Grand Prix at the event, and has also become a big hit overseas.

1/2 - The timetable for the "76th NHK Kouhaku Uta Gassen" has been released, with the medleys from AKB48 and PERFUME bound to be two of the highlights. NHK's famous New Year's Eve music show runs from 1920 - 2345 JST. Timetable at www.nhk.or.jp/kouhak...

1/2 - "The 9th Momoiro Uta Gassen ~New Year's Eve of Love~" will be broadcast for free on ABEMA, from the Nippon Budokan, from 1300 JST on December 31st for 6 hours, with the show starting properly at 1400. ≒JOY, ≠ME, iLiFE!, Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu and other STARDUST groups head the idol groups.

HANA have won the "Best New Artist Award" at the 76th Japan Record Awards, held on December 30. They beat the other nominees, CUTIE STREET, Korean boy band BOYNEXTDOOR, and Yasushi Akimoto's male vocal groups SHOW-WA & MATSURI.

Superball, who manage AKB48's overseas sister groups, have announced that MNL48, AKB48 Team SH, and AKB48 Team TP will change their names in 2026. The new names will be announced as soon as they are decided. tinyurl.com/st922hvn

1/3 - Hello! Project will begin streaming their songs in 2026, as part of a three year celebration of their 30th Anniversary, the "Hello! 30th Anniversary Project".

1/2 - STARDUST PROMOTION have announced that AMEFURASSHI, ukka, and LumiUnion will cease their activities and disband as of spring 2026. Final activity dates: AMEFURASSHI - March 13, 2026 LumiUnion - end of April, 2026 ukka - May 24, 2026 blog.stardust.co.jp/...

1/2 - Over a week after disciplining 6 members of KLP48, management issued another statement apologising for the confusion and concern it caused. They say that an investigation prior to the disciplinary action determined that there was no racist or bullying intent involved. klp48.my/news/detail/19

Talent and former Nogizaka46 member Kazumi Takayama (31), and Ken Fukura (32), also known as YouTuber "Fukura P" of media group QuizKnock, have announced their divorce - the couple married in July 2024.

1/2 - Codomomental group "Zenbu Kimi no Sei da." have announced an extensive "ZKS WORLD TOUR" commencing in the USA in February 2027, and are looking for venues around the world to add to their schedule. x.com/zenbukiminosei...

1/2 - A member of #BABABABAMBI is the latest to get caught up in the diplomatic spat between China and Japan. A vid of Miyu Kishi (24), talking about Christmas, had false subtitles added on Chinese social media making her say "I want the Ryuku Islands to be returned soon" www.nikkansports.com...

1/2 - WACK has announced that pixel designs of WACK artists, created by pixel artist TAKEKIYO, will be released as NFT's. The collection features past and present WACK groups, including BiSH. www.wack.jp/posts/58...

Three of the four members who will leave ME:I at the end of the year have written messages to fans. RAN, SHIZUKU, and KOKONA all talked about reflection/deliberation, with little detail about their decision to leave. Several fans were concerned COCORO had not left a message. cf.me-i.jp/news/deta...

Idol group "Tenshimeshi໒꒱" have announced that all members will end their activities after a concert on February 26, 2026. The group was formed in 2017, and have a concept of angels and food. x.com/tenshimeshi/st...

1/3 - In 2025 we've had idol fans attacking other fans, staff, and even planning to attack the idols themselves. It now appears that "idol fans" are also conducting fraud against the florists who provide the flower stands that fans pool their money to send at idol concerts. encount.press/archiv...

Four-member girl band "Faulieu." have announced that they will make their major debut, and release an album, with King Records next spring.

1/2 - TWIN PLANET idol group "Takane no Nadeshiko" have announced that captain Himeri Momiyama (21) will be taking a break from activities, because of "behaviour that damaged the relationship of trust with the agency". tinyurl.com/yydjjmf4

BiTE A SHOCK have announced that they will disband after their concert, "FiNAL BiTE", on March 8. The co-ed group made their debut in July 2023, and were promoted as a second BiSH. They are the first of five WACK groups who will disband in 2026 to announce a date. bishthenext.tokyo/ne...

In an early Christmas present, JUICE=JUICE have announced that the audio of three different performances of their song "More! Mi Amore", including their "THE FIRST TAKE" appearance, will be made available for download and streaming from the 23rd. www.helloproject.com...

LAPONE GIRLS have announced that COCORO, RAN, SHIZUKU, and KOKONA will leave ME:I, and end their management contracts, at the end of the year. ME:I were formed by the reality audition show, "PRODUCE 101 JAPAN THE GIRLS", and had just celebrated their second anniversary. cf.me-i.jp/news/deta...

1/2 - ≠ME have announced that they have reached a settlement with the group of "fans" that disrupted their event in April, causing its cancellation. not-equal-me.jp/news...

AiNA THE END has announced her first Asian tour, "PICNIC", visiting Seoul, Bangkok, and Taipei, commencing in April next year. ainatheend.jp/news/d...

1/2 - KLP48 management issued a "strict official warning" to six members, after alleged screenshots of a group chat called "not the colonizers" were leaked, showing those members bad-mouthing Haruka Kurosu {now known as Haruka) in particular, and all Japanese members. klp48.my/news/detail/16

1/2 - “I thought about killing an HKT48 member and then killing myself” said the man arrested after two stabbings near the HKT48 Theatre, according to Fukuoka police. He continued “I thought about killing multiple members. Any member would have been fine”. tinyurl.com/ycyysnkv

"Ai♡Scream!" may not be the year's most viral song, but it certainly has pushed the influence of “Love Live!” far beyond their normal anime fandom. The Japan Times talks to AiScream.

1/3 - Oricon have produced a survey of people's attitudes to 10 girl groups, who have songs released after January 2024 with over 30 million streams. On recognition, about 70% had heard of NiziU and Sakurazaka46, with FRUITS ZIPPER, =LOVE, and Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu slightly behind.

1/3 - Oricon have produced a survey of people's attitudes to 10 girl groups, who have songs released after January 2024 with over 30 million streams. On recognition, about 70% had heard of NiziU and Sakurazaka46, with FRUITS ZIPPER, =LOVE, and Cho Tokimeki Sendenbu slightly behind.

XG appeared live on the US finale of "The Voice", performing "GALA". It was the group's first appearance on US Television, and was shown on NBC and Peacock. Watch their full performance, in front of a Los Angeles studio audience, at youtu.be/m36gza2V70c

ORICON have released their annual charts for 2025. HANA top the combined singles chart with their debut single "ROSE". Snow Man topped both the physical album and singles charts, with Nogizaka46 taking 3rd, 5th and 7th in the singles chart, with Sakurazaka46 in 6th with "Unhappy birthday Koubun".

Nogizaka46 have enacted new security procedures following the attack near the HKT48 theatre. All attendees at the "40th SG Under Live" concerts will undergo baggage inspection, metal detector screening, and identity verification, with a warning that entry may take some time. www.nogizaka46.com/s...

1/2 - Japanese members of K-pop groups are now being unofficially banned from events in China, with LE SSERAFIM having their fan signing event in Shanghai cancelled, citing "force majeure". The group contains Japanese members Kazuna and Sakura (ex-HKT48 & IZ*ONE). www.chosun.com/engli...

HKT48 have posted that "Due to various circumstances, we have decided to cancel the theatre performance scheduled for Wednesday, December 17". They added that preparations are underway so that theatre performances can take place on December 20 and beyond. www.hkt48.jp/news/20...

1/2 - TikTok's top 10 songs in Japan for 2025 is topped by "Cho Saikyo" from Cho Tokimeki♡Sendenbu, with a staggering 2.5 billion views (yes, billion) so far. Probably a lesser well-known entry is the love song “Aisaretai” by Yumcha, which sparked a viral dance craze.

1/2 - Police have revealed that the man who stabbed two people near the HKT48 Theatre in Fukuoka attended events there 5 or 6 times a month, with staff suggesting that he was waiting for the girls to come out. english.kyodonews.ne...

1/4 - More details are now available, of an assault near the HKT48 Theatre at 5pm on the 14th, that the police are now treating as attempted murder. The HKT48 members, who were in an office by the theatre at the time, were evacuated safely. english.kyodonews.ne...

1/2 - A man in his 40's was stabbed with a knife, and a woman in her 20's also attacked at BOSS E-ZO FUKUOKA, where HKT48's Theatre is located, on December 14. Although the theatre was closed, members were in the adjacent office and have been successfully evacuated. www.hkt48.jp/news/20...

Negicco have announced that they will restart activities as a trio in the Spring, holding a concert in Tokyo on April 26. Recently, Nao☆ and Megu have remained active on talk shows etc. while Kaede took time off around the birth of her second child. negicco.net/news/det...

22/7 have announced eight new members as their 3rd Generation, thus doubling the current size of the idol group. They will also be active as a separate group, "22/7_the 3rd", and have released "Inochi no Tsuzuki" as their first digital single. nanabunnonijyuuni-mo...

FRUITS ZIPPER, CANDY TUNE, SWEET STEADY, and CUTIE STREET, have come together to form "TEAM KAWAII LAB.", releasing their first joint song, "CHU CHU CHU Kenkyuchu!" - a song that symbolises "today's Kawaii", on December 10. natalie.mu/music/new...

Even if you can't get to a concert, you can still celebrate AKB48's 20th Anniversary by taking a ride on the escalator up to their theatre and looking back over the years.

Mari Takahashi (ex-Dorothy Little Happy) and Hau. (formerly Haruna Uratani of WHY@DOLL) have come together with solo idol Yufu Terashima, and singer Yuuka Ueno, to form a new idol group, "Inishie Towa?", meaning ancient eternity - they make their stage debut on January 2. natalie.mu/music/new...

1/3 - AKB48's 20th Anniversary concert was held over four days and six performances at the Nippon Budokan, attracting 48,000 people.