Japanese Girl Group to Perform at MIPCOM

PARIS: The Japanese girl group AKB48 will perform at the MIPCOM opening cocktail party at the Majestic Hotel, where variety-show producer and inventor of the format, Yasushi Akimoto, will be be on hand.

AKB48 was created by Akimoyo with the concept of "meeting real idols daily." The group is comprised of three teams of roughly 16 girls who perform live everyday at the Akihabara AKB Theatre in Tokyo. AKB48 also have their own TV show, AKBINGO! The idol group has extended into performing in fields such as movies, TV drama, theater, modeling and radio, in addition to their regular stage performance. The AKB48 format is distributed by Japanese outfit CREi Inc.

Originally a songwriter, Akimoto has produced shows such as the Hole in the Wall format, as well as All Night Fuji, Yuyake Nyan Nyan, Onyanko Club and Oshare-ism. AKB48 represents a new business model that Akimoto will introduce during a conference held on Tuesday, October 6.

There will also be a spotlight on Japanese fiction during the Fresh TV session by the WIT information and research agency on international TV markets and programs on October 6.