STU48
STU48 (Setouchi48) is a Japanese idol group and sister group of AKB48 named after the Setouchi Region. The group had a from 2019 to 2021. It is co-owned by the tourism board of Setouchi Region and is highly involved in their promotional efforts. The group's captain is Mitsuki Imamura and the vice captain is Akari Fukuda. History. 2016. The formation of STU48 was announced in October 2016. 2017. The application period for new members was open from January until February 5. AKB48 members Mayu Watanabe and Yuki Kashiwagi visited the governments of seven Setouchi prefectures (Hiroshima, Yamaguchi , Ehime, Hyogo, Okayama, Tokushima and Kagawa) between them to promote the auditions. On February 22, it was announced that Nana Okada of AKB48 and Rino Sashihara of HKT48 would be concurrent members of STU48, and respectively hold the positions of captain and theater manager. On March 19, 44 applicants who passed the auditions to become first generation members were introduced. On March 31, STU48's first generation was formed with 31 members. In April, Setouchi Destination Marketing Organization (DMO), the tourism board of Setouchi Region, announced their support of STU48 in the forms of capital investment, business development support, and  assistance in coordinating with local governments. The first music video from STU48, "Setouchi no Koe", was released in June 2017. On November 25, Rino Sashihara canceled her concurrent position to focus on her activities with HKT48. 2018. On January 16, the variety show , based on "AKBingo!" and hosted by the comedy duo Maple Chōgōkin (Kazlaser and Natsu Ando), started airing on Nippon TV. It would run for 11 episodes. STU48's first single, , was released on January 31. On April 14, STU48 theater manager Manabu Yamamoto revealed the ship that would be used for the STU48 theater and announced that  it would start operating in summer 2018. However, due to the 2018 Japan floods and other factors, the launch date would be delayed to spring 2019. In July, it was announced that their second single, originally planned to be released on August 29, would also be postponed due to the floods. The new release date was later confirmed to be February 13, 2019. In October, the group announced the formation of five "extra-curricular" subunits. Besides performing music, each of these subunits would also focus on different types of activities. In November, the group was selected as one of the  New Artists of The Year for the 60th Japan Record Awards, making them a candidate to win the Japan Record Award for Best New Artist. They are the first group in the AKB48 Group to earn the distinction. On December 25, the group released their first member guidebook titled . On December 26, the music video for their second single title song, , shot as an uncut long take by quadcopter drone in Onomichi, Hiroshima, was released. 2019. On February 13, STU48 released "Kaze wo Matsu" in five versions. The bonus content included DVDs featuring the members modelling the real-life uniforms  of Setouchi schools. First week sales reached 276,316 copies according to Oricon, doubling that of their debut single. On April 16, the group's newly remodeled ship, the "STU48-go", was officially launched in a ship commissioning ceremony at Hiroshima Port. The event was live streamed on Showroom and attended by Hiroshima Prefecture governor Hidehiko Yuzaki and other government officials. STU48 performed live in the shipboard theater for the first time that evening, with an original stage play titled "GO! GO! little SEABIRDS!!" produced by Nezumi Imamura. On June 2, in an episode of "STU Imousu TV," the group's  third single was announced to be released on July 31. The title song would be performed by all 29 active members and trainees (Fu Yabushita would be absent as she was on hiatus for health reasons), and each subunit would have their own songs. The music video for the title song, , was released on July 2. On December 3, 24 new members joined the group as second generation trainees, or . Their debut performance took place on the "STU48-go" on December 21 and 22. 2020. On January 11, STU48's second original stage play, titled and produced by then captain  Nana Okada, was performed for the first time at the STU48 Theater on the "STU48-go", docked at Hiroshima Port at the time. The play included the song by =LOVE, an idol group produced by former STU48 and HKT48 member Rino Sashihara. In several interviews, various members commented that the stage play was "interesting" and "difficult to express" since there are several songs with themes unfamiliar to the group, such as "queens and slaves" (dominance and submission) and "yuri", but also a good learning experience. On January 18, during STU48's concert at Tokyo Dome City Hall, Nana Okada  announced that she would step down as the group's captain and appointed Mitsuki Imamura as her successor and Akari Fukuda as deputy captain, but would retain her concurrent membership. On March 28, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, STU48's third anniversary celebration was held via live streaming on the video service Niconico. The fifth single was also announced to be released on May 27. On June 4, STU48 announced the renewal of the subunits, including the formation of sister subunits to the existing ones for the second generation trainees. In July, STU48 launched the Setouchi Library, an "online salon  to learn and collaborate in projects related to the Setouchi Region with the group's members and subject matter experts. On December 1, Yura Ikeda and Nana Okada won the first and third places, respectively, in the 3rd . Honoka Yano also ranked among the top 8 finalists. Among the six member groups of the AKB48 Group, STU48 had the most members advancing to the finals with seven contestants: Yura Ikeda, Honoka Yano, Nana Okada (represented both STU48 and AKB48), Aiko Kojima, Arisa Mineyoshi, Mahina Taniguchi, and Sara Shimizu (dropped out due to health issues). In an interview, Okada commented that 	STU48
82014	the group's achievements in the contest could be attributed to many members having trained since childhood, naming Actor's School Hiroshima as one of the training grounds, and that singing abilities, while not essential for idols, would open many new opportunities for them. 2021. On January 15, STU48 performed a concert at Nippon Budokan for the first time, where they announced the release of their sixth single on February 17. On September 12, during the last day of the STU48 summer tour at Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall, the seventh single was announced. It was also announced that effective October 	STU48
82015	2021, all active second generation trainees would be promoted into full members. Nana Okada also announced that she would end her concurrency with STU48 after the promotion of the seventh single has ended. Her last concert with the group was on March 18, 2022, at the Kobe Kokusai Hall. On September 20, STU48 announced a collaboration with Actor's School Hiroshima called the New Wave Project", an STU48 trainee recruitment project exclusively for active ASH students, at the 2021 ASH Autumn Act. Former shipboard theater. The former STU48 Theater was situated on a ferry named . She was formerly called and  operated by , and has previously been a passenger ship and a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) cargo ship before acquired by the STU48 management. The name of the ship was decided through contest, which was announced on May 11, 2018, by the STU48 management. From around 2000 names which were submitted, 24 were chosen by the members for the final voting by fans on June 30 through the streaming app SHOWROOM, and "STU48-go" earned the most votes (9.8%), making it the new name of the ship. The remodeling of "STU48-go" was carried out at the Japan Marine United  facilities in Onomichi, Hiroshima. Several STU48 members visited the shipyard during the process, and Azusa Fujiwara and Honoka Yano personally painted the ship's name on her bow. On January 22, 2019, the group released a music video for the song "Shukkō" from their then upcoming second single, which was shot on the ship and unfinished onboard theater and performed by all 33 members and trainees active at the time. On February 25, the group released a list of ports in the Setouchi Region where the ship was planned to dock for performances. On March 19, the certificate of nationality  for the ship was issued. The ship was officially commissioned on April 16. The port and starboard hulls of the ship bore the code "UW2", which means "Welcome" in maritime flag signaling. On July 15, "STU48-go" was present at the Marine Day event organized by the C to Sea Project, held at the Port of Tokyo. On July 9, 2020, the STU48 management announced that the shipboard theater would be decommissioned in the spring of 2021, and that performances would be held around the Setouchi Region with no fixed venue. On February 7, 2021, the ship's last tour  was announced, starting on April 10 and ending on May 23, with the last stop of the tour being Hiroshima Port in Hiroshima City. Reception. In a January 23, 2019 article, "Tokyo Sports" remarked that STU48 has the "highest level of stage performance" in the AKB48 Group, and that many of its members have a "neat" image similar to that of Nogizaka46. Since Nogizaka46 and the other Sakamichi Series groups do not have their own theaters, STU48 has the opportunity to win over fans who wish for closer interaction through their regular theater performances. The article also predicted that the  NGT48 assault scandal, which came to light earlier that month, might cause that group's fans to switch to STU48, in part due to captain Nana Okada's "dislike of disturbance" and "ability to keep the members disciplined". Awards. The following table lists some of the major awards received by the group. Subunits. These are the active subunits as of June 2021. Except for Nana Okada, who is concurrently an AKB48 member, all members and trainees belong to at least one subunit. As of October 2021, all members of the junior units have been promoted to the main units. Girls ' journey units. The theme of "girls' journey" refers to literally visiting Setouchi tourism destinations and promoting them domestically and overseas and exploring the world of beauty and fashion. They have their own travel-related television programs, such as on Shinhiroshima Telecasting and on Yamaguchi Broadcasting. Shikoku units. These units promote Shikoku, one of Japan's five major islands, especially its less-known interesting places and activities. Katte ni! Shikoku Kanko Taishi. All members except Yuka Oki are Shikoku natives. Performance units. The performance units focus on singing and dancing skills. STUDIO. On November 15, 2018, Imamura and Miyuna Kadowaki were  two of the three 48 Group members (the third being Hijiri Tanikawa of AKB48) selected to become the lead performers for the "No Way Man" live performance in "Best Hits Kayosai", replacing the members who transferred to IZ*ONE (namely Hitomi Honda of AKB48 and Sakura Miyawaki and Nako Yabuki of HKT48), after passing the dance audition held by Yomiuri TV. MC & sports units. MiKER! MiKER! is a merger between the former MC unit Setomaiku (せとまいく) and sports unit Seto 7 (瀬戸７). Kai and Shinano were members of both units. On November 3, 2018, Kai, Takino, and former Seto 7 member  Maiha Morishita participated in the 38th Hiroshima International Peace Marathon. Aoi Himawari. Aoi Himawari is the only unit which includes a former STU48 member, Miyu Sakaki, and all the other members are concurrently members of other units. On September 26, 2021, they held their first solo live at the Cave-Be live house in Hiroshima. Setouchi PR Unit. Unlike the other units, membership into this unit was based on fan voting using the ballots included with the fifth single.