Girl power

AKB48 plan a Thai trip

By Tatat Bunnag and Sukrit Khaepimpan
Photographs by G-Yu Creative

J-pop fans are excited about the upcoming Japan Expo Thailand 2016, which will be held from January 22 to 24 at CentralWorld. The expo is well-known as one of Asia’s biggest events that celebrates Japanese culture and draws up to 200,000 visitors every year.

From the long list of pop artists that will come to perform live such as Notall, Jonetsu Mariko, Sorgenti, Naomichi Hanazono and Akishibu Project, the girl group AKB48 is the one that Thai fans are most looking forward to seeing. Since forming in 2005, AKB48 is the group with the most band members and has now expanded to 127 members across five sub-groups.

Nobody knows how many AKB48 members will be at the upcoming concert, but the three pretty girls Natsuki Kojima, Mogi Shinobu and Rena Nozawa recently held a press conference at VIE Hotel in Bangkok. Student Weekly went along to hear what the girls think about Thailand.

Question: Do you have a message for the Thai fans at this press conference?

Natsuki: Thank you to everybody who came to see us today. We just landed in Bangkok a few hours ago. Your country is so beautiful and I enjoyed seeing the city on my way to the hotel. AKB48 would also like to thank everybody who invited us to play here.

Mogi: I’m so glad that I’m finally here. Besides playing the show, I plan to go shopping and eat Thai food.

Rena: I've lived in Thailand before and I love it. Today there were about 40 fans waiting at the airport with flowers. Thank you so much for that. I hope we will have a wonderful time here.

Question: Natsuki and Mogi, is this your first time visiting the country?

Mogi: I haven’t had much opportunity to travel outside Japan yet, so coming here is a totally new experience for me.

Natsuki: We have some Thai fans in Japan who’ve seen our shows many times, but this is the first time we’ve come to meet Thai fans in Thailand.

Rena: I used to live here when I was 4 years old, but to come back again this time is such a great feeling!

Question: You’re touring most of the time. How do you cheer each other up when you’re tired?

Natsuki: Many of us enjoy eating so whenever I see my friends feeling down, I usually take them to eat. Thai food is one of the best choices. Our favourite dishes are tom yum kung and pad krapao with rice.

Rena: I’ll try to cheer everybody up by doing something fun, like watching comedy movies together or shopping.

Question: Can you talk about your new single "Kuchibiru ni (Be My Baby)"?

Mogi: It’s sung by Takahashi Minami. She’s one of the first generation of AKB48, and she will retire soon. It’s a song about relationships that is very meaningful.

Rena: If you like the song, we recommend that you check out music video too. We all dress in black and red. The single is limited edition, so try to grab it while you can.

Question: For any Thais who are not familiar with your music, can you recommend one of your songs?

Rena: Many Thai artists have covered “Koi Suru (Fortune Cookie)” in their own style. It’s a fun and danceable song. I really want this song to be more popular here.

Question: The Japan Expo will have a Travel Zone. What are your favourite places to visit?

Mogi: I’d recommend Tokyo Disneyland because it’s my favourite place.

Rena: I’d recommend taking a bicycle trip and visiting each AKB48 members’ hometown.

Question: What present would you give to Thai fans for New Year?

Mogi: In Japan at New Year we help each other to decorate a pine tree in front of the house. We use bamboo, Kagami mochi (mirror rice cake) and oranges. They’re lucky in Japanese culture so I would give them to our fans.

Rena: I’d bake cookies for them.

Natsuki: I’d buy my fans tickets to our show, and then drink amazake — a traditional sweet, non-alcoholic Japanese drink — together.

 

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