Popular idol group AKB48 have made the news this week due to the inclusion of a 37 year old housewife as a member in a special promotion in conjunction with confectioners Ezaki Glico. The woman was chosen from over 5,000 applicants, for whom the only criteria was that they were women who were over thirty years old.
The mother of two will join the group for a limited period of time, taking part in promotional activities. While her inclusion in the group has certainly caused a stir, not all netizens are support of “Adult AKB”.
From ORICON News:
[Video] 37 Year Old Mother Of Two Chosen For Adult AKB, Tsukamoto Mariko Unveiled For First Time
A new over-30 member for “Adult AKB” who will join the idol group AKB48 for a limited period, has been chosen and was unveiled in a studio in Kanagawa Prefecture for the first time. The woman who was chosen out of 5066 applicants was Tsukamoto Mariko (37), a housewife and mother of two. Tsukamoto was put forward by other friends who are mothers, and participated in the audition. She will begin activities as the oldest member of the group on August 31.
On the day, Tsukamoto appeared in her own clothes. She had a tense expression on her face as she held the mic, and after breathing deeply she greeted the audience in a quiet voice, saying “Pleased to meet you, everyone”. As all the cameras flashed, she said tearfully, “It’s like I’m in a dream….I’m sorry”.
When she first met AB48 members Watanabe Mayu (20), Shimazaki Haruka (20), Kawaei Rina (19), Kojima Mako (16) and Owada Nana (14), who were also in attendance, the girls went “Waa～” in surprise, and Shimzaki, who had said “I want a beautiful woman to join us”, made the audience laugh when she said “Her face is really firm, I’m going to make her look good”, while Kojima was excited, saying “She’s the same age as my dad!”.
The application criteria for the “Adult AKB Auditions” did not ask whether someone was a professional, an amateur, unmarried or married, but was just limited to “women over 30”. The oldest applicant out of the 5066 people to apply was 82, and of the 60 people who got through to the final round, the eldest was 51.
Sponsors Ezaki Glico explained the reason Tsukamoto was chosen as “Even though she is an adult over 30, the fact that she has such an innocence to her means that as a member she matches with the rest of the group”. Tsukamoto said with enthusiasm that “I want to give some power to the other mothers who, like me, are bringing up their children”.
Beginning with a commercial for Ezaki Glico’s “Papico” ice-cream, Tsukamoto will feature in the centre of shopfront adverts. Until she begins her activities, she will attend daily lessons in Tokyo, and participate in handshake meetings, stage performances, and concerts. Furthermore, Tsukamoto is scheduled to graduate when the campaign ends.
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
tdd*****:
She’s beautiful… but she’s not what comes to mind at all in my vision of Adult AKB
chi*****:
So after everything, they chose her??
What are you trying to do? Akimoto Yasushi w
(´・ω・｀):
I wonder where the demand is for her?
ono*****:
If the oldest applicant was 82, actually I’d rather have seen that.
hir*****:
Kojima was excited, saying “She’s the same age as my dad!”.
It’s also pretty amazing w for that reason.
奇跡の海割り:
I bet she’s not an amateur.
雪丸:
She has a face like a newsreader.
fcd*****:
I hope her kids don’t get bullied over this…
tut*****:
Can you really call her an idol, though??
yam*****:
I like her.
suk*****:
She really is a beauty.
But more than her, I’d really liked to have seen the oldest applicant, the 82 year old granny (笑)
I wonder if her grandchildren entered her without her realizing??
hss*****:
Up to now the pattern has been that these amateurs are almost always former celebs. Won’t they start releasing stuff about her background soon?
ﾎﾟﾒ:
“Kojima was excited, saying ‘She’s the same age as my dad!’
Well ain’t that a casual diss (笑)
aka*****:
She’s a bit of a weird lady, seems kinda strong-willed…
They chose someone a bit half-arsed.
At any rate, if they put an old lady in I guess it’s newsworthy, but it’s kinda like who’s going to make a fuss over this half-arsed choice?
All that’ll happen is that her kids will be made fun of.
sui*****:
I’d rather have seen the 82 year old applicant.
◆品田辰雄の俺流スッポン殺法◇:
She must be a fool, this lady.
Embarrassing….
mat*****:
Huh? She’s just an ordinary person.
But still, they’re just openly saying rude things about her, like “she’s the same age as my dad” (笑)
yuk*****:
Will this woman also do some night-time work like AKB do?
I mean, it looks like she’ll be made to.
どうってことない:
I want to know what her connections are. Well, I don’t really care, but still.
