NGT48

NGT48 (read "N.G.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NGT48 is named after Niigata City of Niigata Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at the NGT48 Theater which is located in the fourth floor of the LoveLa2 shopping mall in Niigata City.
Since 2019, NGT48 has been under scrutiny and criticism surrounding then-member Maho Yamaguchi's assault in December 2018, after which she had claimed that the management had done nothing to address other NGT48 members allegedly involved in assisting her attackers. In April 2019, the NGT48 management dissolved the team system, with all current members unified according to generations.
History.
2015–2018: Debut.
The creation of the group was announced on January 25, 2015 on the final, fifth day of a traditional series of AKB48 concerts entitled "AKB48 Request Hour Setlist Best 1035 2015". In October 2015, the Niigata-based company appointed NGT48 a "bakauke PR ambassador", a PR ambassador for its product named bakauke. As of December 2015, NGT48 is collaborating with McDonald's on a 48-piece bucket of Chicken McNuggets sold in Japan. Each bucket features photos of NGT48 and comes with a collectible card with a photo of a random member of the group. NGT48's own theater opened in Niigata on January 10, 2016.
The group's members are part of the cast of a television series adaptation of "Higurashi When They Cry", which was premiered from May 20 on BS Sky PerfecTV!. The group also recorded the theme song for the series. It is titled "Kimi wa Doko ni Iru?" and is included on the Theater Edition of the 44th single by AKB48, "Tsubasa wa Iranai", which was released on June 1, 2016.
Their debut single, "Seishun Dokei", was released on April 12, 2017 under Ariola Japan. In 2018, Noe Yamada and Rena Hasegawa participated in the South Korean competition show "Produce 48", representing NGT48. Hasegawa placed 71st and was eliminated during the first round; Yamada placed 41st and was eliminated during the second round.
2018–2019: Group restructure.
Following Maho Yamaguchi's alleged assault, during a press conference on March 29, 2019, the city of Niigata announced that they were cutting ties with NGT48 effective April, including ending their radio show, "Port de NGT." On April 11, 2019, after apologizing to the Niigata government for mishandling Yamaguchi's assault allegations, the official NGT48 website announced that the management was dissolving the team structure and reintroducing the current members as a unified "first generation" after their final performances on April 21. On April 17, Yuki Kashiwagi announced she was withdrawing from NGT48, her last performance with them being at Team NIII's concert on April 21. On April 21, Yamaguchi, Rena Hasegawa, and Riko Sugahara announced they were graduating from NGT48 on May 18, 2019.
On May 21, 2019, Minami Kato was demoted to kenkyūsei after posting an Instagram story of Yamaguchi's graduation with the caption, "I'm doing my nails over here. I wish someone would change the channel." The NGT48 management also decided to halt social media posts from all members for the time being. On July 18, 2019 Fuka Murakumo also announced her graduation from the group, with her graduation taking place at the end of August 2019.
After seven months of inactivity, the group had its first concert on August 3, 2019 at the Tokyo Idol Festival, with plans to resume activity in the fall. On August 26, Anju Sato announced she was graduating on September 25. On February 18, 2020, Moeka Takakura announced that she will graduate from the group on March 22, 2020.
Controversies.
Maho Yamaguchi assault allegations and lawsuit.
On January 8, 2019, Team G co-captain Maho Yamaguchi alleged in her Showroom live stream that on December 8, 2018, two 25-year-old men had grabbed her face while she was entering her apartment. A third male accomplice had been present. The men were arrested by the police and were released 20 days later without charges. They denied Yamaguchi's report, claiming that they "just wanted to talk." Yamaguchi had brought up the incident to NGT48's management, but after a month of silence, she decided to bring the issue to the public. After her live stream was cut abruptly, Yamaguchi posted several since-deleted tweets detailing her account and claiming that an NGT48 member leaked her personal information to her assailants.
During the group's third anniversary concert on January 10, Yamaguchi publicly apologized for "causing trouble" by speaking out, sparking criticism over victim blaming and the management's negligence from domestic and international communities, NGT48's management initially denied that an NGT48 member had disclosed Yamaguchi's personal information. On January 31, the NGT48 management announced a third party investigation by lawyers from Iwasaki Law, Akasaka Mori no Ki Law, and Shinwa Law. On March 22, 2019, the third party investigation concluded and determined that, while some members did have personal relationships with fans, there were no NGT48 members involved in the assault and that it was caused by "excessive behavior from some fans." On May 1, 2019, AKS filed a lawsuit against Yamaguchi's assailants for , claiming that the scandal has disrupted their events and caused them a loss of .
The lawsuit was settled on April 9, 2020, with the men fined several million yen and banned from future events related to the AKB48 Groups. AKS' lawyer, Kazuhiro Endo, also claimed that the NGT48 members were not guilty of being accomplices and their reaction towards Yamaguchi had been the result of miscommunication. Yamaguchi would also not receive any financial compensation from the settlement due to no longer being part of the AKB48 Group and the lawsuit not being filed on her behalf.
Members.
As of May 2019, according to the official website.