NMB48

NMB48 (read "N.M.B. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group that debuted in 2011 as the second sister group to AKB48, produced by Yasushi Akimoto. NMB48 is named after the Namba district in Osaka city of Osaka Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at the NMB48 Theater, which is located in the basement of the Yes-Namba Building in Namba, Osaka. The group has sold over 9 million CDs in Japan.

== History == thumb|300px|NMB48 during Asian tour in Bangkok 2017 2010 On July 10, 2010, AKB48 first announced that they would be forming a second sister national group, based in Namba. NMB48 officially became active on October 9, 2010. Yasushi Akimoto announced that the group would have 26 trainees for the first generation. These members made their first appearance at the AKB48 Tokyo Autumn Festival. 2011 NMB48 made their debut performance at their theater on New Year's Day 2011. They released their debut single, "Zetsumetsu Kurokami Shōjo", on July 20, 2011. In its debut week, the single sold a total of about 218,000 copies, making it the bestselling single on the Oricon weekly charts for the week of July 20–27, 2011. This makes NMB48 the second girl group after Passpo to reach number 1 with a debut single. 2012 On August 24, 2012, the first day of AKB48's Tokyo Dome Concert, it was revealed that Team A member Yui Yokoyama would also hold a position in NMB48. Miyuki Watanabe of Team N would hold a concurrent position in AKB48 Team B. Also, Riho Kotani of Team N will hold a concurrent position in AKB48, Team A.