Indonesian Girl Aiming for HKT48!?

As reported by Nishi Nippon Shimbun Sports, One of the staff admitted that there’s an applicant for the third generation audition of HKT48 hailing from Indonesia after being asked by Haruka Kodama.

Here’s a snippet of the article interview:

In this HKT48 – Monthly Activity Report, we bring you information about the HKT48, idol group based in Fukuoka. June saw a huge topic in the Senbatsu Elections, but around the HKT48 many other things are going on. This time, Team H’s Kodama Haruka (16 years old), who debuted in the AKB48 theater show, having double membership with Team A, with the same team member Wakatabe Haruka (14 years old) and the 2nd gen KKS Goto Izumi (15 years old), Fuchigami Mai (16 years old) recounted for us their activities in June.
(Interviewer: Furukawa Yasuhiro)

　■Application from Jakarta

　－First, about the 3rd gen audition application period, which started on June 1 (Presently closed)
　Kodama: “Did many applications come?” (to the staff member)
　Staff: “Thanks to the JKT48’s effect, application(s) came from Jakarta too.”

　－“Japanese people?”
　Staff: “No, (a) local person(s)
　The 4 girls: “Really~~?”

　－“It was announced in the theater as surprise, wasn’t it.”
　Fuchigami: “I wasn’t in the theater, and knew about it on Google+, but I have both expectations and worry if I can be a proper senpai, and thought that one year ago our senpais must have felt the same mysterious emotion”
　Goto : “It will be livelier and become more fun, I think. As senpai and kohai (of the 1st gen) too, I have to think about my position and keep in mind that we’re always under the (fans’) eyes”
　Kodama : “When the 2nd gen joined, I felt excited and also a little lost, I have no such resistance to the 3rd gen joining. Welcome!”

　－“What kind of kohai would you like joining the group?”
　Kodama : “The HKT have a lot of ‘aggressive, forward’ members, so (lol) on the contrary, a clumsy girl that never talks could be interesting. Aggressive girls might increase even more too.”

　－“More aggressive…I get the feeling it’s not possible…”
Kodama: “If a girl going wilder than Tani (Marika) appears, it would be amazing.”
Wakatabe : “When the 2nd gen joined too, I couldn’t believe there was someone that could overcome Murashige (Anna) (lol). But having more comrades makes me very happy.”

Well, hopefully that girl that came from Jakarta could make it there. Isn’t it fun to see HKT48 more varied in members? Tell us what you think!

Full Article Translation Below (Brought to you by JKTHKT48Stuff ) :

　■KKS have it too good (lol)

　－“June 5th the 48 groups KKS held a concert in the Budokan. To be able to stand on the Budokan stage not long after the HKT solo concert (April 27) is quite a lucky experience.”
　Kodama: “Exactly! The KKS had it too good, performing in it again (lol) I really wanted to go too.”
　Goto: “This time the spectators watched our performance thinking ‘so these are the HKT’, so we discussed how to not bring shame to the HKT name.”
　Fuchigami: “It was the first time for all of us 2nd gen to perform in a concert with other sister groups, so I was very happy, and I think we could achieve the experience of creating one thing all together.”

　－“The most memorable moment?”
　Fuchigami: “When we all gathered, all 103 members faced each other and did the starting shout of ‘Shonichi’. I ended up crying…but I will never forget that scenery.”
　Wakatabe: “It made me happy that HKT members performed in many units. And when I heard that Imada Mina, 1st gen like us, would perform ‘Bird’, I really felt glad for her, because I’ve been seeing how much she works hard since the beginning.”

　■Passionate “feelings towards the show”

－ “June 19th was Kodama’s debut in the Team A show, right?”
　Kodama: “I was so nervous, from beginning to end…‘your expressions were so stiff’ is what someone told me (lol). The AKB48 theater seats are closer to the stage than the HKT48’s, so I thought I have to dance with more precision, more properly.”

　－“The difference between Team H and Team A?”
　Kodama: “Team A gathers members from the 1st gen to the 13th, so their unity and feelings poured into each show are strong too. The day before I practiced until late at night, and Morikawa Ayaka-san stayed with me and helped me the whole time. We weren’t that close yet, so I wondered why she would do that, but “As Team A member, I want you to perform well” is what I felt from her, she really saved me. I thought that I want to become a person like her.”

　■Cheerful song….a march?

　－“June 13th, announcement of the release of the 2nd single. Another theater surprise. At first it looked like Sashihara Rino, who had made a triumphant return in Hakata, would graduate.”
　Wakatabe: “Ai-chan (Ota Aika) joked saying ‘I will graduate today!’ before the show. And then during the show, Sasshi said ‘I have an announcement to make’, so everyone broke down crying (lol)”
　Kodama “I wasn’t there at the time, I heard it via telephone. The 1st single had good results, but I felt that the 2nd is where the real challenge is.”
　Wakatabe: “As with the 1st, I thought I definitely want to be in the senbatsu”
　Goto “Us 2nd gen sometimes are all like ‘I want to join the senbatsu too’ too much, but I want everyone to join their strengths and make it a well liked song like ‘Suki! Suki! Skip!’”
　Fuchigami: “I was happy to do handshakes in Fukuoka and all over the country for the 1st single, and in the 2nd too I want to go meet many people”

　－“What song would you like?”
　Kodama: “Hmm, I think a cheerful song would suit us the best.”
　Goto: “A cheerful song for the main single, and if I will be chosen for one of the couplings I’d like to try a mature one”
　Kodama: “That’s a big gap!”

　－“How about a march?”
　Goto: “A march? Ah—(lol)”
　Wakatabe” “Here?”
　Kodama: “It might be fun.”
　Goto: “Having a great time with everyone is the best thing”

　　　　
　■Sakura, Tanaka Natsumi, Mio broke through the RPS tourney prelims

　The prelims to decide who would participate to the AKB48 34th single RPS senbatsu tourney (September 18, Nippon Budokan) were held June 10th in the HKT48 theater, with Miyawaki Sakura (15 years old), ranked 26th in the elections (center in the pic). “Hakata’s Boss” Tanaka Natsumi (12 years old, right side of the pic), Tomonaga Mio (15 years old), ranked 59th in the elections (left in the pic) winning the ticket to the Budokan. Tomonaga, including the KKS prelims, won 5 times in a row. In the tourney they will participate with Kodama Haruka (as double membership holder with Team A), making it a total of 4 HKT members, who will challenge the competition to join the senbatsu, and ultimately becoming the center.

　Sashihara Rino (20 years old), member and theater supervisor, lost against Tomonaga in the finals. “Do your best so all fans in the Budokan will become your fans!”, she said, expressing her expectations for this new rising star. Furthermore, the HKT48 center Tashima Meru (13 years old) won against Moriyasu Madoka (15 years old) who participated in the tourney last year, obtaining 5 consecutive victories, but fell before the Boss in the finals.

＝17 July 2013 – Nishi Nippon Sports＝