JKT48 3rd Generation Jakarta Shimbun Profiles

Four months ago, Indonesia’s leading Japanese-language newspaper The Daily Jakarta Shimbun began printing weekly profiles of individual members of JKT48’s third generation. Two members would be featured in the newspaper every Wednesday in a brief article with a short interview and an individual photograph. On the Jakarta Shimbun website, almost all of these articles were placed behind a paywall, so only the newspaper’s paying subscribers could read them.

With the help of some of our Japanese friends, we were able to obtain print copies of each profile and have translated them into English for our readers. Each of the 30 profiles contains unique information which are not generally known about the third generation members. Many Indonesian media reports lack the depth and intimacy that are present in these interviews. In one case, a local journalist informed us that they were even discouraged from asking similar questions, questioning the fairness of media access by management.

With the popularity of third generation members growing every week, we believe the publication of these profiles is a timely addition to our understanding of the girls’ personalities. From Chika, who wants to overcome the traumatic experiences of her schooling years, to Grace, who dreams of competing with the world’s top actors and actresses, these are personal stories of the girls’ true selves. Who knows? Perhaps after reading these profiles, you will want to purchase handshake tickets to meet some of them.

Click on each photograph or name to access the translated member profile. Note that for some members, digital versions of their photographs were not available, so we had to resort to lower quality scans.

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Line Breaks after Column Workaround. Please Ignore

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Photographs courtesy of The Daily Jakarta Shimbun. Translations by Japarta and Wotaliano.