Togasaki and Saruobasan Interview ~ The past and future of AKB48

-First of all, let me ask how you’ve become involved in AKB48?

Togasaki: “My name came up when people were talking that ‘Akimoto-sensei will start the new project, gathering many girls.’ Like, for that sake, there’s an ideal person who can help Akimoto-san. And it was me, It was in July of 2005”

Nishiyama: “I’ve been at Recruit, and in charge of works directed or produced by Akimoto-san, as a publisher. Because of this connection, I’d often paid visits to Office Akimoto, and it was on Saturday in the middle of November. While I was playing golf in Shizuoka, I received a phone call from my secretary, and told ‘Come back to Tokyo as soon as possible’. I cut short my golf and returned to Tokyo by Shinkansen, then I was explained about this AKB project thing, and asked to be a PR manager.
But because I didn’t receive any notice or inquiry when we kick start the project, I worked on hiring staffs, job-training as well as a reception at the theater together with Togasaki-kun.”

Togasaki: “We were in short of staffs back then. Probably we only had 8 staffs at the beginning. I wasn’t the manager of the theater back then. There were no managerial positions back then, and I was kinda like a store manager.”

Nishiyama: “Yes, everyone thought you were a store manager back then.”

Togasaki: “What I’ve done before the opening of the theater were finding the property venue, putting announcement about the audition on magazines, and I worked on interviews, too. When I found nice girls, I made a post about them and uploaded on the blog.”

Nishiyama: “Time has passed and now his blog is called Togablo (トガブロ:Togasaki’s blog) and considered something legitimate, but back then, it was considered just a personal blog.

Togasaki: “Sure. We already had an official website for AKB48, but it existed separated from my personal blog.
But since then, we were like believing in Akimoto-sensei and working frantically rather than feeling uneasy about the future.”

Nishiyama: “Yes. We haven’t felt uneasiness. But in the middle of January 2006, perhaps. We had only one setlist, Party ga Hajimaruyo, and audiences who came to the theater were always the same faces. So I was worried if these people would get tired of the performance.”

Togasaki: “Back then, I, too, had visited the theater like everyday and heard voices from fans. ‘Why don’t you release CD?’ etc. And it was my job to tell fans voices to Akimoto-sensei.
And I was learning the way fans in Akihabara do things from them. Like ‘You know what? Akihabara is a place where….’ I didn’t even know about MIX that is called by fans during the song performances, so I asked fans ‘Could you tell me what are you calling?’ haha”

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