Introducing JKT48

The first overseas “sister group” of Japan’s most popular female idol collective met the press Nov. 2.

The final 48 members of JKT48, the Jakarta, Indonesia-based group of girls aged 12 to 21, had been selected from an initial audition roster of some 1,200 hopefuls from across the country.

Following a six-hour final audition, the girls held a press conference with Yasushi Akimoto, the impresario who came up with the idea for the original Japanese group AKB48 and writes all their songs.

Akimoto predicted that JKT48 would become as popular as their Japanese counterparts.

“I can say that,” he added, “because my feeling when becoming the judge in this audition was similar to what I felt when I first did it in Japan.” The producer even implied that maybe the Indonesian singers were better. “They can express what they feel in their hearts into their songs.”

Though the winners were obviously happy, they had little to say when questioned by reporters. However, one 14-year-old girl named Cindy Gulla said, “Some of our friends who were not selected were sad, crying and collapsing, but we tried to console them because we have learned much about solidarity and how to be mature.”

The first team of 16 girls will make their official debut in December.