Aobazaka46: A New One-Year Group Bridging Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46

Article

Three of Japan's biggest idol groups are, for the first time, sharing a single new group — and a single audition.

What Is Aobazaka46?

Aobazaka46 (青葉坂46) is a newly announced, one-year-only idol group that connects Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46. Members selected through its audition will perform together as Aobazaka46 for one year, after which they'll be individually assigned to become new-generation members of one of the three groups.

How the Assignment Works

After a year of activity, Aobazaka46 members will be assigned as Nogizaka46's 7th generation, Sakurazaka46's 5th generation, or Hinatazaka46's 6th generation — meaning the group functions as a shared training and selection ground rather than a permanent group of its own.

Who Can Apply

Applicants must be women aged 12 to 20 as of October 8, 2026, must be available from the second screening round onward, and must be able to relocate to and live in Tokyo promptly once assigned. Applications are open now through October 8, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. via the official Aobazaka46 audition site.

Screening Schedule

After an initial document screening, an online second round runs October 24 to November 1, followed by third-round-through-final screening at a training camp from November 28 to December 29, 2026.

What To Know

Nogizaka46, Sakurazaka46, and Hinatazaka46 each hold huge, largely separate fan communities, so a single audition designed to feed new members into all three at once is a genuinely new structure — it means fans of any of the three groups now have a shared audition and a shared new group to follow together, rather than three completely separate recruitment processes.

Japan's 46-group idol franchises (starting with Nogizaka46, followed by Sakurazaka46's predecessor Keyakizaka46 and then Hinatazaka46) have historically recruited each generation separately and independently — a shared, cross-group 'bridge' audition like Aobazaka46 is a structurally new approach for this idol franchise family, reflecting how established the three-group ecosystem has become.

What Fans Are Saying

• "A shared audition for all three groups at once is such a unique idea."
• "Excited to see who gets assigned where after the year is up."
• "This is a big deal for the whole 46-group fandom, not just one group's fans."

Original Japanese

• 「3グループ合同オーディションって新しい」
• 「1年後の配属、今から楽しみ」
• 「これは全部のファンにとって大きなニュース」

Easy Japanese

乃木坂46・櫻坂46・日向坂46という人気アイドルグループをつなぐ、新しいグループ「青葉坂46」ができました。メンバーを募集するオーディションが始まっています。