Where Chiima shares her Scattered Scribblings on Country Musu--- Sorry, Country ・Girls!

And on the 7th day, Tsunku said 'Ah, fuck it' and so, he recycled Country Musume...

In an amazing turn of events, it turns out that Country Musume is still going to happen! Correction: Country ・Girls is going to happen! Didn't expect that news this week, did you? I sure didn't, if that helps!

According to a post on Facebook that I found, it turns out that after the failure of the auditions that took place to revive the group, Satoda Mai, the sole remaining member of Country Musume, still hoped for the group to make its comeback with such a passion that her wish was granted, and so two Trainee's were plucked up from the training programme as well as a few 12ki rejects, and the group was revived and re-named.

Of Revivals and Disbandments

This may all be old news by now for everyone, but I have been taking days off from the internet again (only for like, a day or two... don't worry!) so I'm talking about the news a little later than everyone else is. But hey, who says I have to be on time? NOT ME!!!

Of course, given I was away there just had to be some big news buzzing around the Idol world that we all know and love so dearly, shocking or surprising the fans who read about it. Upon finding out one piece of 'big' news, I was pretty surprised by it but I can't say that I really jumped for joy either. The other piece of news came as shocking to some fans I think, but I was unfazed by it because I had read about it a week or two before.

... Let's get to the rather surprising news, shall we?

Country Musume is reviving? Whaaaaaaaaaat?

Okay, so Country Musume is basically coming back and they are holding auditions, as told by Satoda Mai, the last remaining member of the group. This was pretty big news on Facebook, with much excitement from the H!P fans because, well damn it's a revival of a very old unit! Why shouldn't we be excited?

Okay, so maybe I'm not as excited as everyone else is, but I will say that I am pretty damn stoked about Country Musume being brought back. That was an era of Hello! Project I was never a part of, and whilst I haven't really delved into Country Musume much (my sister adored them for a while, and tried to get me to like them too) I did find them good, though the better songs of the group were during the times Morning Musume members supported them in my opinion... but to know that new members will be reviving the group does make me a little more interested in Country Musume (2.0) and what it will have to offer for us.

Of course there is a little bit of scepticism about what this group will do and if they will produce new music or not; if they are anything like the current Satoyama and Satoumi units, then they may not do much other than produce one single, or if they are like the UFP acts, then they will merely perform instead of producing music videos and singles. Or they could be a part of the H!P boat and produce singles, videos, do concert venues and basically be Idols, which would be nice and is probably the option most fans are rooting for.

 But there is also the added kick that the new group members must be willing to do farming and other agricultural activities, which allows me to think that maybe this group will do a little bit of Satoyama? Who knows, and given the Satoyama show is dead we wouldn't see them do anything farm-like anyway, but it would be fun to see a group specifically catered to farming that would hopefully stay in the H!P family and show off their farm and land skills on TV, or heck, create their own show! Yeah I know, Satoyama 2.0 and all, but Tsunku's in a recycling mood right now so why the heck not?

To be honest, I find the idea of reviving a dead group more interesting than exciting. There are many ideas and opportunities to toy with here; Country Musume (2.0) could be a part of the soon-to-be-finished Satoyama project with H!P, they could do more in terms of working around and in the land of Japan and even hold fan events where they plant their own crops, till the land and so on so forth, and they could do farming music videos! That would be interesting, at least a little more fun than the cookie-cutter PV's H!P release all the time during this era (hi, MM'14!).

That all said and done, I am happy for Country Musume to revive, given it was still around but dead for a long time. It seems like Satoda Mai just wants to keep it going, even if it is for the sake of Media attention. What they will do is up to Tsunku or UFP management or even Satoda herself, but hopefully they will actually have activities rather than laying around dead for a while like the H!P Eggs before the revamp into Kenshuusei or laying like doormats waiting for things to happen like with Aika. I don't know, I'm not Tsunku or Mai or a UFP manager, but hopefully they will do something with this group and make them exciting.

It's a fun idea, and hopefully it will work. My only problem with these auditions is that the age range is once again fucking stupid, but I hope we'll get a few older girls in there to spice things up a bit. Imagine, 10 year olds doing some country labour for the sake of being Idols?

That all said and done, let's get onto the less-than-surprising piece of news, shall we?

BiS will disband this July. On the 8th. At Yokohama Arena. WHAT THE FUUUU----!!! -rage quits!-

Okay, so I actually found this out a week or so ago, and I was very shocked when I saw the post that said they would, at some point this year, disband and part their ways as members. It wasn't until a few days ago that the article popped up with the confirmed date and venue they would disband. Sure, it's not Budokan, but damn they are still going out big.

The thing is that I don't even watch BiS much or listen to their music, but they still manage to surprise and impress me like the Idols I love do. I am rather intrigued by them I believe, which is why I so shocked when I realised that at some point in 2014 they would disband. I didn't expect it, then again you really need to expect the unexpected with BiS, and this was extremely unexpected and I am pretty sure that many fans are extremely sad about this right now, because I know I am. And I don't even follow them as a dedicated fan, just a 3rd part person who sometimes sees something she likes. But damn, I am rather upset by their disbandment, and now that it's confirmed I have that date looming ahead.

This group is unique and they are strong, so it's a shame that they are going out so early on in their career, especially when they were just starting to get recognised and known more by the public for their weird but wonderful ways of performing. Their originality is their strongest factor for them, and they are a great group who have something so special about them, and they are so hard to place it's amazing... but they are going off on a high, which is a good thing as well. I would rather BiS leave on a high note than a low note, because they deserve that. They have met their success, and whilst they may not be going to Budokan to disband like they had originally planned, at least they have decided to disband at Yokohama together for whatever reasons they may have. They know what they want, and they know that this is the place for them to disband.

It is really sad to see them go, and in a way I am sad that I didn't pay more attention to them as a fan or a standard listener, but I am glad that I was able to find out about them and learn about them. They are a unique group who have made a stamp on gross and weird Idols, and I highly doubt that anyone will be able to outdo the weird and wonderful world that surrounded BiS.

...

That is pretty much all I have to say regarding the news for these two big announcements, and whilst I am leaving this short, I will be going now. I have not been sleeping well lately so I am basically going to go and rest... I hope I can bring you a Digest tomorrow, but really, I have been so tired lately I won't be doing it tonight XD Apologies >o< Lame excuse is lame, Chiima!!! GAWD!!!

Toodlepip and bye bye, take care and see you again!

Chiima~

Okay! Musume Digest #33

It's Digest time! What will you be looking at today?

The week has been pretty slow in terms of how fast Idol news was released, and in real life away from this blog too... Well, it was slow until yesterday, a day before this Digest is released, and then a hoard of news came in! Trust the Idol world to thrust it all upon you last minute! Urgh!

Other than that, I started college again this week, so yay, fun soul-sapping times~ But I've also been heavily procrastinating from this blog too, so I decided that the best way to get me in the mood for blogging was to create a new banner, one which would help me get out of the Winter mood and into a new one...

I am freakin' proud of this one! It's a banner which I think shows not just the Idol-loving side of me, but also a more personal side as well. The film strips, the note-paper background and the random scribbles and drawings all showcase what I enjoy doing, so yeah... I really wanted to translate myself through this one, as well as show off my obnoxious personality, of course! That and I wanted something different from the other banners I have created previously.

By the way, how are you all finding these digests right now? My own sister finds them extremely helpful... I found that surprising!

Anywhoo, in other random news...

Queen Bitch Tanaka Reina and Reigning Princess of Snide Mano Erina are not too pleased with how Hello! Project Staff have treated them lately, complaining that they were subjected to singing a'A damn kids song sung by an Obnoxious, Pigtailed Twit'. It is rumoured that their subjection to this song is what caused their sudden graduation announcements.

... Okay, in all seriousness, I watched the Hello! ro Summer WkWk Concert for the first time and I quickly noticed just how pissed off almost everyone was during the Nerushite Nyan opening number, but really, these two took the cake for the amount of boredom, hate and disdain they had for this song... It was actually really fun to see the amount of pissed off faces and the amount of disdain Momochi was getting! HA!

Okay, let's move on from my craziness...

Video of the Week

Natural ni Koishite by Perfume

I think that this digest needs some Perfume this week, so I decided to present Natural ni Koishite. I like the song a lot, and the video itself is really fun to watch (especial A~chan and her happy faces). It's just a great song and video that is pretty creative in its own way with some fun girliness thrown in there with the clothes etc. It's just good! So please enjoy it too, okay?

Poll Results!

The poll results are in, and this week I asked you all to answer this; Which Groups are you most looking forward to this 2013? and you all kindly chose the groups that you are anticipating this year! With that said, let's hit the results!

Winning the poll with 65% of the votes is Morning Musume, making them the group that you all look forward to the most this 2013! Congrats to Morning Musume, let's hope that our expectations don't fall on deaf ears!

... or something? Well whatever, let's get into the rest of the results!

C-ute 50%
Berryz Kobou 47%
S/mileage 25%
SATOYAMA Units 25%
Fairies 22%
AKB48 20%
Tokyo Girls' Style 20%
Up Up Girls 17%
SKE48 15%
Momoiro Clover Z 15%
Kikkawa Yuu 15%
HKT48 14%
Weather Girls 14%
SUPER GiRLS 12%
NMB48 11%
Perfume 11%
Hey! Say! JUMP! 9%
JKT48 7%
NEWS 7%
Sexy Zone 6%
SHINee 6%
THE Possible 6%
Arashi 4%
Cheeky Parade 4%
Kanjani 8 3%
Team Syachihoko 3%
Nogizaka46 1%

... WOW that was a long poll to do... Oh well, it was worth it! And also... MUAHAHAHAHA Nogizaka46 really aren't that anticipated, which is kinda sad too, but well... we all know how I feel towards that 'group'.

So once again, thank you all for taking part in this weeks poll and choosing the groups that you are anticipating this 2013!

And now it's time for the main event! Get ready for it, because it's time for:

NEWS OF THE WEEK

A clip from Monomane Grandprix has been released which is, obviously, wowing people. Note: This girl is 11 and has the pipes of a goddess, in my opinion.

This is a random video to put on here, but man this kids pipes!

Take a look here, most of Morning Musume (especially you, Riho) this is how a real singer sings. DAMN!!!

Morning Musume have performed their up-coming single, Help me!! live, as well as Love Machine. Check it out!

By live, I mean only Riho, Reina, Ayumi and Fukumura singing live, and holy hell it ain't pretty. Seriously, the hell? If they're going to get the girls who can sing to lip sync (minus Reina and Fukumura), then please at least get the girls who yell/can't sing (Ayumi and Riho) to lip sync too. I was wincing all the way through this performance, because it was terrible. Riho's voice is horrible now, and she used to sing so well live.

And don't say its cos of the dance, because it isn't - they don't dance when they have solo lines, they just flap their arms around.

And as my sister so wonderfully (kinda) said to me after experiencing this performance;

"If this is what the future of Morning Musume sounds like, then I'm worried"

Again, painful stuff - especially Riho.

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A concert preview for Berryz Kobou's 31st single, Asian Celebration, has been released. The song is described as an upbeat party tune. The single will be released on March 13th 2013.

This song is different to what we have heard from Berryz lately, and is a rather fun sound, however I personally don't care for it. It sounds a bit too... well, unappealing. The sound bores me if I have to be blunt. However, I am sure once a better quality rip comes out I will appreciate it more.

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MAiDiGi TV have uploaded two digests of Hello! Project's 2013 15th Anniversary ~Viva!~ Winter Concert. The footage shows us previews of Morning Musume, Berryz Kobou and C-ute's up-coming singles this year as well as footage of Mai Satoda's appearance at the concert. Masaki Sato was not present for this concert due to a high fever.

Riho sounds much better here because she can actually sing Cabbage Hakusho. But it does beg the question why Peaberry sang there and not DIY♡, because clearly DIY are better, right?

And why the hell do Berryz Kobou have the phrase Sexy Beam in their song? And still not impressed with it, really...

Regardless of me disliking everything (not really surprising, I mean I am a cow, right?) this is a fun preview. The concert seems to have a 'cooler' feeling than normal.

And seeing Satoda Mai enter was pretty surprising but really cool, too! Wow!

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More footage of Hello! Project's first-day performance from their 2013 Winter concert has been released, so please watch and enjoy!

At first when the video opened, I thought that C-ute had been singing Maji Bomber, before remembering that Kanashiki Heaven is Maji Bomber's twin sister thing.

Riho's still sounding pretty, er... bad...

The surprise Satoda Mai performance still makes me think 'WOW!'. She is so enthusiastic!

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It has been announced that Kaga Kaede and Yamagishi Riko will be the Kenshuusei members participating in the Nettai Danshi stage play. The girls will be working alongside actress Okamoto Azusa.

From what I can see, there are no other Hello! Project roles in this stage play other than the roles that these two girls will have, and whilst that is quite surprising, it's great for these two Kenshuusei embers! The girls will surely work hard for the play and establish themselves more for Hello! Project and hopefully generate a few more fans whilst also bettering their acting skills!

Good luck to the girls!

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Michishige Sayumi's up-coming Photo book will be titled Mille-feuille.

From what I have looked up, a Mille-feuille is actually a custard slice. So, the photo book will be yummy? Of course it will! Sayummy is ALWAYS yummy!

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The LQ covers to Berryz Kobou's Berryz Mansion 9kai have been revealed.

Whilst the covers are still far too small to really see anything, you can see from the Regular cover that all the girls are in elegant or elaborate dresses with classy hair styles. As expected from an album with the title Mansion in it. However, where is the mansion?

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The profile's of Berryz Kobou have been updated! Their new profile images show the girls in elegant, classy attire with classy hairstyles which suit them. Go check them out!

Saki: WOW
Momoko: You look GOOD!? I didn't think that could happen D8
Chinami: Bow-chika-wow-WOW
Maasa: -wolf whistles-
Miyabi: LEOPARD PRINT AGAIN? URGH!!11!
Yurina: Not enough leg D;
Risako: Are you attempting to be the next Lady GaGa with that giant flower nomming your head?

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Morning Musume will be holding a mini-live and a handshake event afterwards at Tower Records Shibuya on January 8th.

It's not surprising that Morning Musume are scheduled to perform live before the release of their latest single, Help me!!, so hopefully all fans who can attend will be able to watch the live of their favourite group and support their Oshi members.

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There will be a public recording of Morning Jogakuin ~Houkago Meeting~ on January 9th. There will be a handshake event afterwards.

From what I know of the Houkago Meeting recordings, it is a radio show which promotes the 9th and 10th generations of Morning Musume. This public recording is another way to promote Help me!!, and will also be a great way for fans to listen to the radio show live and support the girls that they love and idolise.

Hopefully all fans will be able to go to meet their Idols.

Source

It has been announced that Sato Masaki's appearance at the 2013 Winter concert has been put off for a while due to her increasing high fever. She will be taking a more detailed examination as well as have medical treatment.

“We will make considerations after the follow-up examination for her condition, and we will make an announcement again later.” - Tokyohive

When I first heard that MasaKissu was ill I was worried, but I also hoped that the recovery would be speedy and she would be back in a few days. However things have obviously turned for the worst and Masaki is being treated for what could be more than a high fever.

It's scary to think about it, and I really hope that she gets better soon for her fans, family and friends. Please get well soon, MasaKissu.

Source | Source

Morning Musume will hold a handshake and talk event for the release of Help me!! on January 9th at Ario Kawaguchi in Saitama. The girls present will be Michishige Sayumi, Tanaka Reina, Suzuki Kanon, Sato Masaki, Kudo Haruka and Oda Sakura.

It should be known that there is no mini live for this handshake and talk event, but regardless it will be a great day for the fans to learn more about the single and what the girls think about it.

Hopefully all fans within the area can make it and also meet their oshi members.

Source

C-ute grace the cover of Top Yell Magazine.

What can I say other than that it's great to see them getting promotion? Well it really is, especially since C-ute are getting quite a bit more recognition right now as a group in the Idol industry. Hopefully these promotions or the group keep on coming!

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MORE footage of the opening for the Hello! Project 2013 Winter Concert has been released, previewing more of what the concert has to offer for fans.

... I'm getting a damn lot of footage this Digest o-O

Still not feeling Asian Celebration, it sounds so boring, and I swear, someone's screaming instead of singing in Help me!!

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Due to her poor health, Sato Masaki will not be present for the January 8th and 9th events for Help Me!!.

Hearing that Sato is still sick is really worrying, but right now all we can do as fans is wish her well and hope that she gets better soon.

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There is now a website available for Second generation S/mileage's very own radio show! Also, the show will be available for fans as a free podcast for download once the show has aired.

It's great to see that S/mileage 2nd gen have a website to host their own radio show, and it's even better that fans can download the content after it has aired, so for any international fans who can not hear the show otherwise, this will be your chance to download the content and enjoy S/mileage's new radio show!

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Berryz Kobou's official youtube channel has uploaded footage from Momochi's January 2nd event. The event shows Momochi and a tree decorated with her fance.

... Wow that is obnoxious, much like Momochi's character xD Oh well, as long as the fans enjoyed it and Momochi had a good time!

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Footage from Mano Erina's December 16th NEXT MY SELF release event has been uploaded to her official channel, so go and check it out!

Another event video has been released, and as this is Erina's final release event for a single, it's an important event for her fans as well as herself. Of course there will be a few other release events as well, but as this is her final single for her fans, this is an important event for everyone. Hopefully this video will give you all a bit of an experience of the event itself.

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Making of Footage from Mano Erina's UTB+ Volume 12 photoshoot has been released. The clip is short, but for all fans it will be great to see Mano in action.

Ah, I'm going to miss her... She's so beautiful and playful and just... well, amazing, right?

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The January 24th issue of Smart will include an interview with Michishige Sayumi and Sayashi Riho.

I have no idea what Smart is, but I am guessing that it is a magazine. It seems that UFP are continuing to promote Morning Musume as much as they can, and most likely the interview will revolve around Morning Musume's 52nd single Help me!!. Hopefully all fans who can buy a copy will take a look at the interview, and for those of us who can not, let's wait and see if a translation comes our way...

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Top Left to Bottom Right: Type A, Type B, CD-only and CD-only Event/mu-mo Shop Edition

The jacket covers and tracklist to SUPER☆GiRLS up-coming album, Celebration, have been revealed! The album will contain 13 songs (14 on CD-only) and will be released on February 20th.

Track List:

- Welcome to ♥ S☆G Show!! III
- Akai Jounetsu
- DREAM SEEKER
- Renai Manifesto
- Muchuu Material
- EXIT
- Junjou Cinderella
- Rave Together!!!
- Puri Puri♥SUMMER Kiss
- 1,000,000☆ Smile
- Yakusoku no Hanataba
- Celebration (Song by iDOL Street All Members)

 Bonus:

- Celebration (Chouzetsu Version) - (All editions)

- Asu e STEP! (SUPER☆GiRLS Version) (CD-only)

Type A will include four music video's plus all the making of's as well as an album documentary and the EveryBody JUMP!! 2012FINAL~X’mas special~ @ Nakano Sun Plaza Hall 2012.12.25.

Type B will also include Music video's, but no making of's or a documentary/live.

I haven't been actively following the group for a while, so I'm a little out of touch with them, but the girls seem to be really moving forward! It's great to get information on their next album. Hopefully all fans will be able to buy themselves at least one of these CD's!

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On January 5th during their free live at Yoyogi Park Outdoors Stage, SUPER☆GiRLS announced that they will be holding their first live concert at Nippon Budokan on June 11th, which will also celebrate the girls' 3rd anniversary together.

It's great news to hear that SUPER☆GiRLS will be performing at Nippon Budokan and to know that they have that many fans who will be seeing them live! For any fans around the country or even outside of it, please try to see the group live and support them and their anniversary together!

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The title for Iakahashi Minami's solo debut has been revealed! The single will be titled Jane Doe.

... This does not sound like a rock-ballad title. It sounds like a Classical song title. It also sounds very boring. Why could they not think of something more creative or something!

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It has been announced that Idol group Tokyo Cheer2 Party will be making their major debut under Victor Entertainment this coming summer!

I'm a little out of touch with some Idol groups, and I am aware of this group, but I honestly thought that they were already a debuted group... xD

Anyway, congratulations to Tokyo Cheer2 Party! Hopefully they will stampede head on into the Idol world and make a name for themselves among the many other Idol groups out there!

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Three short PV's for SKE48's up-coming single, Choco no Dorei, have been released. The video's included are Choco no Dorei, Darkness (Seven Dancers) and Bike to Sidecar (14 carat).

For now, I won't be watching the PV to the title song Choco no Dorei because I want to surprise myself with it, however because the song is for Valentines day I do somewhat expect something cute and chocolatey for the video!

When it comes to the other two video's, Darkness is a video which shows of SKE48's dance skills, and somehow reminds me of Dark chocolate? Then again, I am freakin' weird.
Sidecar, on the other hand, is a lighter song in sound and has a cuter, more carefree look and feel to it. The song and the look of the girls is very refreshing and pure. Hopefully both these video's will appeal to fans and will be enjoyable to watch!

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Hello! Project Kenshuusei members Kosuga Fuyuka and Okamura Rise have left Hello! Project. The two left in November 2012.

News on Kenshyuusei members is very scarce, though the news we generally do get is either good or bad, and in this case it is bad. I have no idea who Rise is, however when it comes to Fuyuka... we have history. She was my favourite Second Gen S/mileage candidate, and when she pulled out because of her anemia I was heartbroken (almost), so hearing that she has left the Kenshyuusei program is a bit worrisome, especially as everyone knows that she has health problems. Hopefully she has left for her own reasons as opposed to health problems.

Good luck to the two girls!

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The new Pokemon games have been announced! Pokemon X and Y will be the new instalments for the Pokemon franchise and will be the first to be released on the Nintendo 3DS. The new series will be released in October 2013 in Japan, America, Europe and Australia. This will also be the first game to introduce Generation 6.

OMG NEW POKEMON!!! YES!!! Though seriously, where are the colours, gem stones and Metals? I really hoped to one day see Pokemon Amethyst, Rose Quartz, Turquoise or Onyx... Y'know, gem stones and all that jazz. What about Metals? Aluminium, Titanium? How about Pokemon Tincan and Tinfoil? They would be damn snazzy names, and also, metal based legendaries! There is still so much in terms of what they can do with titles! Though I don't mind chromosomes...

PS I'm a Pokemon freak, if you hadn't gathered yet.

Also; whilst some may think that this is too soon as a release, I do believe that this game has been in the works since before Pokemon Black & White was even released, and in order to save time, they created the sequels to Black & White. It's the only explanation I have, because the graphics on this game look freakin' gorgeous! Also, the starter pokemon don't look as meh as the Black & White starters (I don't mind those starters but...)

Going for Fennekin or Chespin... Chespin be DAMN CUTE

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A website is available for Morning Musume's 47 Prefecture promo-campaign. The first series of campaigns will take place in Tokyo on the 8th of January, Kanagawa & Saitama on the 9th, Hiroshima, Okayama, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Ibaraki & Gunma on the 14th, Mie on the 18th, Gifu on the 21st, Osaka & Shiga on the 27th, and Kyoto and Hyogo on the 28th.

That's a lotta prefectures o-O

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Sayashi Riho and Ishida Ayumi will appear in Gravure the Television which will be on sale from January 25th.

Is this a gravure video or magazine or what? Because if yes, then basically they're pedo bait? I mean sure, one is 16, but the other still looks and sounds like a child! What the...

Whatever, it's Japan. I should never question Japan.

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And that is all we have time for today, boys and girls! Thank you for staying for the Digest and imaginary cake. Hopefully you will all return next week for more Digest Time! Ja ne for now though~

Chiima~