Team

Team (Japanese: チーム chīmu, Chinese: 队 duì, Indonesian: Tim , Thai: ทีม thīm) are used to separate members of ALL48 Groups. By using 'Teams', members can be categorized more easily. Also, instead of the entire group performing a theater show, only one team is assigned to perform. This allows fans to focus on a certain group of members and allow the other members to have days off.

Teams are named after the letters used in their group's name, except for AKB48 Team 4, Team 8, and SNH48 Team X. In the case when a Team's name has already been used, roman numerals are added to signify which number of letter that team is. For example, both AKB48 and SKE48 have the letter "K" in their names, so instead of forming a Team K in both AKB48 and SKE48, the AKB48 team is called Team K and the SKE48 team is called Team KII (pronounced "K-two"). In some cases there are also teams with double letters, for the example Team SH and Team TP.

The Teams of SNH48's sister groups no longer adhere to this order, following their removal as an official AKB48 sister group in 2016. Instead they now follow the order of SNH48's teams. For example, SNH48 created Team NII in November 2013, when they were still affiliated with AKB48. Later, GNZ48 created Team NIII, the following number after Team NII, even though NGT48 had already created a Japan-based Team NIII. In similar fashion, the AKB48 group's no longer include the SNH48 groups' numbering when naming teams. Despite this, both franchises are careful not to repeat the colors of their groups and teams.

Since 2012, the Japanese AKB48 Group names its teams using the last name of the team captain. For example, Takahashi Team A (高橋チームA) denotes the iteration of Team A when Takahashi Minami was captain. In her case she has had two periods of captaincy, first from July 27, 2010 to October 29, 2012, and second from April 25, 2014 to August 23, 2015. Both of these teams were called Takahashi Team A.

Each Team has its own captain, who may or may not be the Center of the Team. Traditionally, teams had 16 members, but ever since the Tokyo Dome Team Shuffle, there is no limit to the number of members that can be on a team. Also, each team has its own representative color. In most cases, the first team of a group uses its group color as the team color, for an example, JKT48 Team J uses red to match the JKT48 logo.

A team does its own activities, such as has recording Single/Album/Setlist studio recordings for their team, holding events or concerts for their team, performing theater shows as a team, etc. Some special "teams" have been created for theater shows in particular, such as Himawarigumi (AKB48, HKT48, and JKT48), Cattleyagumi (NMB48) and Class 4 and Class 8 (GNZ48). These teams select members from the group's existing teams to perform a joint theater show.

There have also been temporary "teams" created within the ALL48 groups, such as Team PB or Team YJ. These teams are only temporary and used for marketing purposes, and the members within them remain part of their original teams. Other temporary teams, such as Team Undecided and Team Unknown, are used when a member is transferred or promoted but there is either no team spot available, or they haven't been assigned to a team yet. Kenkyuusei or Trainees (understudies for promoted members) are sometimes referred to as Team Kenkyuusei, but this is not official.

Every so often, a Team Shuffle occurs. In this event, members are transferred to other teams or groups.

A list of the current captains of the teams can be found here.

Active Teams

Group	Team, Unit or Class	Activity Period	Notes
SKE48	Team S	2008.10.05 -
	Team KII	2009.05.25 -
	Team E	2010.12.06 -
NMB48	Team N	2011.03.10 - 2021.01.20 2022.01.01 -	Disbanded on January, 2021 due to NAMBATTLE and reformed on January, 2022
	Team M	2012.01.26 - 2021.01.22 2022.01.01 -
	Team BII	2012.10.10 - 2021.01.21 2022.01.01 -
HKT48	Team H	2012.03.04 -
	Team KIV	2014.04.23 -
BNK48	Team BIII	2017.12.24 -
	Team NV	2019.11.16 -
AKB48 Team TP	TIC TAC TOE	2023.01.15 -	AKB48 Team TP implemented a unit system instead teams
	Peek A Boo	2023.01.14 -
CGM48	Team C	2020.02.09 -
SNH48	Team SII	2013.11.11 -
	Team NII	2013.11.11 -
	Team HII	2014.09.05 -
	Team X	2015.04.17 -	Name comes from word Xīnrén (新人), meaning new talent or newcomer
GNZ48	Team G	2016.04.20 -
	Team NIII	2016.04.20 -
	Team Z	2016.10.23 -
BEJ48	Team B	2016.04.20 - 2020.09.04 2023.10.01 -
	Team E	2016.04.20 - 2020.09.04 2023.10.01 -
CKG48	Team C	2017.10.27 - 2019.01.19 2023.09.02 -
	Team K	2017.10.27 - 2019.01.19 2023.09.02 -
CGT48	Team CII	2023.06.02 -
	Team GII	2023.06.02 -

• Groups without teams: AKB48, NGT48, STU48, JKT48, MNL48 and AKB48 Team SH.
  • Note that AKB48, NGT48, JKT48, and MNL48 originally used teams, but they have been disbanded.

Inactive or Disbanded

Group	Team, Unit or Class	Activity Period	Notes
AKB48	Team A	2005.12.08 - 2023.10.16	On April 29, 2023 it was announced that the team system will be abolished
	Team K	2006.04.01 - 2023.10.13
	Team B	2007.04.08 - 2023.10.06
	Team 4	2011.06.06 - 2012.10.31 2013.08.24 - 2023.10.03
	Team 8	2014.04.03 - 2023.04.30
HKT48	Team TII	2016.03.30 - 2023.02.01
NGT48	Team NIII	2016.01.10 - 2019.04.21	Disbanded due to Inappropriate attitudes
	Team G	2018.07.01 - 2019.04.21
JKT48	Team J	2012.12.23 - 2021.03.14	Disbanded due to impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic
	Team KIII	2013.06.25 - 2021.03.13
	Team T	2015.01.26 - 2019.12.31 2020.08.22 - 2021.03.12
MNL48	Team MII	2018.05.02 - 2023.02.14
	Team NIV	2018.05.02 - 2023.02.14
	Team L	2018.05.02 - 2023.02.14
AKB48 Team TP	Daisy	2020.03.07 - 2023.01.15	Disbanded at AKB48 Team TP Unit Shuffle
	Bellflower	2020.03.07 - 2023.01.14
	Sakura	2020.03.07 - 2023.01.14
SNH48	Team XII	2015.12.04 - 2018.02.03	Disbanded at SNH48 Team Shuffle
	Team FT	2018.02.03 - 2019.01.19	Disbanded at SNH48 Group Grand Shuffle 2019
GNZ48	Class 4	2020.06.13 - 2021.12.19	GNZ48 formed new Class 4 and Class 8 special teams while retaining the 3 existing teams
	Class 8	2020.06.13 - 2021.11.14
BEJ48	Team J	2016.10.01 - 2020.09.04	Disbanded due to impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic
SHY48	Team SIII	2017.01.12 - 2019.01.19	Disbanded at SNH48 Group Grand Shuffle 2019
	Team HIII	2017.02.19 - 2019.01.19

Kenkyuusei or Trainee

Kenkyuusei (研究生) it's also known as Trainee. When girls enter the group, they work as a kenkyuusei until they are promoted as official member or promoted to a team. Kenkyuusei receive many of the same perks as promoted members do, but their appearances are usually limited. They usually only perform during the kenkyuusei-only theater shows and as understudies for promoted members when need be.

Active Group Team Notes AKB48 AKB48 Kenkyuusei SKE48 SKE48 Kenkyuusei NMB48 NMB48 Kenkyuusei HKT48 HKT48 Kenkyuusei NGT48 NGT48 Kenkyuusei STU48 STU48 Kenkyuusei JKT48 JKT48 Trainee Previously was called Academy BNK48 BNK48 Trainee MNL48 MNL48 Trainee AKB48 Team SH AKB48 Team SH Trainee CGM48 CGM48 Trainee SNH48 SNH48 Trainee GNZ48 GNZ48 Trainee BEJ48 BEJ48 Trainee CKG48 CKG48 Trainee CGT48 CGT48 Trainee

Inactive Group Team Notes SDN48 SDN48 Understudy TPE48 TPE48 Trainee AKB48 Team TP AKB48 Team TP Trainee Now each trainee belongs to a unit DEL48 DEL48 Trainee SGO48 SGO48 Trainee Nogizaka46 Nogizaka46 Kenkyuusei Sakamichi Kenshusei Sakamichi Kenshusei SHY48 SHY48 Trainee

See Also

Team Unknown and Team Undecided (used when a member is transferred or promoted) Team Kaigai (used for AKB48 members who have been transferred to sister groups abroad) Concurrent Positions (a position where a member becomes a member of two different groups and teams at the same time)

Transferred Members Graduation (a term used to refer to (a) member(s) that leave(s) their/her respective group) Captain and/or Leaders (Used to describe a member that is the authority (and many times the represent) of a certain team or group)