Karin Miyamoto: “My track record arranging setlists and coordinating guests earned the agency’s trust” — 5ch: “The M-line shows right now are boring”

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The story

Karin Miyamoto, formerly of Morning Musume。’14, said in an interview with Toyo Keizai that she has personally handled the weekly-changing setlists and guest coordination for “M-line Live” shows, as well as proposing social media strategy — earning her a track record of being entrusted with responsibilities within her agency, the Up-Front Group. In a 5ch thread on the “Hello! Project” board discussing her comments, some praised Miyamoto’s proactive attitude, while others raised concerns about the current shows and changes in how they’re run, with comments like “the M-line shows right now are boring” and “the decision-making power shifted once Fukumura became the top member.” Opinions were split on who is actually steering the content.

Up-Front Group is a major, long-established talent agency that also comes across as cautious in other ways — it took considerable time, for instance, before fully embracing music streaming.

When a talent decides on their own to build and release a system like this, wasn’t there any pushback from the organization?

“My management team has a culture of ‘if you’re willing to take responsibility for it yourself, go ahead and give it your best.’ Even with things like editing YouTube videos, as long as I saw it through myself, I was given the freedom to do it.

Source: toyokeizai.net / Original article here

What people said

5AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:30
This piece is by Aya Ozawa, familiar from the "Tsunku Note" interview column.
16AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:37
Re: #5
Ozawa's got pull at Toyo Keizai too, huh (lol)
She's basically the go-to writer whenever it's an interview outside the music industry.
7AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:31
Bringing in Hana Kojima, bringing back Kawashima and Irie — she's putting in work on personnel moves too.
8AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:31
Sounds like she's setting up a subsidiary like YAM (an Up-Front talent agency for graduated members) as a landing spot for OGs.
11AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:34
You want to be praised?
Here, have a jumbo frankfurter as your reward.
12AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:35
Doesn't she ever bring up "I have no boyfriend" as risk management?
14AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:36
Someone put her back in charge of managing M-line Live already
it's unbearably boring right now.
19AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:42
Re: #14
Yeah, the reputation's pretty bad.
22AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:49
Re: #14
Ever since Fukumura became the top member, it changed so they decide everything themselves — the title, the setlist, all of it.
Apparently starting next tour the costumes are getting more lavish too, and they're planning something on the setlist unlike anything they've done before.
15AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:36
Trying to look smart?
If you want to look smart, going to college would be the best way to show it.
17AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:37
BEYOOOOONDS is short-handed, so they're scouting from Stardust (a talent agency).
18AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:42
She might genuinely end up in a position running the next generation of Hello! Project.
20AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:43
Sounds like Ma-chan wants to work behind the scenes too.
Ma-chan as president,
Karin-chan as vice president —
and JP (Hello! Project) is set for life.
27AnonymousSep 10, 2026 12:59
M-line Live has become the kind of show even the regulars run from.
Makes you wonder how it got like this with Miyamoto still involved.
29AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:03
It's tricky — just because someone hasn't established herself as a solo act doesn't mean building a group-style show around her feels right either, so it's a real dilemma.
But just piling on more Hello! Project songs is a band-aid fix, so that's not the answer either.
30AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:04
OG fans are basically all oshi-one-member types,
so once you've experienced a solo tour, losing interest in M-Spe (M-line Special) is kind of inevitable.
31AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:06
I'm a DD (a fan who likes multiple members equally), so I actually love M-Spe.
Ozecchi, Manakan, Kiki-chan — it's packed with exactly my type of member.
32AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:08
Re: #28
She said it on an Instagram Live, remember?
44AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:16
Re: #32
Is it this one?
https://www.instagram.com/mlinesp.official
33AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:08
Sounds like she's pitching her accomplishments at a job interview.
35AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:09
Feels like the more lavish the costumes get, the more it starts to feel like some rundown backstreet venue.
58AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:44
It's kind of funny — everyone's older and the crowds are shrinking, but the costumes just keep getting flashier and flashier.
M-line concerts.
61AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:45
Re: #58
It's because after graduating they finally get to wear the costume designs they actually like.
Probably a backlash from having to hold back while they were active members.
59AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:44
The lineup's changing this time because Sato's gone.
62AnonymousSep 10, 2026 13:46
Re: #59
Ah, I see
so with Ma(a) gone, they can pile a bit more onto the others.

Background and points of debate

M-line Live is a special production featuring OGs (graduated members) from Hello! Project, including Morning Musume。, and its setlists and lineup are a frequent topic of discussion among fans every time. What split opinion in the thread is that Miyamoto’s track record of “proposing and coordinating,” as described in her Toyo Keizai interview, doesn’t necessarily match how fans actually rate the shows in practice. Some say Miki Fukumura has increasingly taken the lead on the planning side in recent years, and it’s hard for outsiders to judge whose call is really shaping the direction of the setlists and costumes. It’s worth noting that Miyamoto’s comments are simply her own self-report — the article doesn’t reveal the specific details of how the agency evaluates her, or the real division of roles among the other members.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Karin Miyamoto: ‘I have a track record of proposing weekly-changing setlists, guest coordination, and social media strategy for M-line Live, so the agency trusts me’.”

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