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The story
On October 4, 2026, a video showing the line outside AKB48’s “Tokyo Handshake Event” at Makuhari Messe was posted on social media and became a hot topic on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. The day also marked the first handshake event for the newly joined 22nd-generation members. While some in the thread viewed the line favorably, many argued it was “nothing special” compared to the line at a Juice=Juice event held around the same time, and the discussion escalated into comparisons using 2026 attendance rankings for other groups like Nogizaka46 and NiziU, splitting opinion on just how popular AKB really is.
What an insane line
Source: video.twimg.com / original post here
What people said
https://assets.st-note.com/img/1771804062-K7s6gcQFpbaZ2evVUyoSTEtj.jpg
Juice=Juice >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> AKB
This just reconfirms how amazing Juice=Juice is
Where?? It's more like 1/5 the size Re: #5
It's their exclusive specialty at this point.
The BGM is "Aitakatta" ("I Wanted to See You") — isn't this footage from 20 years ago?
I was being sarcastic
If anything it looks kind of small
Has AKB really fallen this far?
Nogizaka46 2026 turnout → 500,000
NiziU 2026 turnout → 240,000
=LOVE 2026 turnout → 220,000
FRUITS ZIPPER 2026 turnout → 200,000
CUTIE STREET 2026 turnout → 180,000
AKB 2026 turnout → 170,000 ←←←←← this one
Morning Musume. 2026 turnout → 150,000
Juice=Juice 2026 turnout → 100,000
ANGERME 2026 turnout → 90,000
Momoiro Clover Z 2026 turnout → 80,000
It was practically empty though
Saying they "can" when the Level 7 upper stands were completely closed off lol
Level 7 was closed and even Level 5 was only half full though
though if they can, that's obviously better
Bring them back already
So I guess it just shows how impressive AKB is — doing handshake events this much while still keeping decent fan behavior.
Even after an actual stabbing incident at a handshake event, they just keep doing handshake after handshake for the money
There's no system as cheap and fan-friendly as AKB's handshake events
https://dec.2chan.net/up2/src/fu7351305.jpeg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTwHfh6aIAENk9f.jpg
The scale of sales between Juice=Juice and AKB as groups is just too different
As of 11:15, this is the entry line at Makuhari Messe. It folds back 4 times in front of the hall, then stretches on and on in 4 lines from the connecting bridge toward Makuhari-Toyosumi Station. Until just now the end of the line was out of sight, but after reorganizing from 2 lines into 4, it's finally come into view. The very back is around where it turns onto the main street.
#AKB48 #TokyoHandshakeEvent
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTwJvsYaoAAgtV-.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTwJwGWbkAAdwHA.jpg
Nogizaka46
AKB48
2 groups from Kawaii Lab.
=LOVE
No spot for Juice=Juice
Seriously, this
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
AKB48’s handshake events have been a core revenue driver tied directly to CD sales since the early 2010s, and remain one of the group’s main promotional events today. The “stabbing incident” mentioned in the thread refers to an actual incident that occurred at a handshake event venue in Iwate Prefecture in May 2014; in its wake, security measures for handshake events — including the introduction of metal detectors — were strengthened, and the thread’s criticism that AKB “only keeps doing handshake events for the money” appears to reflect this background. Meanwhile, all the “attendance figures” circulating in the thread come from anonymous posts, and since the calculation methods, scope, and event format (a joint handshake event for the whole group versus individual members’ events) differ from group to group, simply comparing the raw numbers is difficult. The fact that this board draws a large Hello! Project fanbase is also likely one reason opinions on AKB were so divided.
*This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Today’s AKB handshake event is getting a lot of buzz for its popularity“.
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