Juice=Juice Packs Nippon Budokan with Record 11,000 Fans — 5ch: ‘This Is Basically Hello! Project’s Flagship Now’

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The Nippon Budokan’s capacity tops out at around 11,000 once standing room and overflow seats are added to its 10,835 fixed seats. Within the thread, the main point of debate was whether this figure includes fans seated all the way out in the northeast and northwest stands, since seating configuration shifts show to show depending on the stage layout. In the past, Morning Musume’s graduation concerts have drawn crowds of around 12,000 at Yokohama Arena (capacity over 13,000), but because venue size and counting methods — such as whether standing room and overflow seats are included — differ from show to show even within Hello! Project, straightforward attendance comparisons are difficult. The thread split over whether the announced figure of “11,000” is close to the real number or includes the customary padding (so-called “saba yomi,” or inflating the count), with many users basing their guesses on photos of the seating layout. Separate from the debate over the true attendance figure, many commenters praised the fact that the show drew a crowd this size on an ordinary weekday performance, without the boost of a graduation or “final concert” milestone.