AKB48 is a Japanese idol girl group formed on December 8, 2005. As of 2023, the group consists of 80 members, divided among several teams: Team A with 18 members, Team K with 17 members, Team B with 17 members, Team 4 with 18 members, Team 8 with 29 members which all of them hold a concurrent position with another team., and 10 members of 17th generation trainees The member lineup often changes for some individual reasons, they "graduate" from the group, and are replaced by members promoted from the trainees. Monica Hesse of The Washington Post describes the AKB48 audition process as "rolling American Idol-esque". The group has publicized special events for choosing the promotional and recording lineup for some of its singles. In 2009, the concept of was introduced. To obtain a ballot, voters have to buy the group's latest "election single", or sign up the official paid fanclub. The members who receive the most votes will get to participate in the recording of AKB48's next single, and are heavily promoted. The highest voted member earns the right to be the center performer during the group's live performances. Mion Mukaichi is the current leader or "general manager" of AKB48 and all of its sister groups. The results from AKB48's annual general elections from 2009–2018 are included. Dark gray cells indicate that the member did not take part in that election. Light gray cells marked "N/A" indicate the member took part in the election, but did not rank. Members who ranked between #81 and #100 are also denoted by light gray cells. Members are listed by order below as they appear on the official website's roster . Team A Team A is associated with the color pink. The current captain is Mion Mukaichi and they have 18 active members. Team K Team K is associated with the color green. The current captain is Manaka Taguchi and they have 17 active members. Team B Team B is associated with the color blue. The current captain is Nanami Asai and they have 17 active members. Team 4 Team 4 is associated with the color yellow. The current captain is Narumi Kuranō and they have 18 active members. Team 8 Team 8 was formed in April 2014 and originally included 47 members, each representing one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Their team color is navy. At the December 2017 team shuffle