Nogizaka46 (Correct tag: 乃木坂46) is a Japanese female idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto, and it is billed as the "official rival" of the group AKB48. The formation of the group was first announced on 29 June 2011, with member auditions for the first generation being held in August 2011. 36 girls were selected for the first generation and were announced on 22 August 2011. Nogizaka46 was named after the place where the SME Nogizaka Building, which houses Sony Music Japan’s office, is located in. Their producer Yasushi Akimoto also said that the number "46" was chosen as a direct challenge to AKB48. They released their début single, ぐるぐるカーテン on February 22, 2012. As of January 2023, Nogizaka46 has 40 members across their 5 generations. Active Members: First Generation Members (debuted 2011) 秋元真夏 (Akimoto Manatsu) (Captain) (Announced Graduation as of 7/1/23) Second Generation Members (debuted 2013) 鈴木絢音 (Suzuki Ayane) Third Generation Members (debuted 2016) 伊藤理々杏 (Ito Riria) 岩本蓮加 (Iwamoto Renka) 梅澤美波 (Umezawa Minami) (Vice-Captain) 久保史緒里 (Kubo Shiori) 阪口珠美 (Sakaguchi Tamami) 佐藤楓 (Sato Kaede) 中村麗乃 (Nakamura Reno) 向井葉月 (Mukai Hazuki) 山下美月 (Yamashita Mizuki) 吉田綾乃クリスティー (Yoshida Ayano Christie) 与田祐希 (Yoda Yuki) Fourth Generation Members (debuted 2018 and 2020) 遠藤 さくら (Endo Sakura) 賀喜 遥香 (Kaki Haruka) 掛橋 沙耶香 (Kakehashi Sayaka) 金川 紗耶 (Kanagawa Saya) 北川 悠理 (Kitagawa Yuri) 柴田 柚菜 (Shibata Yuna) 清宮 レイ (Seimiya Rei) 田村 真佑 (Tamura Mayu) 筒井 あやめ (Tsutsui Ayame) 早川 聖来 (Hayakawa Seira) 矢久保 美緒 (Yakubo Mio) 黒見 明香 (Kuromi Haruka) 佐藤 璃果 (Sato Rika) 林 瑠奈 (Hayashi Runa) 松尾 美佑 (Matsuo Miyu) 弓木 奈於 (Yumiki Nao) Fifth Generation Members (debuted 2022) 五百城茉央 (Ioki Mao) 池田瑛紗 (Ikeda Teresa) 一ノ瀬美空 (Ichinose Miku) 井上和 (Inoue Nagi) 岡本姫奈 (Okamoto Hina) 小川 彩 (Ogawa Aya) 奥田 いろは (Okuda Iroha) 川﨑 桜 (Kawasaki Sakura) 菅原 咲月 (Sugawara Satsuki) 冨里 奈央 (Tomisato Nao) 中西 アルノ (Nakanishi Aruno)