All About Yui Yokoyama Famous Singer Fashion Model and Former General Manager of Akb48

Yui Yokoyama is one of those names in the Japanese entertainment industry that has basically become a household name. She might as well have been one of the original members of pop music girl group AKB48 and she basically has been because she still got a kind of early start with the group having debuted with them back in 2009 (well technically she did so in 2010). Yokoyama is a pop music singer, fashion model and as was mentioned, she used to be the former General Manager of AKB48 and all of its other groups.

Why is Yui Yokoyama important enough that we should cover her life and career? It is not only for the fact that she was named General Manager of the most popular Japanese girl group in the world but that she almost gave up on a career in entertainment before she persevered and got to superstar status where she is today. We are not just addressing the life and career of another pop music idol but in writing this I would like readers to read this and to know that the only way that they will not reach their goals is if they give up at the first or second setback. The life and career of Yui Yokoyama represents the story of a young woman that failed twice and eventually rose to the top ranks of the Japanese pop music world. It is for her kind of perseverance that Yokoyama should be a role model for young people especially young women.

Yokoyama auditioned for the 2^nd generation of the girl group SKE48 but she was not chosen. In addition to this setback, she also applied to audition to get into AKB48 but it is said that she lost her will to continue and she did not go. Most people that experience two setbacks like this would not have continued with their ambitions but obviously Yokoyama persevered and at the age of 27 is still a member of AKB48. It would be on September 2, 2009 that Yokoyama would pass the audition for AKB48’s 9^th generation and at last, a lifelong dream of hers was realized! It would be over two months later on November 30, 2009 that Yokoyama would pass what is known as the Selection Review Examination. This is because Yokoyama began her career in AKB48 as a Trainee or training member. Strength, courage, and perseverance really helped Yokoyama as she was announced as one of the newest members of Team K on October 11, 2010. That meant that Yokoyama would officially be a full-time member of AKB48 from that point forward

The promotion of Yokoyama occurred for a rather interesting reason. Yokoyama was promoted to full-time status because of the graduation of member Erena Ono which had happened in September 2010. This major announcement was made during the “AKB48 Tokyo Autumn Festival.” The person that made the announcement was Minami Takahashi who at that time was one of the group’s most prominent members. Yokoyama was said to have been very surprised and crying because she was so joyful. It was almost like she could not believe her good fortune. Yokoyama in 2011 would start taking part in AKB48 singles such as Everyday Katyusha and Flying Get. In that same year, she was voted by the fans into 19^th place following the 3^rd AKB48 General Election. This finish allowed Yokoyama to take a spot as a member in the single Flying Get. For a period of time, Yokoyama was also a member of the Osaka based idol group NMB48. It would be at the end of 2012 that she would make her NMB48 Theater debut performance as a member of its Team N. Yokoyama was once again surprised and very happy that she was able to join Team N for another idol group. The then captain of Team N, Sayaka Yamamoto was also very happy that Yokoyama joined that team and Yamamoto vowed that they would do their best under this new lineup. It had been in August 2012 that Yokoyama had joined Team N and NMB48 so this would have been a very sweet kind of summer for someone in her position. However, Yokoyama’s stay as a member of NMB48 would be short lived because on April 28, 2013, during what is known as the 2013 Spring Concert. Yokoyama would have her last stage performance with NMB48 on May 20, 2013.

Yokoyama would get her first experience as a team Captain in July 2013 when Mariko Shinoda graduated from AKB48. Yokoyama would be the temporary captain of Team A.

On February 24, 2014 during a major AKB48 group shuffle that was specifically designed to give more opportunities to members, Yokoyama was then named captain of Team K. It would be on December 8, 2015 that Yokoyama would rise to the position of AKB48 General Manager, a position that she would hold until April 1, 2019 because Mion Mukaichi who had been announced as Yokoyama’s replacement during the AKB48 13^th Anniversary performance took her place. I have to wonder what the reason was that Yokoyama gave up that prominent position but for a woman like her that has had to deal with adversity and almost never making it in music due to a loss of will and spirit, Yokoyama is on track to be the longest serving AKB48 member perhaps. It was announced in February 2020 that Yokoyama would attend the Japan Expo in Thailand.

On February 5, 2015, Yokoyama would release her first solo photo book called Yuihan. Yuihan is her nickname. Yokoyama also has had roles as an actress. For instance, in April 2011, she was chosen to star in Majisuka Gakuen 2, an AKB48 drama series. She would be chosen for the 4^th and 5^th seasons of that drama series in 2015 as well. In October 2016, Yokoyama was chosen as a cast member for the drama series called Cabasuka Gakuen which is the sequel to Majisuka Gakuen 5. The main plot of this seaon of the series is that a group of girls know that their school is at risk of being shut down so in order to prevent this from happening, these girls choose to open up a hostess bar known as Aquarium. What makes Yui Yokoyama interesting?

Some Interesting Facts about Yui Yokoyama

• She was chosen as the ambassador for JR Busses in 2017 which is a Japanese bus traveling agency.
• She is now the oldest member in Team A history.
• Her favorite country is the United States.
• Her favorite sports include basketball and tennis.
• She was a vocalist in a band in high school.