Overseasidol.com — On April 20, Superball, the company behind one of AKB48’s sister groups, was discovered to have registered a new domain name “pek48.cn”.
This has sparked widespread speculation that a new AKB48 sister group may be in the works, potentially based in Beijing.
Chinese netizens on Weibo have suggested that the group’s name, PEK48, is derived from “Peking,” the historical romanized name for Beijing, the capital of China.
This has led many to believe that PEK48 could soon join AKB48 Team SH, the existing Shanghai-based sister group, as part of AKB48’s expanding presence in China.
If confirmed, PEK48 would be the latest international addition to the AKB48 Group, following KLP48 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time an AKB48 sister group in Beijing has been rumored.
Before SNH48 declared its independence from AKB48, AKS (now known as Vernalossom) had registered the name BJN48 with plans to launch a Beijing-based group.
However, that name was never used, and instead, BEJ48 was eventually introduced.
As of now, no official statement has been made by AKB48 management regarding the domain registration or the possibility of PEK48 becoming a new group.
Fans around the world are eagerly waiting to see whether this move will mark AKB48’s official return to Beijing.
