Atsuko Maeda Solo career How did Atsuko Maeda's career begin? I don't know. Was her solo career successful? It was met with commercial success in Japan, debuting at number 1 on the Oricon Charts Did she quit singing while she was still young? I don't know.
Was there a suicide rumor?
Was there a suicide rumor about Atsuko Maeda?
On April 23, 2011, Maeda announced that she would make her solo debut with her debut single "Flower", released on June 22. It was met with commercial success in Japan, debuting at number 1 on the Oricon Charts with first week sales of 176,967 copies.  The follow-up single "Kimi wa Boku Da", released in June 2012, was Maeda's last solo single while still a member of AKB48. It debuted at number two on the Oricon charts and reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.  On June 15, 2013, at AKB48's handshake event held at Makuhari Messe, AKB48 announced that Maeda would appear as a special guest at the group's summer concert series at the Sapporo Dome on July 31. There], she performed her third single, "Time Machine Nante Iranai" (taimumashinnanteiranai, I don't need a time machine), which was later released on September 18. It was selected to be the theme song for the live-action adaptation of Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo (Yamada and the Seven Witches). Maeda described the song as "cheerful and fun" and hoped it would liven up the show. "Time Machine Nante Iranai" eventually peaked at number one on the Oricon Daily charts, and number two on the Oricon Weekly chart. On Billboard's Japan Hot 100, it debuted at number one and stayed there for just the week of September 30.  Maeda's 4th single "Seventh Code" was released on March 5, 2014. It was used as the theme song of the movie "Seventh Code" in which Maeda herself starred in. It debuted at number 4 on the Oricon charts and reached number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.  On December 12, 2015, it was announced that Maeda's first album will be released later the next year. Eventually, the album is set to be released on June 22, 2016. CANNOTANSWER
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is a Japanese actress and singer. She is a former member of the idol girl group AKB48, and was one of the most prominent members in the group at the time, regarded as the group's "absolute ace", "immovable center", and the "Face of AKB." After graduating from AKB48 on August 27, 2012, Maeda has since then continued with a solo singing and acting career.

Career

AKB48

Maeda was born in Ichikawa, Chiba. At age 14, she became a member of AKB48's first group, Team A, which was composed of 24 girls and debuted on December 8, 2005.

In 2009, Maeda won the first edition of AKB48's annual general elections, which are described as a popularity contest. As a result, she was the headlined performer for the group's 13th single, "Iiwake Maybe". The following year, she placed second overall, but still had a significant choreography position in the lineup for "Heavy Rotation". Later that year, AKB48 employed a rock-paper-scissors tournament to determine the top spot of AKB48's 19th major single "Chance no Junban". Maeda placed 15th, which secured her a spot on title track. Maeda also won the group's third general election held in 2011.

Maeda was one of the members who sang on every AKB48 title track since the group's inception. Her streak of A-side appearances ended in 2011, when she lost to Team K captain Sayaka Akimoto at a rock-paper-scissors tournament which determined the featured members for the group's 24th single "Ue kara Mariko".

On March 25, 2012, during an AKB48 Concert at the Saitama Super Arena, Maeda announced that she would leave the group. This caused a large buzz in the Japanese news, and spawned a rumor (later proved false) that a student from University of Tokyo had committed suicide over the announcement. AKB48 later announced that Maeda would leave after the Tokyo Dome concerts; For her final performance, there were 229,096 requests filed for seat tickets. Her farewell performance and ceremony occurred on August 27 at the AKB48 theater, and was streamed live on YouTube.

Solo career
On April 23, 2011, Maeda announced that she would make her solo debut with her debut single "Flower", released on June 22. It was met with commercial success in Japan, debuting at number 1 on the Oricon Charts with first week sales of 176,967 copies.

The follow-up single "Kimi wa Boku Da", released in June 2012, was Maeda's last solo single while still a member of AKB48. It debuted at number two on the Oricon charts and reached number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.

On June 15, 2013, at AKB48's handshake event held at Makuhari Messe, AKB48 announced that Maeda would appear as a special guest at the group's summer concert series at the Sapporo Dome on July 31. There], she performed her third single, , which was later released on September 18. It was selected to be the theme song for the live-action adaptation of Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo (Yamada and the Seven Witches). Maeda described the song as "cheerful and fun" and hoped it would liven up the show. "Time Machine Nante Iranai" eventually peaked at number one on the Oricon Daily charts, and number two on the Oricon Weekly chart. On Billboard's Japan Hot 100, it debuted at number one and stayed there for just the week of September 30.

Maeda's 4th single "Seventh Code" was released on March 5, 2014. It was used as the theme song of the movie "Seventh Code" in which Maeda herself starred. It debuted at number 4 on the Oricon charts and reached number three on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.

On December 12, 2015, it was announced that Maeda's first album would be released later the next year. Eventually, the album was set to be released on June 22, 2016.

Acting career

In 2007, Maeda played a supporting role in the film Ashita no Watashi no Tsukurikata, which was her debut as an actress. She starred in the 2011 film Moshidora and appeared in Nobuhiro Yamashita's 2012 film Kueki Ressha. She also starred in Hideo Nakata's 2013 horror film The Complex. It was announced that she would co-star with Tony Leung Chiu-wai in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's film 1905.

In 2013, Maeda starred in a series of 30-second station ID videos for Music On! TV where she played Tamako, a Tokyo University graduate who does not find a job and lives at home where she just eats and sleeps, over the course of the four seasons. This became a TV drama special, and was developed into a full-fledged film, Tamako in Moratorium, the last of which was planned for a theater release in November 2013.

Maeda starred in the film Seventh Code, in which she plays a Japanese woman in Russia who is trying to track down a guy she previously met. The film was shown at the Rome Film Festival in November 2013, and was released for a short theater run in January 2014. She released a single of the same name on March 5.

In May 2015, it was announced that Maeda had been cast in the role of Kyoko Yoshizawa, the female lead of the anime and manga series Dokonjō Gaeru (The Gutsy Frog), in a live-action version of the story set to air on Nippon TV in July.

In 2016, she took the lead role of the drama "Busujima Yuriko no Sekirara Nikki" on TBS. The first episode is set to air on April 20, 2016.

In 2019, she appeared in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's To the Ends of the Earth (旅のおわり世界のはじまり), playing Yoko, a television host and would-be singer who goes to Uzbekistan with a small crew to shoot a travel documentary. In the film, she twice sings the classic Édith Piaf anthem, Hymne à l'amour (with Japanese lyrics], including in the finale.

Personal life
Maeda married actor Ryo Katsuji; they registered their marriage on July 30, 2018. She gave birth to their first child, a son in 2019. On April 23, 2021, she announced that they have amicably divorced.

Stage credits
A listing of Maeda's participation in AKB48's theatre programs, called stages:

 2005-2006: Team A 1st Stage: 
 small group songs: "Skirt, Hirari" (1st + 2nd units) and  "Hoshi no Ondo" (2nd unit)
 2006: Team A 2nd Stage: 
 small group songs: ""Nageki no Figure", "Nagisa no Cherry", "Senaka kara Dakishimete", "Rio no Kakumei"
 2006-2007: Team A 3rd Stage: 
 small group songs: "Nage Kiss de Uchi Otose!" and "Seifuku ga Jama o Suru"
 2007, 2008: Team A 4th Stage: 
 small group songs: "7ji 12fun no Hatsukoi"
 2007: Himawari-gumi 1st Stage: 
 small group songs: "Idol Nante Yobanaide" (1st unit)
 2007-2008: Himawari-gumi 2nd Stage: 
 small group songs " Hajimete no Jelly Beans" (1st unit)
 2008-2010: Team A 5th Stage: 
 small group songs: "Kuroi Tenshi"
 2010-2012: Team A 6th Stage: 
 small group songs "Ude o Kunde"

Discography

Solo singles

AKB48

DVDs
 Mubōbi (2011)

Filmography

Films

Television dramas
 Swan no Baka!: Sanmanen no Koi (2007)
 Shiori to Shimiko no Kaiki Jikenbo (2008)
 Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu (2008)
 Majisuka Gakuen (2010)
 Ryōmaden (2010)
 Q10 (2010)
 Sakura Kara no Tegami (2011)
 Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (2011)
 Majisuka Gakuen 2 (2011)
 Saikou no Jinsei (2012)
 Kasuka na Kanojo (2013)
 Nobunaga Concerto Episode 3 (2014)
 Leaders (2014) - Misuzu Shimabara
 Kageri Yuku Natsu (2015) – Yu Kahara (witness of infant kidnapping case)
 Dokonjō Gaeru (2015)
 Majisuka Gakuen 5 (2015)
 Busujima Yuriko no Sekirara Nikki (2016) - Yuriko Busujima
 Gou Gou, The Cat 2 - Iida (2016)
 Shuukatsu Kazoku(2017)
 Inspector Zenigata - Detective Natsuki Sakuraba (2017)
 Leaders 2 (2017) - Misuzu Shimabara
 The Legendary Mother (2020)

Television shows
 AKBingo! (2008–2012)
 Shukan AKB (2009–2012)
 AKB48 Nemōsu TV (2008–2012)
 Gachi Gase (2012)

Documentaries
 Documentary of AKB48: The Future 1 mm Ahead (2011)
 Documentary of AKB48: To Be Continued (2011)
 Documentary of AKB48: Show Must Go On (2012)
 Documentary of AKB48: No Flower Without Rain (2013)

Radio shows
 Atsuko Maeda's Heart Songs (2010–2013)

Bibliography
 Hai (2009)
 Acchan in Hawaii (2010)
 Maeda Atsuko in Tokyo (2010)
 Atsuko in NY (2010)
 Bukiyō (2012)
 AKB48 Sotsugyo Kinen Photobook "Acchan" (2012)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links 

  
 Official agency profile at Ohta Pro 
 

1991 births
Living people
AKB48 members
Japanese idols
Japanese women pop singers
Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists
Japanese child actresses
People from Ichikawa, Chiba
King Records (Japan) artists
Musicians from Chiba Prefecture
Japanese film actresses
21st-century Japanese actresses
21st-century Japanese women singers
21st-century Japanese singers
The Toyokawa Shinkin Bank incident (豊川信用金庫事件 Toyokawa Shin'yō Kinko Jiken) was a bank run on Toyokawa Shinkin Bank in what was then Kozakai, Aichi Prefecture, Japan in December 1973.

Incident 
In December 1973, about 2 billion yen was withdrawn because of a rumor that "Toyokawa Shinkin Bank will go into bankruptcy" in Kozakai (currently, Toyokawa, Aichi) and its surrounding area.

The National Police of Japan investigated the case and determined that the incident was not a crime. Their investigation revealed that the bank run was caused by a spontaneous rumor that originated from a conversation between three high school students.

In Japan, this incident is sometimes cited as a case study in psychology or sociology, due to the rare detail in which the cause and progress of the bank run was documented.

Sequence 
On the morning of December 8, 1973, three female high school students talked about their jobs after graduating, in a car on the Iida Line, Japanese National Railways. Two of them (B, C) mocked A, who worked at Toyokawa Shinkin bank, remarking “that is dangerous". This remark was not a statement about the financial security of Toyokawa Shinkin bank, but rather that an armed robbery might target the bank. This was intended as a joke but A took it seriously. That night, A asked a relative of hers, D, "Is Shinkin Bank dangerous?" D assumed that she referred to Toyokawa Shinkin Bank, and asked another relative, E, who lived near by the main branch of Toyokawa Shinkin Bank "Is Toyokawa Shinkin Bank dangerous?"

On December 9, E spoke to F who was the owner of a beauty salon, whether "Toyokawa Shinkin Bank might be in danger (of bankruptcy?)"

On December 10, a cleaning service shop owner H, and his wife I, who happened to be present there heard the rumor when F talked about it to relative G.

On December 11, the rumor was a topic of conversation among housewives in Kozakai. The rumor had taken on an assertive form such as, "Toyokawa Shinkin is in danger" at that moment.

On December 13, J who had borrowed the telephone in H's shop, ordered the person at the end of the line to withdraw 1.2 million yen from Toyokawa Shinkin Bank. J had not heard the rumor, and just requested the withdrawal in order to make payment. However, I who overheard the ordered withdrawal assumed that Toyokawa Shinkin Bank really was going into bankruptcy. She also withdrew 1.8 million yen. H and I then spread the rumor. Amateur radio operator K also spread it widely. Following this, 59 depositors came into Toyokawa Shinkin Bank and withdrew 50 million yen in total.

According to the testimony of a taxi driver who carried customers to the Kozakai branch of the bank, the rumor gradually worsened.
 "Toyokawa Shinkin Bank might be in danger." - A customer who got in the taxi in the afternoon
 "It is in danger." - A customer in around 2:30 PM
 "It will go into bankruptcy." - - A customer in around 4:30 PM
 "Its shutter will never be lifted up in tomorrow morning." - A customer at the night

On December 14, the panic escalated. A statement from Toyokawa Shinkin Bank released to settle the panic was misconstrued:
 "Odd money under ten thousand yen will be rounded down."
 "Their business condition is suspicious after all because they won't pay interest." - The bank repaid principal at first in an attempt to speed up the repayment process, as the calculation of interest took a long time.
 "Police is investigating the bank." - On seeing police officers who had arrived on the scene to control the crowd.
 A depositor made an inquiry that "I heard that a briefing session for bankruptcy is taking place."
 A depositor who was handed a numbered ticket for crowd control shouted angrily: "Such stuff is meaningless!"
In addition, new rumors arose: "Embezzlement of a banker is the cause of bankruptcy", "A banker got away with five thousand million yen", or "The chairman of the Toyokawa Shinkin Bank committed to suicide" and so on.

From the evening of the 14th to the morning of the 15th, some media who were present by request from Toyokawa Shinkin Bank reported that the bank run was caused by a false rumor. The major newspaper headlines read:

"5000人、デマに踊る(5000 People, Manipulated by False Rumor)" - Asahi Shimbun
"デマに踊らされ信金、取り付け騒ぎ(Manipulated by False Rumor, Bank Run on Shinkin Bank)" - Yomiuri Shimbun
"デマにつられて走る(Run by False Rumor)" - Mainichi Shimbun and so on.

The Bank of Japan held a press conference and stated that Toyokawa Shinkin Bank's business condition was fine. The Bank supplied cash to Toyokawa Shinkin Bank through Bank of Japan Nagoya branch to avoid confusion. The cash was piled up to a height of 1 meter, with a width of 5 meters in front of the vault of the main branch of Toyokawa Shinkin Bank to demonstrate their financial soundness.

On December 15, posters which said that there was no problem at Toyokawa Shinkin Bank under the joint signature of Shinkin Central Bank and National Association of Shinkin Banks were put up in Toyokawa Shinkin Bank's branches. The chairman of Toyokawa Shinkin Bank who had been rumored to have committed suicide started to persuade his customers at one branch. Depositors started to calm down because of these countermeasures. However, some agitated depositors still came into the bank.

On December 16, police revealed and released the propagation route of the false rumor, with the NHK reporting the police statement that night.

On December 17, major newspapers reported the police statement. However, the false rumor persisted. The rumor died over the following several days.

Factors  
The following factors escalated the situation:
 At that time in 1973, the conditions were right for spreading rumors easily due to social anxiety caused by the 1973 oil crisis. For instance, a toilet paper panic occurred in November 1973.
 Information was transformed by each participant, as in a game of telephone.
 Seven years prior to the incident, a financial institute in Toyohashi, a neighborhood of Kozakai went into bankruptcy, damaging the assets of its investors severely. H and I had spread the rumor in good faith because they were victims of this bankruptcy.
 When J ordered the withdrawal of a large amount of money in front of I, the rumor took on a decisive reality to I.
 In the small local society, people heard the rumor about Toyokawa Shinkin Bank multiple times, which reinforced their belief that it was true.
 In Japan, Deposit Insurance up to 1 million yen had already been effected based on the endorsement of Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan, by the Deposit Insurance Act of 1971. However, it had not been introduced to the general public well enough. As a result, almost all of the depositors fell into panic.

In popular culture 
A short story "銀行取付(Ginkō Torituke, literally Bank run)" written by Japanese novelist Ikko Shimizu based a story on this incident. The storyline is that the stingy chairman of a bank spread the rumor about his bank purposely in order to force Bank of Japan to advertise his company without charge.

Citation

References 
The original article was created as a translation of a corresponding article in Japanese Wikipedia.

See also 
 Rumor
 Panic
 Reputational risk
 Chinese whispers
 Bank run

Financial crises
Banking in Japan
1973 in Japan LG Rumor is a series of feature phones from Sprint in the United States, manufactured by LG Electronics. Each phone is equipped with a slide-out Qwerty keyboard with the latest featured touchscreen.

Phones 
The lineup consists of the following:

LG Rumor 

The LG Rumor is the first phone in the series.  It was released first for Sprint in September 2007 followed by other carriers on later dates.

LG Rumor 2 
 
The LG Rumor 2 was released for Sprint in March 2008, it offered a new, updated version of the Rumor called the LG Rumor 2 with a 4 row QWERTY keyboard instead of a 3-row keyboard. Also, a new interface and IM-like text messaging interface debuted. However, the Rumor 2 does not include video recording capabilities that the original Rumor has.  It is not currently offered on Sprint's online store because of the release of the LG Rumor Touch. The LG Rumor 2 was also later released for Virgin Mobile USA and Virgin Mobile Canada as well as Bell Mobility and its now-defunct Solo Mobile brand. The Rumor 2 was also released for Kajeet. Verizon Wireless received a version in Q1 2010 called the LG Cosmos.

LG Rumor Touch 
In early 2009 LG & Sprint offered a new, updated version of the Rumor 2 called the LG Rumor Touch with a 5 row QWERTY keyboard instead of 3 row rumor or 4 row Rumor2.  Bell Mobility, Virgin Mobile USA and Virgin Mobile Canada later announced that they would carry the LG Rumor Touch as well.  It also includes a touch screen. The phone was discontinued when LG and Sprint introduced the LG Rumor Reflex in Q1 2012. The Rumor Touch reintroduces video recording capabilities. Like the Rumor 2, the Rumor Touch was released for Kajeet.

LG Rumor Reflex  
In December 2011, reports surfaced on the web that Sprint Nextel's prepaid subsidiary Boost Mobile was working with LG to offer an "LG Rumor 4" phone. On March 5, 2012, Sprint's Boost Mobile prepaid brand listed the LG Rumor Reflex on their online shopping page as "coming soon". The phone is now available for $279.99 unsubsidized or $0 with a two-year contract from Sprint, and at $79.99 outright with Boost Mobile.  It has a 2 MP camera just like the Rumor Touch and includes video recording as well.  Unlike the Rumor Touch and its resistive touchscreen, the Rumor Reflex has a capacitive sensing touchscreen common to smartphones.

LG Rumor Reflex S 
In July 2013, Sprint released an update to the Rumor Reflex S ecological friendly, the LG Rumor Reflex S which includes a 3" screen.

Celebrity endorsements 
The LG Rumor 2 for Virgin Mobile USA was endorsed by singers Lady Gaga and Beyoncé Knowles in their music video for collaboration song "Telephone".

The LG Rumor Touch was promoted by actresses Victoria Beckham and Eva Longoria Parker during their 2010 campaign referred to as LG Fashion Touch, throwing around the notion of “personal style and the idea that mobile phones have become the latest in fashion communication".

LG Electronics mobile phones