The group debuted in January 2009. There are 47 members in total. They have their very own theater called the "AKB48 theater" () in Akihabara, and they perform there everyday. AKB48's theater is located on the 8th floor of the shopping mall "Don Quixote Akihabara" (). The reason for this is because Akimoto wanted to change the idea of idols. Idols usually are presented in an unrealistic way in the media, so Akimoto's idea was to show idols as real people whom fans could interact with. 