Juice=Juice

Overview

Juice=Juice (pronounced "Juice Juice") is a Japanese idol girl group under Hello! Project, managed by Up-Front Promotion. Formed in February 2013, the group made its major debut in September of that year on Up-Front Works' in-house label hachama. Producer Tsunku named the group in the hope that it would stay forever fresh and full of personality, like freshly squeezed juice. Fans are known as the "Juice=Juice Family," and the group's Hello! Project color is purple. Juice=Juice held its first solo Nippon Budokan concert in 2016 and a world tour in 2017. As of July 2025, the group has eleven members.

Career

2013-2014: Formation and debut

On February 3, 2013, at a Hello! Project concert at the Fukuoka Convention Center, a new unit was announced consisting of five Hello! Project trainees (Karin Miyamoto, Sayuki Takagi, Aina Otsuka, Akari Uemura and Tomoko Kanazawa) and Yuka Miyazaki. The name was revealed on February 25, and the group made its indie debut on April 3 with "Watashi ga Iu Mae ni Dakishimenakya ne." In June, Miyazaki was named leader and Kanazawa sub-leader; Otsuka left in July. The major debut single "Romance no Tochuu" followed on September 11 and peaked at No. 2 on the Oricon weekly chart. In November the group won a New Artist Award at the 55th Japan Record Awards. Their first solo tour began in June 2014 and ran until April 2015, the longest first live tour in Hello! Project history. In November 2014 they starred in their first musical, Koisuru Hello Kitty.

2015-2016: First No. 1 and Budokan

In April 2015, the sixth single "Wonderful World / Ça va ? Ça va ?" became the group's first No. 1 on the Oricon weekly singles chart and the first not produced by Tsunku. In May, at Nakano Sunplaza, the group announced its goal of playing Nippon Budokan in 2016 after performing 220 shows across Japan; its first studio album First Squeeze! was announced for release in July. In October they held their first overseas solo shows in Taipei and Hong Kong, and starred in the Fuji TV drama Budokan as the fictional group Next You. They completed all 225 shows of Live Mission 220 in October 2016 and held their first Nippon Budokan solo concert on November 7.

2017-2018: New members and world tour

In June 2017, Nanami Yanagawa of Country Girls and trainee Ruru Dambara joined, the first lineup expansion in the group's fifth year. The first world tour ran from September 8 to October 1 with shows in Mexico, England, France, Germany, Malaysia, Indonesia and Taiwan, followed by South American dates in December. Manaka Inaba joined in June 2018.

2019-2020: Leadership changes

The eleventh single "Bi Tansan / Potsuri to / Good bye & Good luck!" (February 2019) earned the group's first Gold disc certification. Yanagawa graduated in March, and Yume Kudo and Riai Matsunaga joined in June. Miyazaki graduated at Nippon Budokan on June 17; Kanazawa became second leader and Takagi second sub-leader. The group made its first ROCK IN JAPAN FESTIVAL appearance in August and held its first solo concert at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in December. Rei Inoue, formerly of Kobushi Factory, joined in 2020, and Karin Miyamoto graduated at Nippon Budokan on December 10 after her departure was postponed due to COVID-19.

2021-2023

Takagi's activities ended in February 2021. Risa Irie, Kisaki Ebata and Ichika Arisawa joined in July, and Kanazawa graduated at the group's first Yokohama Arena concert on November 24, with Uemura becoming third leader. "Plastic Love / Familia / Future Smile" was released in December. In April 2022 the third album terzo became the group's first No. 1 on the Oricon weekly albums chart, and Inaba graduated at Nippon Budokan on May 30. Akari Endo and Sakura Ishiyama joined in June, and in November the group released "Zenbu Kakete GO!! / Inimini Manimo Koi no Rival Sengen." Miyu Kawashima joined in May 2023; "Pride Bright" was released in June (with a "FUNKY FLUSHIN'" edition in July), and the 10th anniversary best album Juicetory arrived on October 11. On October 26, Kawashima went on hiatus to focus on treatment for sudden hearing loss.

2024-present

In May 2024 the group released a Special Edition of "Tokyo Blur / Naimono Love / Aiko" and a video release of its 10th anniversary tour final. Uemura graduated on June 14, 2024, leaving no original members, and Ruru Dambara became fourth leader. "Hatsukoi no Boorei / Konya wa Hearty Party" followed in February 2025, and "Yon no Gono Iwazu Sat to Wakarete Ageta / More! Mi Amore" in October 2025. Niina Hayashi joined in June 2025. The group appeared on THE FIRST TAKE performing "More! Mi Amore" and released a THE FIRST TAKE version of "'Hitori de Ikiraresou' tte Sore tte nee, Home te Iru no?" in February 2026.

Musical style

Tsunku served as general producer at formation, and since 2015 Taisei has directed the group's songwriting. Juice=Juice is regarded as one of the most skilled groups in Hello! Project, even nicknamed the "Avengers of Hello! Project" for its musical ability. Live shows combine singing and dance with Rei Inoue's vocal percussion and Ichika Arisawa's violin, and on THE FIRST TAKE Kisaki Ebata added a whistle performance. A pre-show huddle in which the leader calls "We are..." and everyone answers "Juice=Juice!" has continued since the 2013 debut. At encores fans chant "Juice!" and "One more glass!", and October 10 is celebrated as "Juice=Juice Day," with events held almost every year since 2014.