Who are the top female idol groups in the Japanese music industry right now?
According to Nikkei Entertainment magazine, who has just published the 2013 results to their annual “Talent Power Rankings” survey in its June issue (on newsstands May 2), these 14 acts are the most popular at the moment:
Female Group TOP 14
| Rank | Group | 2013 Score | 2012 Score |
| 1 | Perfume | 28.7 | 11.5 |
| 2 | Momoiro Clover Z | 26.7 | 9.7 |
| 3 | AKB48 | 23.1 | 29.8 |
| 4 | Morning Musume | 14.5 | 16.8 |
| 5 | SKE48 | 9.9 | 10.3 |
| 6 | Nogizaka46 | 9.1 | - |
| 7 | NMB48 | 9.0 | 8.0 |
| 8 | HKT48 | 7.8 | - |
| 9 | Fairies | 6.0 | 6.4 |
| 10 | Berryz Koubou | 5.8 | 4.4 |
| 11 | S/mileage | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| 12 | FLOWER | 3.5 | - |
| 13 | Happiness | 3.4 | 2.9 |
| 14 | Sphere | 3.0 | 3.5 |
The female idol group rankings is only one of several published in the June issue of Nikkei Entertainment magazine. Other ranking lists include specialised ones for the top actors, musicians, comedians, sportsman, among other categories, as well as an overall “Talent Power (Overall) Top 100″ ranking. Before we move on to the results in some of those other specialised rankings, as well as the overall top 10, it’s important to note the research methodology Nikkei Entertainment employed in its survey findings – something they’ve been doing annually since 2008.
The survey was conducted independently by marketing research firm, Architect Co., Ltd., who assigned a “talent power score” to each of 1251 artistes based on two criteria: familiarity (the number of survey respondents who were able to identify an artiste’s name and face), and interest level (the number of survey respondents indicating that they’d like to see, hear, and know more about the artiste). The survey was conducted earlier this year in February.
Once the talent power scores were decided, only then are the various ranking lists formed, based on which artistes would fall under which category. In other words, just as important as the actual rankings are the “talent power scores” listed to the right of each artiste’s name.
With that said, let’s talk a look at some of the other rankings:
Female Idol Ranking TOP 30
| Rank | Talent | 2013 Score | 2012 Score |
| 1 | Oshima Yuko (AKB48) | 27.4 | 30.1 |
| 2 | Shinoda Mariko (AKB48) | 25.8 | 27.5 |
| 3 | Maeda Atsuko (AKB48)* | 23.0 | 25.3 |
| 4 | Kojima Haruna (AKB48) | 21.4 | 20.8 |
| 5 | Itano Tomomi (AKB48) | 20.6 | 24.5 |
| 6 | Takahashi Minami (AKB48) | 20.0 | 22.0 |
| 7 | Watanabe Mayu (AKB48) | 18.8 | 17.7 |
| 8 | Kashiwagi Yuki (AKB48) | 16.9 | 17.9 |
| 9 | Sashihara Rino (HKT48) | 14.9 | 16.8 |
| 10 | Akimoto Sayaka (AKB48) | 14.1 | 18.2 |
| 11 | Minegishi Minami (AKB48) | 13.8 | 14.7 |
| 12 | Shimazaki Haruka(AKB48) | 12.4 | - |
| 12 | Momota Kanako (Momoclo) | 12.4 | - |
| 14 | Matsui Jurina (SKE48 & AKB) | 12.2 | 10.0 |
| 15 | Matsui Rena (SKE48) | 11.8 | 8.8 |
| 16 | Yokoyama Yui (AKB48 & NMB) | 11.2 | 8.7 |
| 17 | Miyazawa Sae (SNH48) | 10.5 | 11.4 |
| 18 | Tsugunaga Momoko (Berrz) | 10.0 | - |
| 19 | Takagi Reni (Momoclo) | 9.6 | - |
| 20 | Tamai Shiroi (Momoclo) | 9.5 | - |
| 21 | Ariyasu Momoka (Momoclo) | 9.1 | - |
| 22 | Oya Shizuka (AKB48) | 8.4 | - |
| 23 | Kasai Tomomi (AKB48) | 8.3 | 8.3 |
| 24 | Kitahara Rie (AKB48 & SKE) | 8.2 | 8.5 |
| 25 | Sasaki Ayaka (Momoclo) | 8.1 | - |
| 26 | Yamamoto Sayaka (NMB48) | 7.9 | 6.8 |
| 27 | Umeda Ayaka (AKB48) | 7.3 | - |
| 28 | Takajou Aki (JKT48) | 7.2 | 9.2 |
| 29 | Kuramochi Asuka (AKB48) | 6.8 | 8.1 |
| 30 | Ikoma Rina (Nogizaka) | 6.3 | - |
* Maeda Atsuko graduated from AKB48 while formulating the ranking, so she was kept in it just for this year.
source: 1, 2