On September 24th, 16 members of popular idol group AKB48 joined Shanghai�s cultural event, �Shanghai Japan Week 2011� and sang live in front of approximately 1,300 college students at this venue.

To thank the large support Japan received from China after the Tohoku earthquake, this idol group made their appearance free-of-charge and �leader� Takahashi Minami stated on stage, �With all the support we received, Japan will walk towards the future,� to which the audience gave a big round of applause for her confident statement.

The popularity of AKB48 in China was shown when the group performed their major debut song, �Aitakatta�, and the audience sang along with the girls and gave their enthusiastic shouts in Japanese.

One of the college students who participated in this event said, �I love AKB48 so I plan to do my best to learn Japanese,� thus showing his determination to close the distance between him and this popular group.

Although this event was free for those who won the lottery from neighboring universities, some students sold �tickets� at a very high price (USD $472).

After this event, Takahashi stated to the reporters, �If possible, I would love to do a concert in Shanghai again. So please, wait for us,� give their Chinese fans hope to see AKB48 again at their home country in the future.

Check out the photos from this event below!

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Source & Images: MSN Sankei News