A new AKB48 sister group, NGT48, will be formed. The announcement was made on January 25 during the “AKB48 Request Hour Set List Best 1035 2015″ held at the Tokyo Dome City Hall.

NGT48 group will be based in Niigata and a new “NGT48 theater” will open on October 1. The theater manager will be the current theater manager of SKE48, Etsuro Imamura. Along with this, the next SKE48 theater manager will be Yuasa Hiroshi (current AKB48’s theater manager). Replacing him as AKB48’s theater manager is Shiba Tomoya (current SKE48 Kenkyuusei theater manager).

Auditions for the new group will be carried out in March. More details are to be announced at the AKB48 group official site.