To match story JAPAN-MUSIC/AKB48
Takashi Mukai, a fan of Japan's girl pop group AKB48 member Rino Sashihara, waits ahead of the AKB48 annual popularity "election" outside Tokyo's Budokan gymnasium June 6, 2012. In a three-hour show broadcast live from Tokyo's hallowed Budokan, 23-year-old Yuko Oshima was selected as leader and face of the group, which has been recognized by Guinness as the world's biggest girl pop group. AKB48 is known for its perky routines and high "kawaii," or cuteness, quotient. Every year, fans vote to determine 64 of the most popular girls out of a 237-member pool who are then rotated in and out of four main troupes and several affiliated groups according to their popularity. Picture taken June 6, 2012. To match story JAPAN-MUSIC/AKB48 REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao (JAPAN - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT SOCIETY)