Most artists dream of longevity, but few are afforded significant time in the limelight. The paradox of all-girl group Morning Musume, 12 years since they began, is the enforced time-limit its members face in order for the group to remain forever young.
Generation eight of the group, with nine members, is the longest-running incarnation so far, celebrating its two-year anniversary this month. Yet under the tutelage of producer Tsunku, "graduation" is likely never far away.
The institution that is Morning Musume (Morning Girls) began under inauspicious circumstances in 1997. TV Tokyo's celebrated morning show "Asayan" ran a segment in which a contest was held to find a solo female singer for Tsunku, then of pop-rock outfit Sharan Q.