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Interview: Berryz Kobo

Perhaps his most daring experiment was the Hello! Project Kids, fifteen grade-school girls selected in 2002 in hopes that they could be trained over the years.

"When we started," says Natsuyaki, "we had no training in singing or dancing—we really didn't know anything.

Aside from that, Berryz Kobo's longevity and stability is remarkable in a music scene where idol groups sometimes form and disband within months. The secret, says Shimizu, is that "we always talk things out with each other. We ask about each others' feelings."

Yurina Kumai's height defies the "petite and cute" idol mold, and perhaps for that reason, she looks across national borders to find inspiration as a performer, citing Korean group Girls' Generation as her role model. "When I saw their music videos, I was so impressed by their dancing, and by how attractive and talented they are—I want to mimic the way they move." What also impresses Kumai is that, compared to Japan's music scene, their Korean counterparts "don't have the traditional idol attitude, but more the charm of grown-up women."