The Coinlockers (Japanese: ザ・コインロッカーズ, Hepburn: Za Koinrokkāzu) were an all-girl Japanese idol band formed on December 23, 2018. The band had a total of 38 members, all of whom played an instrument, and was produced by Yasushi Akimoto.[1] In 2020, the group was reorganized to only include 13 members, with three members leaving by 2021.[2] That same year, the band announced that they would be disbanding on their third anniversary of their formation, disbanding on December 23, 2021.[3]
In September 2018, Warner Music Japan and producer Yasushi Akimoto announced that they would have auditions for the start of a "national girl band", using system for selecting members based on songs that some of the members would be participating in.[4] They ultimately chose 39 members from the auditions, but added two more members by the time of their debut.[5] In December 2018, Akimoto unveiled the 41 members of the new band and the name of The Coinlockers during a press conference.[1] They released their debut single "Yuuutsu na Sora ga Sukinanda" on June 19, 2019, which was used as a theme song for the drama Ore no Sukāto, Dokoyatta?[6][7] The band also announced their first nationwide tour that took place in May.[8]
In May 2020, the band reorganized to only include 13 members and released their second single "Boku wa Shiawase Nanoka?"[9] From July 31 to August 14, they released the album Gunjō MirājuonTikTok, uploading one song a day consecutively.[10] In November 2021, the band announced that they would disband at the end of the year, the third anniversary of their debut, after a final performance at Zepp Haneda Tokyo.[11]
