Produce 101 Japan The Girls

Produce 101 Japan The Girls (プロデュース ワンオーワン ジャパン ザ ガールズ; stylized in all caps) is the third season of the reality competition show Produce 101 Japan, the Japanese version of Produce 101. The show brings together 101 contestants with the intention of producing a permanent eleven-member girl group.

The show premiered on October 5, 2023, and is broadcast on Lemino every Thursday at 21:00 JST (GMT+9). Each episode is rerun on YouTube with English subtitles the following Monday at 21:00 JST (GMT+9) and each episode will be available for a week before being switched to private and replaced with the next episode. Additionally, the final episode aired on TBS.

The top 11 winners debuted under the name Me:I in 2024.

Promotion and broadcast
On April 20, 2023, it was announced that Produce 101 Japan would be renewed for a third season, this time featuring all female contestants. The show is being produced by NTT Docomo Studio & Live, Inc., a newly-formed joint venture between NTT Docomo and Yoshimoto Kogyo. The show is being exclusively distributed by NTT Docomo's streaming service Lemino, with exception of the final episode, which will also be broadcast by TBS. The episodes are receiving a limited overseas distribution with English subtitles through Produce 101 Japan's official YouTube channel, where they will stay available until a week after their release.

Applications were open from April 24 to May 24, 2023. Any female aspirants aged 15 and up who had no current ties to a talent agency and completed compulsory education were eligible. There were no restrictions regarding nationality or country of residence. Approximately 14,000 candidates applied, more than twice the amount as for the first season. Two rounds of auditions were held for successful applicants from June 3 to June 25, 2023. Individuals who passed the second round were allowed to participate in the show.

On September 2, 2023, this season's theme song "LEAP HIGH" (LEAP HIGH〜明日へ、めいっぱい〜) was released. The following day, the profiles of 96 out of the 101 contestants were revealed. The remaining five trainees had already withdrawn from the program and their identities were not disclosed. On September 26, a press conference was held with the contestants, trainers, National Producer Representative Kaela Kimura, the show's ambassador actress and former singer Nako Yabuki, and MC Moemi Kushiro.

Cast
The show is being presented by singer Kaela Kimura as the National Producer Representative. Actress and former IZ*ONE and HKT48 member Nako Yabuki serves as the show's ambassador. Chanmina appeared as a guest on Episode 7 to mentor the trainees performing her song "Bijin" (美人). Former IZ*ONE members and soloists Choi Ye-na and Jo Yu-ri appeared as surprise guests on Episode 10 to give the trainees advice.


 * Vocal trainers
 * Thelma Aoyama
 * Lee Hong-gi


 * Dance trainers
 * Rino Nakasone
 * Yumeki


 * Rap trainer
 * Ken the 390

Contestants

 * Color key

Top 11
The top 11 contestants are chosen through popularity online voting through the Produce 101 Japan voting page on Lemino's website and audience live voting. Furthermore, National Producers can receive an additional vote per day by downloading the Lemino app. The results were shown at the end of each episode.

First voting period
The first voting period took place from October 5, 2023, at 21:00 JST (GMT+9), to October 26 at 23:59 JST. National Producers were allowed to vote for eleven girls a day. Eliminations were based on individual total points. In total, 34,141,349 votes were cast for the 1st Ranking Announcement Ceremony.

Second voting period
The second voting period has started on November 2, 2023, after the broadcast for Episode 5 had finished, and will end on November 16 at 23:59 JST (GMT+9). National Producers can vote for eleven girls a day. Eliminations are based on individual total points.

In Episode 6, only the names, not the ranks of the top 11 contestants were shown. The top 11 for the episode included Rin Aita, Ran Ishii, Tsuzumi Ebihara, Momona Kasahara, Kokoro Kato, Nano Kenmotsu, Miu Sakurai, Kokona Sasaki, Keiko Shimizu, Ayane Takami, and Suzu Yamamoto. The results of Episode 6 were shown in Episode 8.

Third voting period
The third voting period took place from November 23, 2023, after the broadcast for Episode 8 had finished, and will end on November 30 at 23:59 JST (GMT+9). National Producers can vote for two girls a day. Eliminations are based on individual total points.

Between Episodes 8 and 9, an interim ranking was published alongside a preview video of the Concept Evaluation performances, revealing the current ranking for six trainees. Ayano Kamio ranked 26th, Kagura Kato ranked 25th, Joa Aramaki ranked 24th, Serina Saito ranked 23rd, Yuuki Tanaka ranked 18th, and Nano Kenmotsu ranked 17th.

Aftermath

 * Me:I will be releasing their debut on April 17, 2024.


 * Some trainees signed with labels:
 * Rino Sakaguchi (12th), Rin Aita (13th), Yuuki Tanaka (15th), and Nano Kenmotsu (16th) signed with Lapone Entertainment as trainees and were revealed in March 2024; it was then announced that the girls will debut as Is:sue under Lapone Girls and will have their debut performance at KCON Japan.
 * Serina Saito (21st) and Nagomi Abe (23rd) signed with 143 Entertainment as trainees and were revealed in May 2024; it was then announced that the girls will joined LimeLight.
 * Tabata Nana (64th) joined WakeOne.


 * Some trainees participated in other survival shows:
 * Tabata Nana (64th) will participate in Mnet's I-Land 2: N/a in 2024