Looking Back on 15 Years of MCZ

Today in Japan marks the 15th anniversary of the day of remembrance for the Great East Japan Earthquake that occurred in 2011.

The 15 years since then almost exactly overlap with the period in which MCZ, once still largely unknown, grew into a nationally recognized idol group.

Momoiro Clover, which made its major debut in 2010, got off to a smooth start. However, they soon faced a trial when their core member Hayami Akari left the group.

A graduation concert for Akari was scheduled for April 10, 2011 at Nakano Sunplaza, and while the group was holding free live events around the country, the earthquake struck on March 11.

As a result, several of the free live events were canceled, and many Mononofus lost the opportunity to meet Akari in person one last time.

Momoclo resumed activities at a free event held in Akihabara on March 27 and called for charity support.

At the same time, the nuclear accident triggered by the disaster caused electricity shortages in the Tokyo metropolitan area, leading to unprecedented situations such as planned power outages. Under these circumstances, the April 10 performance at Nakano Sunplaza was at one point considered for cancellation, but it was ultimately held after a last minute decision.

However, due to these conditions, the live show was held with restrictions on stage lighting. 

This is why, when watching the archived footage of the concert today, the screen appears rather dark.

The album Battle and Romance, released in July, included the bonus track Momoclo no Nippon Banzai.

The song, produced by Maeyamada Kenichi (a.k.a Hyadain), takes the form of an introduction to Japan's prefectures. The final section focuses on the Tohoku region, conveying that the entire country is supporting Tohoku.

While the song as a whole is composed in a major scale, only the final Tohoku section uses the canon chord progression, a subtle device that naturally guides listeners' emotions toward Tohoku.

Also, the killer tune "Z densetsu owarinaki kakumei (means 'Z Legend: Endless Revolution')," included on the same album, is in the form of a song introducing the members, but at its core it sings of feelings of support for the disaster-stricken areas, with lyrics such as "There's no rain that never stops," "We'll never lose," and "You're not alone."

On March 11, 2012, exactly one year after the disaster, MCZ had a concert on their live tour at Yokohama BLITZ. The show began with a one minute moment of silence accompanied by a message from Kanako.

Starting in 2013, the members began interacting with Onagawa Town in Miyagi Prefecture after seeing a documentary on television. They appeared on local radio and held reconstruction support concerts in the area.

The temporary radio station that had been established to support Onagawa's reconstruction has already closed. However, the spirit has been carried on by a temporary radio station in Wajima City, Ishikawa Prefecture, set up after the damage caused by the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake, where Ayaka has also taken part. In this way, support for disaster affected areas has continued in different locations.

MCZ has maintained this connection in various ways since then, such as featuring festivals from the Tohoku region in their large summer concerts. 

The next turning point came in 2019.

On March 11, 2019, the eighth anniversary of the disaster, MCZ visited Namie Sosei Elementary and Junior High School in Namie Town, Futaba District, Fukushima Prefecture, which had opened in 2018. They said, "We want to do what we can."

From there, discussions progressed, and Namie Town accepted MCZ's wish to contribute to the town through their idol activities.

On November 24, 2019, at the Reconstruction Namie Town Tokaichi Festival held in Namie Town, Namie Joshi Hatsugumi (nickname JA-Namie, renamed Lumi Union in 2025), produced by Ayaka as PPP (Pink Playing Producer), was officially introduced.

Since then, JA-Namie has repeatedly held live performances in Namie Town as regular shows.

In addition, it was announced that MCZ's large scale spring concert - Momoclo Haru no ichi dai ji - in April 2020 would be jointly hosted by three towns including Namie, Naraha, and Hirono at J-VILLAGE, located about 20 km from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, where decommissioning work continues.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that began shortly afterward, the concert was postponed and was finally held successfully in April 2022.

As we reported, this year marks the 15th anniversary of the disaster, and Kanako will serve as host of NHK Tohoku's campaign TOHOKU HEART FES, while Reni will appear in a VTR segment.

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There may be some omissions, but this is a look back at the path of the past 15 years.

Looking back, the roots of their unwavering commitment to the phrase "deliver smiles and energy to everyone" may lie in that day in 2011.