Here’s the transcript for Tsunku’s Q&A panel. Please forgive any question marks or comments within square brackets for I couldn’t decipher what the translator or questioner was saying due to clapping cheering or mumbling. Hope you enjoy reading up on Tsunku’s panel. Morning Musume’s Q&A transcript is still on the way. I need to get my notes together after some sleep.

H!P Translator (H!P T): I’d like to start the panel right away. We’d like to hear the questions. Before we do that, I’d like to ask Tsunku a little about the history of the producing he does. (to the audience) Is that okay?

Audience: Yes!

Tsunku: Yesterday I was told that there were 7,500 people in the audience. I was interested to find out what kind of audience we would get, but I was very impressed that every did their homework. Everyone knew all the songs that Morning Musume was going to perform, and especially that “Love Machine”, the American style audience getting very enthusiastic reacting to the “fu fu” part and “woah woah” part, that was just great.

H!P T: Which part of the show did you like the best? (to the audience)

Audience: All of it, costumes, the medley, “How Do You Like This Japan?”

Tsunku: When that song started, I could tell that the audience was really excited. I liked how there were some audience members who thought they already figured out what kind of songs Morning Musume was going to be singing and they were about to leave the concert, but when “How Do You Like Japan?” started they turned around and came back.

H!P T: Tsunku, is this your first time in LA?

Tsunku: This is my first time in LA.

H!P T: How is it?

Tsunku: It’s summer right? It’s such beautiful weather, and you get such a great view of all around. I was expecting hot weather in LA, but it’s not. If I was expecting something equivalent in Japan it would be over 50 celcius.

H!P T: I would like to ask him about his recent work. How many of you know that he produced the music for Rhythm Heaven? (crowd cheers) How is it? Do you guys like it?

A: It’s a fun game!

Tsunku: Is it difficult?

A: Yes!! (laughs)

Tsunku: I needed to teach the Japanese public about rhythm. Originally the game was for a Japanese release, but when there were going to be international versions, some different versions including a European version, some of the songs needed to be changed to the native language.

H!P T: What’s next? Is he producing other groups? Are you interested? (crowd: Yes!)

Tsunku: Well, some of the groups are already popular in Japan, like Berryz Koubou and C-ute. But aside from Hello! Project, I have Nice Girl Project with The Possible and ??.

H!P T: I’m sure you all have a lot of questions, so question time?

Audience Question (AQ): Apart from the debut of Morning Musume, what was the happiest moment of your entertainment career?

Tsunku: Coming to Anime Expo to see you all. I have equal amounts of regret and joy. Regret that I didn’t come here earlier to see everyone and then I’m very happy that I’m here finally. It’s very fun to be in front of an American audience like that and the fact that everyone is so interested in Japan. And we already have a common language to talk about and that’s the great part.

AQ: We see all these videos of the audition process. 27,000 girls auditioning for the Hello! Project kids, all these auditions. What did you see in young Aya Matsuura, or Koha (she was 13), so young and shy in those auditions, what did you see in them to make you choose them?

Tsunku: I have to get serious for this question. When you look at people, be they 1 year old or 10 years old, they have some personal energy and for someone like me in the industry where you do have to work with people’s, for lack of a better word, ki, you have to feel the energy with your intuitive sense. And it’s if a person has that kind of energy, that’s what I look for. And if I fail to find that in a person that I audition, that’s when I’ll be fired from this business. Fortunately, I can still sense that, and that’s what you can sense when I was auditioning Matsuura. That’s how I go about it.

AQ: I would like to become an idol producer so that I can be surrounded by girls. So my question is, what advice do you have for an aspiring songwriter and producer?

Tsunku: A producer understands that you might be surrounded by cute girls, but you have to be able to keep your cool, or you won’t be able to produce your songs.

AQ: My question is a question that many Morning Musume fans probably have. Will there be any new members added this year or in the near future?

Tsunku: I don’t know if I know this year, but there will be new auditions for Morning Musume. The plan is there, but the specifics aren’t worked out yet.

AQ: I go to about 50 (did he say 50 or 15? I’m not sure) Hello! Project concerts in Japan each year. As a Japanese person, we’ve always been listening to English songs such as The Beatles or Michael Jackson and we’ve been on the receiving end of their music, but how is it like sending of Japanese music to the world and seeing that first hand? For example, in Japan there is non-English music that is foreign like Brazilian pop or Latin pop that is popular among certain demographics, but they seem to be more of a core music audience that is very much older, but yesterday at the concert we saw a lot of young people, kids, and ?? fans that ? about culture. And that’s not something that you would see in Japan. So how do you feel about that?

Tsunku: I think for the people who come to Anime Expo, there are people with big dreams and big aspirations. And also how they have special sensitivity for culture that may be Japanese or is different from the mainstream. You have this kind of sensitivity that makes you affectionate for alternate cultures. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be Japanese, you might be of another culture, but that’s the kind of music you like to see and I’m very glad to see that . And If I were to write my songs for an English speaking audience, I may have the ??, but I think I am talking to people who find Japanese something enjoyable to listen to. For that, I do want to value my Japanese songwriting, but at the same time I think that I also need to incorporate some English elements into my songs so that I can have a better reach into the global audience.

AQ: Following the major success of Morning Musume here in LA, would other Hello! Project groups like Berryz Koubou and C-ute be coming to America any time soon?

Tsunku: The first base of operations outside of Japan was the rest of Asia. There is going to be a Hello! Project audition in Taiwan and a Korean audition was just done. And so, Berryz Koubou, C-ute and of course Morning Musume will be going overseas. This was the first American ? except for Hawaii for Hello! Project and Morning Musume has a special place in Hello! Project in that they were the first to come here. And after the first time, Berryz Koubou and C-ute will have the opportunity to go to places like the United States, and Europe. But in order to make that possible, we really need the support from you guys, we need the budget to make that possible and we need the everyday support from fans like you.

AQ: When you look at Morning Musume, Berryz Koubou and C-ute today, what are their best aspects and also what are the aspects that they still need to achieve?

Tsunku: As you saw Morning Musume yesterday, currently they have 9 members, and Morning Musume has been with these 9 members for the last 2 years and these members weren’t too great with their dancing and singing when they first joined, but they worked really hard to catch up with the rest of the members, and I think they are doing great. So I think Morning Musume is doing just great right now.

For Berryz Koubou, there hasn’t been any member change, but they have been maintaining a high level of performance so far. I think their best aspect is how they look uneven.

More than Morning Musume or Berryz Koubou, the members of C-ute are the most athletic of the Hello! Project girls, and so the athletic ability is what I really demand of them. And that is their highest point.

If I were to give any constructive criticism to the members as they mature and become adult women, they will get their curves and ?? and I hope that they will have sex appeal to the public, but that means that I would really have to keep my cool.

AQ: Would you be interested in recruiting new members here in the states? And I’m not just talking about Hawaii.

Tsunku: [something difficult to make out from the translator] Definitely an American style Morning Musume would be interesting…

AQ: On your official blog, you’ve been talking about reviving Tanpopo and Minimoni [clapping over talking]. First of all, what is your direction with that, and why did you decide to revive them instead of giving the members their own group and their own personality?

Tsunku: Starting this summer in Japan, there will be a remake or revival of Tanpopo, Pucchimoni and Minimoni as the new Tanpopo, Pucchimoni and Minimoni and they will be reviving old hits as well as reviving new songs. So perhaps that is what you may be able to enjoy. [Unintelligible]

AQ: Why not new groups as opposed to bringing back old ones?

Tsunku: Of course there will be new shuffling as well, but it would be too bad to let some of my better songs go dormant.

AQ: In terms of your marriage, how has that affected your creative process and your creative style?

Tsunku: I have twin babies, a boy and a girl. They are a year and 3 months old now, and it doesn’t have to be my own kids. If I go out to the streets or to the market, I notice there are kids, other peoples babies as well as mine, and I see that some kids are very popular with other people, and I hope that my own kids will have that kind of charisma. And also, now that I do go out to the market to shop, I have picked up the language from there and that has given me a broader spectrum of vocabulary to put into my songs, in the past 2-3 years. For example, one of the lyrics in the [??] song mentions the [??] which would be the basement floor of the department store. I don’t know if that’s culturally significant to you guys, but that’s the food floor in Japan, and my wife insists on going there on the crowded weekend. She insists that she get her sweets and pastries there. She likes to get cake there. And she won’t relent on that. So I am very impressed with the fixation that women have on their sweets, and I was able to incorporate that into my song and that was a new discovery. So I’m glad that was something of Japanese culture I could integrate into my song and now you know about it.

AQ: As a Nintendo game developer, I was very impressed and inspired by Rhythm Tengoku, and I wanted to ask you about your relationship with [??] and how it was working with [O-something-san] and the rest of the Rhythm Heaven group.

Tsunku: Rhythm Heaven, as it’s known in the States, originally Rhythm Tengoku Gold in Japan, an before the Rhythm Tengoku Gold there was the original, plain Rhythm Tengoku. I think it would date back to 5 or 6 years ago. And back when we originally started, we had some heated discussions. We had to inspire each other to do better. There were so many important characters that got trashed and didn’t make it into the game. But today we are so close and we get along so well and that is a reflection of the closeness between [??] and [??]. Now that we have Rhythm Tengoku Gold completed, and we have this coming out for worldwide release as well, rhythm is something that hasn’t really been valued in Japanese culture and Japanese music and that is something that I stepped into. I really wanted to musically remind the people as well as the Japanese public on that. I respect the American people as people who are really oriented towards music and you do that with your whole body and I think it might be an unnatural confinement to limit yourself to the fingertips as opposed to entire body dance routines, so I hope you get to enjoy Rhythm Heaven without busting your DS.

AQ: Are you planning to release any more solo albums?

Tsunku: Just look at youtube to catch me singing. I don’t really want to sound too negative right now, but for the past few years my throat hasn’t been doing too well. I’m having a hard time coming out with my falsetto right now. And when I got my larynx examined, there was some strange hardening there 5 mm in size. I find that hard because when I am giving a lesson, I demonstrate by singing the song as well, and so I am still struggling to get myself back into shape and when I get better I hope to be singing, also including the United States.

AQ: In the past there were Hello! Morning and other tv programs where members developed their personalities on [??]. And as a producer, what did you do to encourage that so that people are less reserved in their singing???

Tsunku: When you’re in a group like Morning Musume, all of you are singing the same song and doing the same routine. It’s very competitive and you really have to struggle to differentiate yourself within the group. It’s a very good way to attain yourself – to develop as your own while you’re still in Morning Musume. Some of them tried very hard, and you can see that when they do their stage plays or their magazine interviews or tv interviews. The ones that try hard and develop their own differentiation, personality or character while they’re still in Morning Musume are the ones who go independent and have something that’s strong and appealing on their own. Those are the kind of hits to leave Morning Musume and make it. Others may not be as successful. That’s the kind of training that Morning Musume seems to have. It’s a 2 step process, but that differentiates the winners and those who make it and remain in the committed world of show business.

H!P T: And now I would like to ask Tsunku for his last message to us.

Tsunku: Thank you all for coming. I’ve seen that the audience size increased over the course of the panel and I’m very happy to see that. I think we had a pretty good panel today. And I will still have the chance to see some of you for I am one of the judges for AX Idol later today. I was very excited to see the enthusiastic support you gave to Morning Musume and also me, Tsunku, here at Anime Expo. I do find the language barriers often frustrating, but it is something that I have to struggle with. So if all of you can be my agents who spread what is so great about Morning Musume and Tsunku to the English speaking world, that will lead the way to future appearance of Morning Musume, Hello! Project and Tsunku here, so I really do ask for your support.