Kara and 4minute to kick off careers in Japan tomorrow

Popular Korean girl groups Kara and 4minute will both be launching their singing careers in Japan tomorrow, according to their respective agencies on Friday.

Both bands had signed with major music label Universal Music Japan to promote and support their upcoming activities in the country,

Kara will attend an event where they will shake the hands with some 8,000 fans tomorrow and celebrate the launch of their official Japanese fan club the following day.

The girls had been receiving much interest in Japan, especially following the release of their Korean album in the country on April 28, which reached No. 7 on the prestigious Oricon daily album chart.

An official from the girls' agency DSP Media explained, "They are planning to release an official [Japanese] album around July or August which is when they will take off their careers full scale."

Meanwhile, 4minute will hold a promotional event celebrating the release of their first Japanese single "Muzik" on May 8 to be held at the Zepp Tokyo Hall located in Odaiba.

"Muzik" went on sale Wednesday and is currently ranked at No. 22 on the Oricon daily chart.

In January, Universal Music Japan had referred to 4minute as "a new group with the ability to show successful results in the global market" in its interview with Billboard Japan.

"It is amazing to see the attention the group is receiving. It is great to see that Korean girl groups are being accepted we hope to show that they too can become Hallyu stars," a representative from 4minute's agency Cube Entertainment explained.

Kara made their debut in 2007, releasing several singles and albums containing their hits "Pretty Girl," "Mister" and "Lupin."

Five-member girl band 4minute began their careers in 2009 with their hit single "Hot Issue." They also released a mini-album "For Muzik" which topped various charts in Asia.

Reporter: Cho Bum-ja anju1015@
Editor : Lucia Hong luciahong@