The 23rd member of Morning Musume made her debut on Sunday. 13-year-old Aika Mitsui was chosen as the only addition to the pop group in this year's audition (which had 6,883 applicants), which makes her the sole member of Morning Musume's eighth generation. Mitsui is a second-year middle schooler currently living in the Shiga prefecture of Japan. According to producer Tsunku, he was pleased with Mitsui's voice but admitted that she's bad at dancing.

Mitsui will begin performing with the group starting next spring.