Struggles & Tears on the Road to Finale

PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SHINSEKAI, the fourth season of the audition survival show that brought us the artists JO1, INI and ME:I, has been available for viewing, free of charge, since March 2026, exclusively on the Lemino streaming service. It will culminate in the debut of a 12-person global boy band with members chosen through voting by Japanese viewers (Kokumin Producers) and, for the first time on the show, global viewers (SEKAI Producers) as well.

One of the biggest differences between this season and the past three seasons is that this is now a global audition. The show accepted applications from everyone, regardless of nationality or birthplace (with the exception of a small number of areas). In addition to attracting trainees from around the world, it is also being streamed globally via the global K-pop content platform Mnet Plus, and votes can also be cast from anywhere. The show’s overall emcee, trainee supporter, and KOKUMIN Producer representative is Dean Fujioka. This season, he is joined for the first time by a SEKAI Producer Representative, Choi Soo-young (from Girl’s Generation). The votes of KOKUMIN Producers from Japan and SEKAI Producers from other countries are counted together to launch a boy band that reflects a more international perspective. There are already plans for the band to make its debut simultaneously in both Korea and Japan.

In each of its past seasons, PRODUCE 101 JAPAN has had 101 trainees. Of these, 11 would go on to become debut members. During the first episode of this new season, though, the show announced that 22 global participants have been added, bringing up the number of participants to 123. Of these, 12 will be chosen to debut. In an unexpected twist, unlike in past seasons, the participants didn’t start as trainees, but as trainee candidates. They found themselves suddenly faced with a level placement test, so there was struggle and drama right out of the gates.

This season has already brought us several standout scenes. Episode 6 presented the first half of “POSITION BATTLE: OPEN ROUND.” After the first round of rankings were announced, the 50 remaining trainees were divided into nine teams to compete in the event. In previous rounds, trainees were able to pick their own fields of expertise, like vocals, dance, or rap. But as Dean Fujioka explained, “Today, the borders between vocals, dance, and rap are gone. We’re in an age of all-rounders, where people aren’t hemmed in by the idea of fixed positions.” This time, the battle used an OPEN ROUND approach. It judged the trainees’ ability to handle self-production, including song arrangement and structure. It was a vivid example of how the updates the show had made to its judging approach in order to produce a global boy band for today’s era.

The nine teams competed, each with their own song, and the two top trainees and the top trainee for each of the nine songs in the group battle were selected as leaders. One particularly dramatic scene unfolded for the team PUNCH LINERS, whose leader, RYUJI (Ryuji Sugiyama), picked INI’s song “DOMINANCE.” O.YUSEI (Yusei Obayashi), who was chosen as the main rapper, was psyched, saying “I’ve rarely taken center stage in my own life, so I’m going to go for it.” After listening to the advice of INI members Rihito Ikezaki, Hiroto Nishi, and Jin Matsuda, he looked fulfilled, but after hearing Y.SHU (Shu Yamashita) rap, he asked for the main rapper position to be switched out, saying “I think he’d be better as a main rapper then me.” His team members encouraged him, saying “You got the center position, now you need to go out there and crush it.” O.YUSEI, feeling disgusted with himself, began crying, saying “It was just so frustrating…” His connection with fellow rapper Y.SHU grew even stronger, and then in the main event, he boldly took the stage, putting on a confident performance as main rapper, turning the tables by being selected as no. 1 in his team through the field voting. Y.SHU came in second place, and it was clear to everyone watching how the bonds between them had grown.

Episode 7 featured the second half of the “POSITION BATTLE: OPEN ROUND” and the announcement of the results. “Nature Self” was chosen through field voting as the team that stood out the most. Nature Self was led by CHISATO (Chisato Kobayashi), who chose the song “Natural” by Imagine Dragons.

During the first part of the practice, RYOTA (Ryota Ishida) and CHISATO divided up the choreography duties, but dance trainer KAITA said he felt there was a lack of teamwork. “Did you two coordinate with each other? I could tell that the choreography was by two separate people. It felt disjointed.” Everyone gathered together, and RYOTA and the other members talked about each other’s strengths. They reaffirmed the importance of teamwork and developed a more powerful sense of solidarity. Elsewhere, YURA (Yura Abe), who had been chosen by unanimous accord as main dancer, looked crestfallen, saying “I just couldn’t get excited about being chosen for center position.” He couldn’t shake off his defeat in the previous group battle. “Being in the center position means being under a huge amount of pressure. Even now, I’ve got mixed emotions about it.” CHISATO tried to gave him a push, saying “I want you to go out there and put all your heart into it. I made your choreography with that in mind,” but YURA’s expression remained clouded. SIYOUNG (Park Siyoung), a member of another team, criticized him, saying “We couldn’t see your facial expressions,” and that just sent YURA spiraling further. Dance trainer Rino Nakasone said “You don’t look like a center. You need to be more honest with yourself. Give it your all.” Tears in his eyes, YURA confessed that “Ever since becoming center, I’ve just kept questioning myself.” Nakasone continued, “The song ’Natural’ is all about not bowing under pressure. Don’t keep it all pent up inside, you’ve got all these people around you can turn to.” After telling him that he needed to embody the message of the song, and advising him to rely on his fellow trainees, the other members all embraced him in a hug. The scene eloquently showed that it’s not just about singing and dancing abilities. You also need to truly understand the music at a deeper level.

In the main event, the whole team put on a powerful and magnificent show. It was like they’d all broken out of their shells, and their performance of “Nature Self” was met with a huge round of applause. The decision to pick them as the standout team was a clear and obvious one. KOTARO (Kotaro Asaka) was chosen no. 1 in the team, with YURA taking the no. 3 position. KOTARO revealed that he’d felt great respect for YURA ever since the first time he went to Korea, and he thanked him. YURA also gave a glimpse of his own personal growth, saying that the experience had given him confidence.

PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SHINSEKAI is the kind of show that gives birth to great scenes like these. One of the highlights of this audition show is that it doesn’t just consist of ranking competitors through voting, but it also helps the trainees grow. Tomorrow, your own vote could be instrumental in the dramatic personal growth of trainees.

–This article by Kaori Komatsu first appeared on Billboard Japan