Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Iiwake Maybe

"Iiwake Maybe" is the 13th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on August 26, 2009. It was the first AKB48's single which participating members were chosen by election. The single surprisingly outsold SMAP on its first day, taking the 1st place in the daily chart, but eventually placed 2nd in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart. Their sister groups JKT48, MNL48, AKB48 Team SH, BNK48, and KLP48 made their own version.

Last revised
Jul 19, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
468 w
Citations
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Source
Wikipedia ↗
"Iiwake Maybe"
Regular Edition cover
Single by AKB48
from the album Kamikyokutachi
B-side"Tobenai Agehachō"
ReleasedAugust 26, 2009 (2009-08-26) (Japan)
GenreJ-pop
Length4:09
LabelYou, Be Cool! / King
SongwritersYasushi Akimoto, Shunryū
ProducerYasushi Akimoto
AKB48 singles chronology
"Namida Surprise!"
(2009) 		"Iiwake Maybe"
(2009) 		"River"
(2009)
Music videos
Iiwake Maybe on YouTube
Tobenai Agehachō on YouTube

"Iiwake Maybe" (言い訳Maybe; "An Excuse, Maybe") is the 13th major single by the Japanese idol group AKB48, released on August 26, 2009.1 It was the first AKB48's single which participating members were chosen by election. The single surprisingly outsold SMAP on its first day, taking the 1st place in the daily chart,2 but eventually placed 2nd in the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart.3 Their sister groups JKT48, MNL48, AKB48 Team SH, BNK48, and KLP48 made their own version.

Track listing

The single was released in two versions: Regular Edition (通常盤) (CD+DVD, catalog number KIZM-37/8) and Theater Edition (劇場盤) (CD only, catalog number NMAX-1086).

Regular Edition

CD
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Iiwake Maybe" (言い訳Maybe)Yasushi Akimoto, Shunryū4:09
2."Tobenai Agehachō" (飛べないアゲハチョウ)Yasushi Akimoto, Yoshimasa Inoue3:41
3."Iiwake Maybe (off vocal ver.)"Akimoto, Shunryū 
4."Tobenai Agehachō (off vocal ver.)"Akimoto, Inoue 
Total length:15:49
DVD
No.TitleLength
1."Iiwake Maybe (music video)" (「言い訳Maybe」ビデオクリップ) 
2."Tobenai Agehachō (music video)" (「飛べないアゲハチョウ」ビデオクリップ) 
3."AKB48 General Election documentary" (AKB48総選挙ドキュメント) 

Bonus (First press limited edition only)

  • Handshake event ticket

Theater Edition

CD

See Regular Edition CD

Members

Participating members were chosen by election.4 Top 21 members sang the A-side "Iiwake Maybe". Those, who were voted 22nd to 30th, sang the B-side "Tobenai Agehachō" under the name of Under Girls.

"Iiwake Maybe"

  1. Atsuko Maeda (Team A) (4630 votes)
  2. Yūko Ōshima (Team K) (3345)
  3. Mariko Shinoda (Team A) (2852)
  4. Mayu Watanabe (Team B) (2625)
  5. Minami Takahashi (Team A) (2614)
  6. Haruna Kojima (Team A) (2543)
  7. Tomomi Itano (Team A) (2281)
  8. Amina Satō (Team A) (2117)
  9. Yuki Kashiwagi (Team B) (1920)
  10. Tomomi Kasai (Team K) (1890)
  11. Erena Ono (Team K) (1838)
  12. Sayaka Akimoto (Team K) (1599)
  13. Rie Kitahara (Team A) (1578)
  14. Sae Miyazawa (Team K) (1547)
  15. Yukari Satō (Team A) (1539)
  16. Minami Minegishi (Team A) (1414)
  17. Kazumi Urano (Team B) (1395)
  18. Miho Miyazaki (Team A) (1373)
  19. Jurina Matsui (SKE48) (1371)
  20. Aika Ōta (Team B) (1365)
  21. Asuka Kuramochi (Team K) (1355)

"Tobenai Agehachō"

Under Girls
  1. Rumi Yonezawa (Team B) (1352)
  2. Aki Takajō (Team A) (1322)
  3. Megumi Ohori (Team K) (1316)
  4. Yuka Masuda (Team K) (1247)
  5. Natsumi Hirajima (Team B) (1216)
  6. Rino Sashihara (Team B) (1170)
  7. Haruka Katayama (Team B) (1089)
  8. Rena Matsui (SKE48) (1073)
  9. Natsumi Matsubara (Team K) (1050)

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Japan (Oricon Weekly Singles Chart) 2
Japan Hot 100 (Billboard)5 2
Japan (RIAJ Digital Track Chart) 11

Sales and certifications

Chart Amount
Oricon physical sales 145,776
RIAJ full-length cellphone downloads Platinum (250,000+)
References

References

  1. "KING RECORDS OFFICIAL SITE 言い訳Maybe（マキシ＋DVD複合） 音楽" (in Japanese). King Records. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  2. "止めたAKB48、再開したモー娘。"政権交代"が進むアイドル界の「握手会狂想曲」" (in Japanese). Excite Japan Co., Ltd. 2009-09-19. Archived from the original on 2012-03-19. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  3. 言い訳Maybe/AKB48 (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
  4. ""AKB48選抜総選挙"開票！ トップ当選の前田敦子「AKBに人生捧げる！」" (in Japanese). Oricon Inc. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  5. "AKB48 Chart History (Japan Hot 100)". Billboard.