NO3B is a Japanese idol unit and AKB48 sub-unit formed in September 2008 by Haruna Kojima, Minami Takahashi, and Minami Minegishi, all from AKB48’s Team A. Produced by Yasushi Akimoto, it became AKB48’s first permanent sub-unit. The group name comes from No Sleeves (ノースリーブス), and the act is commonly abbreviated as no3b. no3b worked in the J-pop field, was associated with Epic Records Japan, and used no3b.net as its official site.
The trio debuted on November 26, 2008. Its first album, ノースリーブス, was released on January 1, 2011 and reached No. 1 on the Oricon weekly chart. Outside its AKB48 activities, no3b also recorded theme songs: “Relax” was used as the opening song for the drama Ikemen Idol (メルドル), and “Answer” served as the ending theme for Beelzebub.
After the 9th single “キリギリス人” in 2013, no3b stopped releasing CDs, but the group did not officially disband. It continued through radio activity and later reunited for select live appearances, including anniversary performances in 2018 and 2023, as well as appearances after all three members had graduated from AKB48 in 2021.
