Furucharge: An idol unit born from a gas station

The formation of a three-member idol group from a gas station, "Full Charge," was announced on August 29th. The National Federation of Petroleum Commercial Associations (Zenkokuren) and the 47 Prefectural Petroleum Associations are proposing a "Full Tank + Kerosene Plus One Can Campaign" (Full Tank Campaign) for consumers nationwide to fill up their car's fuel gauge when it's about halfway empty and to stock up on an extra can of kerosene for heating, in order to ensure peace of mind in the event of a disaster. As a new initiative in this campaign, the industry's first idol group from a gas station has been born. They will communicate the importance of fuel stockpiles through song and dance. The song "Full Charge," supervised by the music group Soulife, will be released at 10:00 AM on September 1st, along with an educational video.

In recent years, natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons, and sudden downpours have become frequent, and fuel shortages have become a serious problem in affected areas. In the event of a power outage or heating outage, stockpiling gasoline and kerosene can be a lifeline to save lives. A survey conducted last year showed that young people have low awareness of disaster prevention, and it is difficult to reach them through traditional public relations activities. To coincide with Disaster Prevention Day on September 1st, the industry's first original awareness-raising idol unit, "Furucharge," was born.

Zenseki Ren, the official character of the "Full Tank Movement," is the unit leader, handling main vocals and rap. The cool, artisan-like Michishima Botan handles dance, and soothing idol Touyu Hitoka handles sub-vocals. "Full Charge" is a memorable song with the repeated refrain of "Full-full-full charge!", combining pop and rap to emphasize the importance of disaster prevention.

On the official X account (@mantanundo), each character will ask disaster prevention quizzes related to the "Mantan Movement." Ten people who answer correctly will be chosen by lottery each week to receive original goods such as original clear files, character acrylic stands, and original stickers.

Videos in which each character from "Furucharge" explains disaster prevention knowledge are also released from time to time. Disaster prevention columns are being updated on the "Mantan Movement" website.

Information on event participation was also announced. They will be exhibiting at the National Disaster Prevention Team Niigata (Niigata) on September 6th and 7th, the Doushin Disaster Prevention Exhibition (Hokkaido) on September 27th and 28th, the Shonan Beach FM offline event (Kanagawa) on September 28th, the RSK Radio Festival (Okayama) on October 5th, the Kinki Prefecture Joint Disaster Prevention Drill (Nara) on October 26th, the Union Festival (Tokyo) on October 29th and 30th, Sonaeru Fukushima (Fukushima) on November 8th, the Aichi Disaster Prevention Festa (Aichi) on November Getsuku, the Ehime Matsuyama Industry Festival (Ehime) on November 15th and 16th, and Tokyo Disaster Prevention Days 2026 (Tokyo) on March 8th, 2026.