The group opened their own theater on the 4th floor of Jakarta's FX Sudirman shopping mall in early September 2012, where fans can attend daily performances every day except Monday.

[2] On 16 February 2013, JKT48 released its first studio album Heavy Rotation via Hits Records, a division of MNC subsidiary PT Star Media Nusantara.

[5] The country was seen as a potential market for the idol business because of its relatively young population and the popularity of Japanese manga series.

[8] Applicant interviews took place the following weeks, in late September 2011, and the first auditions were held a month after the initial announcement, from 8–9 October 2011.

[12] On 17 December 2011, JKT48 made its first public appearance on the live music program 100% Ampuh on Global TV, performing "Heavy Rotation", with lyrics translated into Indonesian.

[14] The JKT48 management team aimed to accomplish this same principle and began scouting locations in Jakarta for the group's own theater in early 2012.

An unoccupied site in the fX Sudirman shopping mall was selected as the theater's eventual location, and planning for its renovation began in April.

[15] In the meantime, the first theater performances were held 17–20 May 2012 at a temporary stage in the Nyi Ageng Serang Building in Kuningan, Jakarta.

[16] The official theater opened on 8 September 2012 for daily performances with a set list of 16 songs that have been translated into Indonesian.

[18] It also performed alongside AKB48 and other sister groups at the 62nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with a total 210 members onstage.

[24] Additionally, AKB48 members Aki Takajō and Haruka Nakagawa, whose transfers to JKT48 were announced at the Tokyo Dome concert, officially began their activities with the group on 1 November and made their theater debut on 26 December.

Each single featured an Indonesian version of one of four songs: "Heavy Rotation"; "Kimi no Koto ga Suki Dakara"; "Baby!

[28] Members, some of whom had been directly affected by the flooding, later held a charity event in order to raise funds for the city's relief efforts.

[29] The debut album, entitled Heavy Rotation, had a limited release at the JKT48 Theater on 16 February 2013 and went on sale in music stores nationwide on 2 March.

[34] On 24 February 2014, Rina Chikano was transferred from AKB48 to JKT48, with Aki Takajo and Rena Nozawa's concurrent positions being cancelled.

[35] On 26 April 2014, JKT48 finished its first annual senbatsu election, with the 16 ranked members going to appear in JKT48's 6th single, Gingham Check, released on 11 June 2014.

[44] On 21 March 2017, JKT48 general manager Jiro Inao committed suicide by hanging at his house in South Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia.

On 8 April 2018, Melody Nurramdhani Laksani(General Manager of JKT48 Operational Team, and ex-1st Generation of JKT48) announced several important notice at the JKT48 Theatre.

The Single includes Musim Yang Selanjutnya as the song for the Undergirls, with Thalia Ivanka Elizabeth as the Center.

On 30 November 2019, the 1st Original Single Senbatsu Sousenkyo was held at BRP SMESCO Convention Hall, in Jakarta.

On 22 December 2019, the group commenced JKT48 8th Anniversary Concert “ONE” that was held in Tunjungan Plaza Convention Hall, Surabaya.

The objective of this stage is to give a challenge for the new Team KIII members before Ratu Vienny Fitrilya's graduation.

The concert was divided into two sections, Sol: The Anniversary concert and Luna: The graduation ceremony of Beby Chaesara Anadila, Frieska Anastasia Laksani, Nadila Cindi Wantari, Rona Anggreani, and Maria Genoveva Natalia Desy Purnamasari Gunawan.

JKT48V the first virtual group, anime/Vtuber sub-unit that consist of 3 Members: Kanaia Asa, Pia Meraleo, and Tana Nona.

The concert covered the result of the long awaited Sousenkyo, where Feni Fitriyanti declared as the 1st winner and the centre for the upcoming single and Indah Cahya as the Center for the Undergirls.

[12] The group was seen as part of the "Cool Japan" brand adopted by the Japanese government to promote the country's culture around the world.

[70] On 25 February 2012, JKT48 held a joint concert with AKB48 at the Japan Pop Culture Festival at Balai Kartini in Jakarta.

The event was sponsored by the Embassy of Japan, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical hired JKT48 to promote the company's Pocari Sweat beverages one month after the group's first members were announced.

[70] Ezaki Glico also featured the group in its advertisements as part of an effort to grow sales in Indonesia to over Rp1 billion.