Tackey & Tsubasa officially disband

Johnny’s Jimusho music duo, Takizawa Hideaki and Imai Tsubasa have officially disbanded after 16 years together.

Takizawa (36) is looked upon as the successor for Kitagawa Johnny, will be retiring and focusing on training talent and producing, while Imai Tsubasa (36) is recovering from Meniere’s Disease.

The group suspended activities as a duo since September of last year.  Both released a joint statement asking fans to please understand their decision.

These past few years have been difficult for Imai as he started to have sudden deafness in his right ear and after performing in stage in October 2014, he had difficulties getting up due to dizziness. Nearly a week later, he was diagnosed with Meniere’s Disease.

Meniere’s Disease is a disorder of the inner ear that causes people to feel as if they are spinning (Vertigo), fluctuating hearing loss (and can lead to permanent loss of hearing), rning in the ear (tinnitus) and pressure in one’s ear (typically affecting only one ear).

As Imai has been dealing with dizziness recently, a recent doctor’s examination diagnosed Imai’s symptom as a recurrence of symptoms from Meniere’s Disease.

Imai announced in March that he will stop all entertainment activity to concentrate on receiving treatment.

Tackey & Tsubasa debuted in 2002.

---