NMB48’s Yoshida Akari announced that she is graduating

NMB48’s Yoshida Akari, a first gen member announced that on her birthday at NMB48 Theater, at the end of a live stream of Akarin’s Room on YouTube that she is graduating from the group.

A popular beauty YouTuber with over 804,000 subscribers, Yoshida made the announcement on her official channel.

Yoshida said, “I have something to tell the fans and all the members who are watching.  I, Yoshida Akari will graduate from NMB48.  NMB48 will celebrate its 10th anniversary in October and I have been active as a first generation student and since I am heading into my 10th anniversary as an idol, it’s a major milestone, so I decided to make a graduation announcement.  What I want to do for the future, I decided now.  With so many reliable juniors, I thought now I would take a chance and so I decided to graduate.  I auditioned for NMB48 when I was 14 years old.  I didn’t know what an idol was at first and I’m not a good idol and I would quit in three years.  But my activities at NMB48 changed quickly everyday and I became absorbed with NMB48 and ten years had passed and I didn’t realize it.  It was all about my youth which taught me important things.  I will take a new step today at the age of 24, so people will say that I am not longing to be an idol but longing to be a woman.  I would like to tell the junior members that the remaining time is important.  Do the best you can do for NMB48 until the end and that NMB48 is a place where you can take your first step to your dream properly”.