Several IZ*ONE fans from Korea start petition to prevent Miyawaki Sakura and Yabuki Nako from performing on HKT48's 8th Anniversary

It was announced yesterday that Miyawaki Sakura and Yabuki Nako would be taking part in HKT48’s 8th Anniversary event at Tokyo Dome on December 15th. While many HKT48 fans celebrated online, as the event was to be seen as a proper sendoff for both Miyawaki and Yabuki, the opposite was happening in Korea.

Numerous fans started sharing a petition on Twitter directed to their Korean agency (note: IZ*ONE is both managed by Off the Record and AKS) to stop the two from performing.

We reported that after the September 24th HKT48 event, that the group would be focusing on IZ*ONE, with an obligation to take part to promote AKB48’s latest single “NO WAY MAN” which the J-Line members of IZ*ONE are the centers and fans were fine that the group would collaborate with AKB48 as IZ*ONE will be appearing on FNS on December 5th.

But with the HKT48 announcement, fans in Korea started to distribute a petition on social media which states:

Their participation in the HKT48 concert completely contradicts the September 24 announcement guaranteeing IZ*ONE’s full-time activities. At the time, the agency’s announcement stated that the single album released on November 28 would be their last activities as AKB48 Group. With the information at hand, the concert is an AKB Group activity that is irrelevant to the promotions for the single.

This act has betrayed the trust of all IZ*ONE fans, including WIZ*ONE (IZ*ONE fandom), and it is an act that is incompatible to the guarantee of IZ*ONE’s full-time activities. If they allow these kinds of plural promotions, then Off The Record is nullifying their own promise, and we will not be able to trust any of the guarantees for full-time IZ*ONE activities in the future.

Translation source

Naver in Korea chimed in as saying that while HKT48 fans maybe happy, it’s a sensitive topic in Korea for group members to promote with another group.

But it’s important to also note that while this could be an elaborate plan made by anti’s to hijack IZ*ONE’s popularity by trying to make something bigger than it is. Also, because of the nature of the group showcasing AKB48G members, which there was an existing political issue made by anti’s who accuse AKB48 as being a right-wing group and have tried their best to derail IZ*ONE from appearing on music shows, this could be another desperate attempt.

But whatever the case may be, these are valid concerns as it was reported that the J-Line would be focusing on strictly IZ*ONE activities for 2.5 years away from AKB48G and there are fans who feel that if they can do this now, what if they keep doing this in the future?

It’s no doubt a sticky situation that we can understand both sides.

UPDATE: Korean IZ*ONE fans who are supportive of the two performing at the HKT48 event are now being retweeted on Twitter.