OG (Graduated Members) / M-line Club / M-line Music

[Amped]

Wada Ayaka's virtual live digest

[Zunu]

I wasn’t feeling that at first, but there are a few bops in the back half.

[Nayoko-Kihara]

Satoda Mai is heading back to Japan. Her husband is leaving the New York Yankees and returning to play for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
https://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0007103649

[JonCC]

^
*Cough* Country Girls *Cough*

There is a possibility that the group will be revived with new members, but nothing has been decided as of yet.

http://www.helloproject.com/news/11156
Just saying.

[Nayoko-Kihara]

That was one of my first thoughts too.

[Amped]

They probably feel really homesick. Masahiro Tanaka probably misses his favorite idol group, Momoiro Clover Z. It's good thing too because Ishida Ayumi and Sasaki Rikako also support the Rakuten Eagles.

[Celedam]

It might be fun to put that sort of spin on the news, but the reality is his contract with the Yankees ended and no other MLB team wanted to pick him up at his current age and asking price. (Professional sports in the U.S. are really hurting right now, for several reasons.) If he's decided he's made enough money and can afford to play out his remaining years in a basic agreement with his home team, that's fine, but he's not doing it because he misses idols. He and Satoda weren't even living in the U.S. year-round; they returned to Japan during the off-season.

[koregaboku]

Agreed, to an extent.

I don't doubt that there's truth to being homesick but given, as you mentioned, that he's a veteran at this point I'd also guess that there's a list of teams (ie cities) that he'd be willing to play for for (at his asking price or maybe a bit less) and others that he'd need to be paid more to play at.

Meaning, itd likely be more palpable to play for a team in large cities like LA, Seattle, San Francisco, and maybe even San Diego but not for smaller cities.

[Zunu]

I have no idea of his motivations but it's also possible that the pandemic plays a role. That is, he might be willing to accept a smaller salary in return for being back in a relatively safer and less locked-down Japan, and also being able to see his family and friends without having to spend time self-quarantining before every visit.

I have a Japanese friend who works in the entertainment industry behind the camera, and during off season was generally something of a globetrotter, regularly spending several months staying with friends in NY and other places in the US as well as France. And during early February (?) of last year when news was spreading about cases in Japan, I called Tokyo to see how she was making out, I was like "Be safe, Chie-san!" And she was like, "Don't worry about me, you need to worry about yourself!" because she knew what I didn't at the time, that things were already much worse here than there. And since then she's basically been stuck in Japan, but I am quite sure that if her ability to travel is restricted, she prefers being stuck there in view of Mt. Fuji with her aged parents and lifelong friends then stuck in the US. All of which is to say that Tanaka and Satoda might feel the same, especially since unlike Chie-san, they're also isolated by their inability to speak well in English.

[Amped]

It is announced that Murota Mizuki's contract with Upfront was up in December and she has decided to leave Upfront Promotion in order to move on. She would like to restart her future activities when she is ready.
http://www.up-front-promotion.co.jp/inf ... tail/12775