Kanazawa Tomoko to Graduate Juice=Juice & Hello!Project on November 24th @ Yokohama Arena

[Shoujo Q]

Tomoko is graduating due to her ongoing health issues.

Her graduation concert will be held during Juice=Juice Concert 2021 ~ FAMILIA ~ at Yokohama Arena.

Official announcement.


Google translate gave me the following so correct me if I'm wrong.

H!P plans to release a Juice=Juice single in December; Tomoko will participate in some way.
Also she will be absent from the rest of the Autumn H!P tour so she can concentrate on the Juice=Juice concert?
Activities are subject to change depending on her health.

After graduation she will rest and reevaluate her activities and concentrate on solo work.

[JonCC]

Another health-related graduation.
Girls just can't catch a break.
Hope this is the last one for a good while.
--------------------------------

On a related note: I have the impression that the scope of the H!P new member audition may have widened a bit with all these unexpected openings popping up.

[Tobo_Junny135]

Not gonna lie, I had my suspicions when Kaede posted on her blog (brokenly translated by Facebook… it’s 50/50) about “until the end” with a photo of her Kenshuusei mates, I initially thought either she just announced her graduation too or someone else in this group is leaving… and I guess that someone is Kanazawa. Honestly it sucks that it happens to be both Maachan and Kanazawa because both of them individually had bounced back before on a previous health concern.

Hopefully she can bounce back from this too after her graduation. I dare say she could go to M-Line and become a soloist like Karin did.

[Shabranikuduu]

Damn. That sucks. I hate that her health is forcing her to graduate, but I hope that this will help her in the long run by reducing stress. I wish her all the best in her future endeavours, hopefully under M-Line.

[Amped]

fix title, Yokohama, not Yokoyama

~~~~~

statement

Upfront rep

Thank you for supporting Juice=Juice and Hello! Project.
Kanazawa Tomoko will graduate from Juice=Juice and Hello! Project at Juice=Juice's solo concert "Juice=Juice Concert 2021 ~FAMILIA~" at Yokohama Arena on November 24th, 2021.
We apologize for the sudden announcement.

Since the middle of September, she has been suffering from endometriosis and her condition is still not stable. The doctor has diagnosed that it is better for her to take a break from her activities and concentrate on her treatment for her future.

We have come to the conclusion that Kanazawa's graduation performance will be her solo concert at Yokohama Arena on November 24, respecting her wish to graduate at Juice=Juice's concert, considering the improvement of her condition as the top priority.

And in consideration of her physical condition for the graduation performance, she will be absent from all the Team Moon performances of "Hello! Project 2021 Autumn Zoku Kachou Fuugetsu".
Other activities before graduation will be determined based on her physical condition.

She started her career as a founding member of Juice=Juice in 2013 and has always given her all since then. It was not her intention to graduate, but we will support her so that she can graduate without any regrets.

She is thinking of going solo after graduation, but can't make that decision at this point, so she'll make a decision after her symptoms improve and settled down.

We would like to apologize again to everyone involved and to her fans for any inconvenience this may cause.

In December, we are planning to release a Juice=Juice single with Kanazawa taking part in it.

I would like to ask for your continued support for Kanazawa Tomoko and Juice=Juice.

Kanazawa Tomoko

Thank you for your warm support.

I, Kanazawa Tomoko, will graduate from Juice=Juice and Hello! Project at "Juice=Juice Concert 2021 ~FAMILIA~", held at Yokohama Arena on November 24th.

I am truly sorry to have surprised you all with this sudden announcement.

Since mid-September, I have been suffering from endometriosis, which has made it difficult for me to be active and stable.

Although I'm the leader of the group and the oldest member of Hello! Project, I feel frustrated that I've caused so much worry and trouble to the members, staff, and fans, and in the midst of this, my doctor told me that I should take a break from my activities and concentrate on my treatment for the future, and I started to think about graduating.

Juice=Juice is a special treasure for me that I wouldn't trade for anything else.
I have and will always love Juice=Juice.

Leaving Juice= Juice, which I love so much, is one of the biggest decisions I've ever had to make.

But because I love it so much, I felt that I absolutely did not want to continue my activities half-heartedly, so I decided to graduate.

I wasn't originally planning on graduating at this time, but it was my own decision and I have no choice but to look forward to it so that I can finish without regrets.

And because I have a strong desire to end the concert with a solo Juice=Juice concert, I have decided to skip all the subsequent performances of "Hello! Project 2021 Autumn Zoku Kachou Fuugetsu" and make preparations for the Yokohama Arena performance.

I apologize to everyone who has been looking forward to this.

I am very happy and proud to have been able to work as Kanazawa Tomoko of Juice=Juice for more than 8 years since its formation.

I will do my best to do what I can do now, carefully and to the best of my ability, until I graduate, with gratitude for all the people who have been involved.

After graduation, I will focus on resting my body so that I can maintain a stable state of health.

After that, I would like to be able to work as a solo artist, but I will have to think carefully about my health before I make a decision.

I hope you will be kind enough to watch over me.

Thank you for your continued support.

http://www.helloproject.com/news/13628/

[Pyo-kiyo]

To be honest... when J=J announced their Yokohama Arena concert, my first reaction was "Is Tomoko also graduating?" (with Masaki's graduation announced on the same day), and now this comes...

Glad that she'll still be featured in the next single even though it will come later on... but maybe we'll at least get the MVs before then - like when Tsubaki now releases theirs one month in advance.

[Jessi]

I knew this was coming. I figured she was giving space for Sato Masaki's announcement and then would shortly be announcing hers as well. Health issues are the worst, but the girls need to take care of themselves. She is an older member of H!P though so at least it doesn't feel like she was forced to graduate too early. Hopefully we will see her again in something more low key.

[Zunu]

NooooOOO!

Although the age difference between her and newer members has her close to Nakazawa Yuko territory, so I guess it's about time anyway.

[koregaboku]

This one is more shocking than Masaki's.

I feel like the writing was on the wall for Masaki whereas Tomoko had indicated for awhile that she would graduate when she was good and ready, mythical 25-age limit be damned.

I'm sad for her but glad shes getting to leave on relatively her own terms (unlike Aika. Aika not getting a proper graduation still hurts me).

[Moh]

Ugh I might actually cry about this one. Endometriosis is a bitch. I feel terrible for her.