Mika Saeki, a member of AKB48’s Team B, is graduating from the group next month. The news came during a performance on Tuesday night at their Akihabara theater, followed by a comment posted on their official blog.

In January, Saeki took a break from AKB48 due to a leg injury that required half a year of treatment. That time has now passed, but due to poor health the treatment did not go smoothly. Thinking about her future, she decided to formally graduate in order to focus on her recovery, so that she can return to show business sooner.

Saeki joined AKB48 as a kenkyuusei in May 2007, then debuted two months later along with Reina Fujie. Saeki’s final concert with AKB48 will be the one at Nippon Budokan on August 23. The show will include a graduation “ceremony” for both Saeki and Risa Naruse, who left Team K in May due to a herniated disc.

Source: tokyograph

Nanami Nishikawa (16), a member of AKB48’s “kenkyuusei” (“research students”), has just been dismissed by her agency, AKS. As a result, her departure from the idol group was announced through a post on the AKB48 blog.

Nishikawa’s management explained that she had done something careless, due to her “lack of self-awareness” as an AKB48 research student. Although the exact reason was not mentioned, other sources indicate that Nishikawa had taken a purikura photo with some male fans that was later spread online.

It is not yet known whether Nishikawa has plans to continue in show business outside of AKB48.

Source: tokyograph
Image source: CDJapan

Singer Michiru Hoshino, a former member of AKB48’s Team A, announced during a solo concert on Saturday that she is taking a short break from her music career.

Early on Sunday, she wrote a blog entry titled Thank You, revealing that she has left her management agency, AZ Entertainment. “I want to try hard to start again from scratch,” she wrote.

Hoshino graduated from AKB48 in June 2007 and became a solo artist. This past April, she released her first mini-album, titled Sotsugyou.

Source: tokyograph

Kayo Noro and Megumi Ohori, both from AKB48, have been recently recruited to join AKB48-related “Saturday Night 48″, or SDN48. Noro and Ohori are both over 20 and have been officially part of SDN48 since Friday.

“Saturday Night 48″ was revealed last year as a series of late-night shows being held at AKB48’s theater in Akihabara, geared towards an adult audience. Recruitment has been underway for the SDN48 group, limited to idols at least 20 years of age. So far, the only known participating members of AKB48 are Ohori and Noro. Both will remain active with AKB48.

The SDN48 concerts begin at 10 p.m. on Saturdays starting July 25th.

Source: tokyograph
Album cover source: “>CDJapan

AKB48’s Miho Miyazaki, Tomomi Itano, and Tomomi Kasai, assembled at a promotional event on Friday as Natto Angel. There the group performed Natto Angel. Some of the lyrics from the song included: “Natto is good for your intestines” and “For those who don’t like natto, we’ll be there right away.”

The reason why Miyazaki, Itano, and Kasai united to form Natto Angel is because of their love for natto.

According to tokyograph, the group’s song Natto Punch have already been playing in supermarkets to promote the product. However, it was not clear that the girls from AKB48 were the ones singing the song until last Thursday.

There are no official reports if Natto Punch will be available as a single, yet. However, there is an official Website for Natto Angel.

Sources: Japan Today, tokyograph
Image source: Japan Today

This weekend, members of idol group AKB48 made their European debut at the Japan Expo in Paris, France. On Sunday, multiple news outlets in Japan reported on the performance, saying that this is just the start of AKB48 making a push overseas.

According to the news, AKB48 is planning to perform in New York in September, followed by a concert in Cannes, France, in October. If the information is true, AKB48 will likely be a guest at the New York Anime Festival, which takes place September 25-27. However, no official statement has been made yet by NYAF or AKB48’s management.