Minami Minegishi announces her graduation from AKB48!

In a surprising announcement during the AKB48 fourteen year anniversary which took place earlier in the week, Minami Minegishi announced she will be graduating from the 48 system. Minegishi, who had originally joined the 48 system back in 2005, was one of the group’s founding members. Along with fellow members Minami Takahashi and Haruna Kojima, she was in the sub-unit No Sleeves back in 2008. She was also the member who was involved with a scandal back in 2013 which resulted in her demotion and had the idol sub-culture under the microscope ever since.

Minegishi announced she will be holding her graduation concert on April 2, 2020 in the famed Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa. With her graduation from the 48 system, all initial twenty members from the first generation of AKB48 will have departed the group, with Yuki Kashiwagi from the third generation being the last of the originals. We at OTY thank Minegishi for all the hard work she’s done for the industry up until now and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors.