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Ogawa Makoto Returns
Submitted 2008-06-07 12:50 PM
5th generation Morning Musume member Ogawa Makoto has finished her studies, and has returned to the Hello! Project after 18 months away.
Ogawa graduated from the group at the end of the "Ribbon no Kishi" musical in November 2006, and went to study English for a year in New Zealand. She returned to Japan in December 2007 after obtaining a TECSOL, a qualification for teaching children English. She left again in February 2008, and obtained a "Test of English for International Communication" (TOEIC), achieving a 730, which is in the second highest rank.
Ogawa will first appear on Morning Musume's show "Haromoni@" on June 8th, and will be part of the Elder Club. She hopes to become a "Maruchi (multi) talent", which can be described as an all-round entertainer.
Official Announcement: Japanese, Auto-translated
Kago Ai Speaks Out
Submitted 2008-04-06 11:35 PM
Former Hello! Project star Kago Ai has given her first interview since having her contract terminated just over a year ago.
In the first in a six part series of videos released by Japanese site ohmynews.co.jp she apologises to her fans, family, and staff for her actions in a prepared statement, then talks about the family problems that led up to them. The other videos will be released on their website one a day until the 12th.
It is said that Kago, now 20 and with a short hairstyle, hopes to return to the entertainment industry as an actress.
Konno Asami returns to Gatas
Submitted 2007-06-18 10:03 PM
Konno Asami will be returning to the Hello! Project futsal team "Gatas Brilhantes H.P." The team will also be releasing its first single, "Narihajimeta Koi no Bell", as a support song for the Dralion circus on August 22.
The former Morning Musume member and star goalkeeper left the Hello! Project last year to enter Keio University, and plans to fit Gatas around her studies. The single release comes in the middle of the University's summer break, and it will be performed for the first time during the Hello! Project's summer concert tour on July 17 in Nagoya.
Through graduations and scandals, Gatas have lost several key members over the last year. The new team for the single has been boosted by the addition of several Hello! Project Eggs, and is now said to have the following line-up:
Yoshizawa Hitomi, Ishikawa Rika, Satoda Mai, Korenaga Miki, Konno Asami, Noto Arisa, Mano Erina, Sengoku Minami, Sawada Yuri, Mutou Mika.
Kago Ai makes the first step in her return
Submitted 2007-02-23 02:20 AM
Just over a year after being suspended for smoking while underage, Kago Ai has given an interview to Friday magazine - the very same magazine that broke the original story and published the infamous smoking pictures.
Kago, looking in great shape and much thinner then in previous years, is shown out walking around, and then sitting down to talk to the reporter and pose for pictures.
She is said to have decided to take control of her life and wants to return to singing, moving back to the Tokyo area away from her family to live on her own, and work in the offices of UFA (the agency responsible for Hello! Project members) while they decide on her future. There had been minimal contact with other members while she was away, and many didn't immediately recognise her with her new look when she appeared backstage at the recent concert in Yokohama. Full scans in the comments.
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