Yasushi Akimoto Gives His Thought On Atsuko Maeda’s Graduation

Tommy Kono March 26, 2012

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Following the announcement of the Graduation of Atsuko Maeda from AKB48 on 25th Mar, Yasushi Akimoto, the chief producer of the group, wrote his thought on the issue on his google+ page.

“Atsuko Maeda announced her graduation. I was consulted by her for several times before on this. Of course I tried to persuade her, but in the end I think it’s her to decide her way. We talked if there was an appropriate time to speak about this to fans, it must be on the final day of this concert. Given the whole configuration of the program, it may be after the song “What can I do for someone?” was performed. When I saw her put her hand onto her chest, I thought she was going to announce.”

“Maeda is a stoic person. She don’t want to do things half-heartedly. She is always solitary. She often feels frustrated with herself, and it causes misunderstanding from people around her. She also feel painful when people care about her, because she knows it’s all because of her fault. I think she was scared what would happen if she continued to be in this comfortable zone, AKB48, I guess she thought she would be more and more selfish. Personally I think that’s why she wanted to choose a whole new, more difficult path.”

“Actually I knew this personality of her from the beginning, and that was the biggest reason I chose her as the Ace of AKB48. So I feel I was responsible for her struggle, and I really want her to do what she wants to do.”

“We haven’t decided anything yet, but for now, I want to celebrate her graduation with all her fans. Yoku Ganbattane, Otukaresama (You really worked hard, good job, good luck)”