Rena Tanaka and Akane Haga Got Their Driver’s Licenses Together at Driving School — 5ch: ‘That’s Way Too Much Information (lol)’

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The story

It’s come to light that former Morning Musume。’ member Rena Tanaka, while working to get her driver’s license for her child’s sake, invited Akane Haga — who had also been wanting to get licensed — to join her, and the two attended driving school together to earn their licenses. On 5ch’s Hello! Project board, some posters expressed surprise that the two kept in touch privately, while others hailed Tanaka as a “genius” for passing the written exam on the first try every time, and still others jokingly dismissed the fuss over “just” getting a license. The thread eventually drifted into speculation about what kind of cars the two might drive, along with stories about other former members who’d struggled to pass their own driving tests.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 22:53
@
Rena Tanaka got her driver's license!! And apparently she went to driving school together with Akane Haga-chan and got licensed together with her!! #Reina100Percent
@
3AnonymousSep 12, 2026 22:54
Surprised they keep in touch outside of work too
4AnonymousSep 12, 2026 22:56
Fuku-chan said 'an acquaintance of mine got her license so I want to get mine too' — figured it had something to do with Akanechin after all
8AnonymousSep 12, 2026 22:58
Oh right, Haga completely retired from showbiz, didn't she…
23AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:04
Re: #8
Bet Haga's fans are gutted… so much regret…
32AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:10
Re: #8
Yokoyama too…
9AnonymousSep 12, 2026 22:59
Murota got caught out at the dentist, and now it's the driving school too?
10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 22:59
So the story is Rena Tanaka got her driver's license for her kid's sake, and when she heard a rumor that Akanechin wanted one too, she texted her on LINE — got a sparkly✨ 'I want to go!' reply back, and they ended up going to driving school together 😂
I always figured Akanechin looked up to her a lot, but seeing Reina enjoy hanging out with Akanechin too is just too wholesome 😂
9:38 PM · Sep 12, 2026
11AnonymousSep 12, 2026 22:59
Feels like there've been members who failed over and over, so Reina must really be naturally smart
13AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:01
Re: #11
She just got a driver's license and now she's 'smart'? lol
18AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:03
So that means some of Reina's outing photos might've actually had Akanechin in them too
Never thought they hung out privately
19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:04
Seems like she'd drive a black N-BOX Custom (a popular Honda kei car)
34AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:11
Re: #19
Bet she'd have some pink fluffy thing sitting in it
20AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:04
When you think she barely attended school properly since middle school, and plenty of people fail the test, passing on the first try means she's not dumb
21AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:04
Not like all the delinquent types are driving around unlicensed either
22AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:04
Can't get to Costco without a car, after all
24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:06
Maro said Hello! Project members are good at memorizing things fast
25AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:07
Re: #1
That's way too much information lol

Sayu got her license too but it ended up a "paper license" she never used — but Reina actually got hers!

So she's still in touch with Akanechin, aka Akane-chan?
And they went together, too

Never failed the written test once, Reina's a genius
Meanwhile I failed the final written exam six times
26AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:08
Going to LoVendoЯ (lit. "Lavender") concerts for real, huh lol
28AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:08
Still, it's nice enough that a currently active OG (a graduate still in showbiz) even brought up her name
Even with a no-face-reveal rule at the concert, she's still in photos together with her

Her face probably hasn't changed that much anyway lol
29AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:09
There was a post saying 'Rena Tanaka seems like she'd drive an Alphard,' and she replied something like 'Is that supposed to be an insult? Alphards are cool though'
30AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:10
Feels like Akanechin would drive a Land Cruiser or something
31AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:10
I'd freak out if Reina and Akanechin were at the driving school I go to
33AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:10
Akanechin needs to get a large special vehicle license for the family business
36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:12
Super-thick steering wheel cover
Fake fur on the dashboard
Hemp-scented air freshener
40AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:13
It was Kamei who liked Ayumi Hamasaki
42AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:16
I get the image that Hagachin would drive a 4WD pickup truck, like a Toyota Hilux or Mitsubishi Triton.
47AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:18
Re: #42
Toyota Hilux
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/2026_Toyota_Hilux_Z.jpg

Mitsubishi Triton
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Mitsubishi_TRITON_GSR_%283DF-LC2T-JLPRD%29.jpg
51AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:19
Necchin (Akanechin) seems like a Mazda person
55AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:20
Re: #51
Actually a Mitsubishi would suit her more
59AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:21
Re: #51
Ichioka was the one who wanted a Mazda
66AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:22
Is a regular license good up to 4 tons? Is that still the case?
69AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:23
Re: #66
Akanechin's lightweight, though
77AnonymousSep 12, 2026 23:25
Re: #66
The current regular license covers up to a GVW of 3.5t (gross vehicle weight of 3.5 tons).

Background and Key Points of This Topic

Akane Haga retired from the entertainment industry several years ago, and this episode was revealed not as a sign of a comeback, but simply as a glimpse into her private friendship with Rena Tanaka. On the license topic, posters pointed out that the current regular license caps gross vehicle weight at 3.5 tons — a threshold that has been progressively lowered from what used to be 8 tons, then 5 tons, a detail that may be unfamiliar to readers unfamiliar with Japan’s driving-school system. Rather than a sharp divide, the thread’s split in opinion came down to some posters hailing Tanaka’s flawless first-try pass of the written exam as proof she’s a “genius,” while others teased that people were making too big a deal out of “just” getting a license. From there, as posters traded story after story about former members who’d struggled with their own driving tests, the conversation drifted away from the license itself and into a round of Hello! Project inside jokes.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Rena Tanaka and Akane Haga go to driving school together and get their licenses together! The driving instructor turns out to be a LoVendoЯ fan wwwwwwwww“.

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