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The story
On 5channel’s Hello! Project board, a thread sprang up over the graduation announcement of Hashisako Suzu (20), a member of Hello! Project. The agency’s official statement calls it a “graduation,” but the announcement drew a huge reaction — racking up over 10,000 likes in just 5 hours — and the thread saw a string of comments comparing it to the recent graduations of Takase Kurumi and Akiyama Mao, calling it “essentially getting forced out.” Some posts pointed to the venue’s seat count and ticket sales as evidence of her lack of popularity, and with no clear facts about whether the graduation was her own choice or the agency’s decision, speculation spread. Others noted that members of the 26th generation have been graduating one after another.
What people said
Ayacho said so herself
Everyone besides Juice=Juice is unpopular though
And letting that happen is on the agency
Well, Fukumura was top-tier popular among all Hello! Project members right up until her graduation, so that's different
No idea about Ikuta though
They probably overrecruited trainees and now it's backfiring
There are 19 of them now
The agency is just stupid and trash
So does that mean they're waiting on one more?
That's not really true
January 30
Likes: 11K Reposts: 7,623
Notice Regarding Akiyama Mao's Graduation
March 3
Likes: 8,779 Reposts: 4,653
Notice Regarding Hashisako Suzu's Graduation
5 hours ago
Likes: 11K Reposts: 5,956
By that logic Takase Kurumi was fired too
【Sold Out → Sold Out】Matsumoto (2025)
【Not sold out → Sold Out】Hashisako
So she's about as unpopular as Matsumoto, right?
Right there
If it were a graduation on good terms, they'd be all "let's give it our all at the last bar event"
So Hassako (Hashisako's nickname) got tapped on the shoulder too…
After suddenly being 'tapped on the shoulder' by the agency, she took a 4-day break from her blog — something she'd never missed even once before — just to process her feelings
https://ameblo.jp/angerme-ss-shin/entry-12853206086.html?frm=theme
Lots of firings from the 26th generation
Kawamura, Yokoyama, and Hashisako all got the tap
Yumeha said she wanted to be a "solo idol,"
but the agency shot her down saying that's not possible here, and cut her
Isn't it Kero?
She's the one posting the most heartbroken comments
https://kizuna.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/morningcoffee/1788438033/
Compare that to Hashida, who's the same age, and you can see the difference
Hashida's got real drive
She's landed a ton of Lotte gigs too (the confectionery brand)
Background and Key Points of This Topic
In Hello! Project, member graduations are usually announced gradually, months in advance — so when a departure is announced with barely any lead time, as in this case, it’s easy for it to be read as a “forced-out” situation. Because the agency (Up-Front) doesn’t officially explain the reasons behind individual graduations, there’s no way for outsiders to confirm whether a departure reflects the member’s own wishes or the agency’s decision. The “venue turnout” and “ticket sell-out status” cited in the thread are commonly used by fans as rough gauges of popularity, but no official link between those metrics and the graduation has ever been shown — it remains speculation. Likewise, the claim that “the number of trainees is increasing” can’t be verified with confidence, since the details of the group’s internal structure aren’t public. The loaded word “fired” tends to take on a life of its own, but the official announcement is, after all, a “graduation” — and the possibility that it was a mutually agreed departure can’t be ruled out.
*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Hello! Project board) thread “Hello! Project’s Reign of Terror Kicks Off With the “Firing” of Hashisako Suzu (20) lolololol“.
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