Rio Sakurai: “Moon-Viewing Cream Puffs Remind Me of Last Fall’s Rough Patch” — Hello! Project Fans Look Back

Background and Talking Points on This Topic

During this stretch, Morning Musume。 was carrying a double dose of instability: Rio Kitagawa had her activities restricted following a scandal, while whether Rena Yokoyama could perform stayed unclear right up to the last minute due to health concerns. On top of that, the fall tour overlapped with Rock in Japan and the Shanghai show, reportedly making things physically punishing on the ground as well. In the thread, voices pinning all the chaos on Kitagawa’s absence clashed with those writing it off as her being “selfish,” though there’s also word that Kitagawa herself intended to perform but wasn’t able to join rehearsals — meaning it can’t be boiled down to a simple cause and effect. Speculation also surfaced that Marii Makino’s absence was a “boycott,” but other threads have already confirmed it was due to poor health. Sakurai herself only ever said it was a “rough patch” without naming any specific events, so whether the thread’s guesses actually match what she meant remains unclear.