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AKB48 Team A's Nakamata Shiori has announced that she will be graduating from the group.
This was announced by Nakamata herself during a stage performance on September 9th. She explained, "I entered the group about 3 and a half years ago. After experiencing various jobs such as performances, handshake events, radio, and television, I found what I really want to do, my dream. I am thinking about graduating AKB48 in order to prepare myself and make that dream come true."
Nakamata will part ways with the group after a stage performance on September 15th and a handshake event on the 23rd.
Nakamata entered AKB48 as a 10th generation kenkyuusei in 2010. She was promoted as an official member in 2011 and have been a part of Team A since November of last year.
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The article doesn't mention it but when Nakamata was an AKB trainee she was accepted to study Political Economics at Waseda U, one of the top universities in Japan. It impressed management so much she was promoted to a full member. But because she's busy studying she doesn't get as much push as other members. I believe she'll have a bright future regardless of whether she's in entertainment or education.
