We Still Subbing

  I graduated from the University of Kitakyushu this spring. After joining Sakurazaka46 in 2023, I have been commuting to school 1,000 kilometers one way by plane. Balancing my studies with idol activities in Tokyo has been hard, but I was able to overcome it with the mindset of never giving up on doing my best. During high school, there was a period of time where I didn’t feel like doing my best. I quit the brass band, which I’ve been doing as a club activity for three years in middle school, just after one month. It’s a school where everyone is doing their studies and club activities at such a high level, so maybe I couldn’t keep up. I decided to focus on my studies after that, and when the university entrance exam was coming up, I would take the first train at 5 AM and go to school to study alone. I don’t want to feel awkward with my friends because of the exams, so I wouldn’t even tell them about the results of my mock exams. Even if they asked me, I would just say “Maybe I got...

  Note: You can scroll horizontally and vertically to read all the questions and everyone's answers! Raw: celebes186 Translation: celebes186, tmi QC: peezy

  Q You have announced your graduation from the group, but it doesn’t feel real yet… right? Inoue: That’s right, I still haven’t gotten the chance to speak directly with my fans yet (in Meet & Greet), and I think that it will feel more real as I hear many words. Q It might just be a coincidence, but apparently a lot of people graduate from their groups when they are 24 years old. Inoue-san herself is also 24 years old, right? Inoue: Yes. But it’s not like I particularly had it in mind as a time limit, that's just how it naturally ended up for me. But it could be that there’s a part of me that started thinking about this because I’m on the verge of turning 25 years old, since that’s kind of a milestone… I’m saying this as if it’s not me we’re talking about (laughs). Q Right, when someone reaches 25 years old, society generally has the perception that they are a full-fledged adult. Taking that into consideration, I’d like to ask you to talk about your decision to graduate, at lea...

  2020 - 2022 Q When the group was renamed into Sakurazaka46 in 2020, what did you think of, Matsuda-san? Matsuda: I don’t really remember what I thought of… it’s not that I completely have no memory of it, but even now I still don't understand what feelings I was feeling back then. I was sad that Keyakizaka is ending, and I had no idea what will happen with Sakurazaka in the future. The only thing that doesn’t change was to give my all to everything that is happening in front of me, so while I continue to give my best every day, but if you ask me how I was feeling back then, then I don’t understand when I look back to it now, that is how it’s like. It was something that I have never experienced, so I think that a lot of emotions were mixed in. Q What is your earliest memory as Sakurazaka46? Matsuda: I wonder… I remember well how our first activities overlapped with Keyakizaka. Even though we are preparing for Keyakizaka’s Last Live, because we will need to immediately start our ac...

  The drop of the spring rains moves in sync with her movements. The expressions and emotions can only be felt in that moment and place. The presence that was brought out from the friction between her natural radiance and internal conflict. Q: It feels like you just graduated from high school a while ago, but now you are 20 years old. Airi: That’s right~, I have been looking forward to turning 20. A little while ago, I was thinking  “Wow, I won’t be in my teens anymore-” but even when I graduated high school, my way of thinking did not change that much, so I imagine that I will probably enter my twenties the same way - just as usual (※ The interview was conducted before her birthday) Q: In terms of your growth, do you think the experience you have had hosting the radio show “Sakurazaka no Sa” for half a year until last March had a big impact? Airi: Right…. The first broadcast was pretty much a disaster (laughs), but as we did more episodes, I thought, “I talked this much alrea...

  2020 - 2022 Q In an interview last year, you said that you took the group’s renaming into Sakurazaka46 very positively, so were you not feeling anxious at all in that situation when it was still not clear what lies ahead for the group? Yamasaki: No, I did feel that. All the songs included in our debut single are different from one another, and I often discussed with members on which path we should take as a group. So when we were asked “What is Sakurazaka-likeness?” during interviews, we didn’t really know how to answer that. We didn’t know where our differences with Keyakizaka were, so to say, what should we say to be our strengths, there were so many options that it was difficult to sum them all into one. Q After the new year, the group releases its second single “BAN”, and as you start doing group activities in its fullest such as holding the first tour, what were Yamasaki-san thinking in the period? Yamasaki: Generally I did everything with a feeling of enjoyment, but how to ...

TEAM A Q: You guys are the three that can be described as “Soft and Gentle”. Tell us about  your memories from the training camp, the colour of the 4th generation, and also the dreams you each hope to fulfil one day. Inaguma: It’s been a while since it was just the three of us, but it feels so relaxing. It feels like we can be ourselves as fellow 19-year-olds. Yamakawa: Since we also shared the same room, we have so many memories from after our lessons too… right? Meguro: Yes, yes. Whenever I was tired from lessons, I was always saved by both of you and your kindness and unwavering strength. Inaguma: Me too! When I don’t have any confidence and feel down, the two of you would say “That’s not true!”, which encouraged me to do my best until the very end. Q: From the point of view of you three, what kind of “colour” does the 4th generation have as a team? Yamakawa: Everyone’s so gentle and cheerful. But at the same time, deep down, they’ve all got really strong minds too. Meguro: Righ...