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...