AKB48′s Minami Takahashi Announces Graduation to Coincide with 10th Anniversary of Group
By Jeffrey T. on December 8, 2014 It’s the end of an era as one of AKB48′s founding members looks to depart the group on December 8th, 2015.
Minami Takahashi, general manager and lead singer of AKB48, has announced her plans to depart the group on their tenth anniversary putting an end to her decade long stint with the pop idol phenomenon. AKB48 made their debut at AKB48 Theatre in Akihabara, Tokyo on December 8th, 2005 and have released 36 singles and 5 studio albums since their inception. The group has gone on to break numerous sales records both in Japan and internationally with multiple platinum selling singles and recently breaking barriers as the first female group to sell over 30 Million records.
The bombshell announcement, made during the 9th anniversary celebration at AKB48 Theater, had also named Team K member Yui Yokoyama as successor to the General Manager position for the group.
Minami Takahashi [高橋 みなみ] born April 8, 1991 in Tokyo is a member of the Japanese idol girl group AKB48 under Team A and serves as the General Director of AKB48 and its sister groups.
Her career began on October 2005 when she participated in the first AKB48 audition and beat 7,924 other applicants to be chosen as one of the 24 founding members of the group. According to Tomonobu Togasaki, the manager of the AKB48 Theater, she had two unofficial advantages going for her: her birthday (April 8; 4/8/1991) and her height (148 cm) containing the number “48″. She debuted with Team A on December 8, 2005.
In an interview with Nippon Television in June 2010, AKB48 producer Yasushi Akimoto described her as the “eldest daughter of the 48 sisters†and is a part of the regulation rotation for all the regular AKB48 singles. She is a member of the AKB48 sub-group no3b, along with AKB48 members Haruna Kojima and Minami Minegishi.
Source:
Natalie Japan 
