Wada Ayaka has announced that she will be graduating from ANGERME and Hello! Project.

The announcement was done through a lengthy blog post from Ayaka herself.

According to her, she’s had talks with a variety of staff members about her decision to graduate. Both parties decided that 2019 would be the year she would graduate since it marks her 10th anniversary as part of S/mileage, now ANGERME.

However, Ayaka has mentioned that she will not be retiring from show business. She hopes to continue dancing and singing, but in a way that goes beyond the definition of an idol. She also commented that she wishes to perform well into her 30s.

She will graduate on the final date of ANGERME’s 2019 spring tour.

Wada has been part of Hello! Project since 2004 when she joined Hello! Pro Egg. She joined Shugo Chara Egg in 2008 and later she joined S/mileage in 2009 along with Maeda Yuuka, Fukuda Kanon, and Ogawa Saki. The group changed their name to ANGERME in 2014. Ayaka became the leader of Hello! Project on December 31, 2016.

Normally graduation announcements are sad occasions for fans. However, Ayaka’s decision to leave has been received quite well by many. In fact, most fans praise her run as a member of H!P and how she led ANGERME for a decade, which is no small feat.

It also helps that her graduation is set for next year and that she reassured fans that she plans on being active in dancing and singing. But, overall she has had a quite lengthy run in the idol world and honestly many expected her to announce her decision to leave soon enough.

Fukumura Mizuki is set to be the next Hello! Project leader. But for now, we can all agree that Wada Ayaka has left her mark on Hello! Project. Best of luck Ayaka, and we hope you have an amazing last year with H!P!

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Wada Ayaka Blog | Barks.jp