NMB48′s Shimada Rena to halt activities until end of yearhttp://www.tokyograph.com/news/nmb48s-shimada-rena-to-halt-activities-until-end-of-year/ (http://www.tokyograph.com/news/nmb48s-shimada-rena-to-halt-activities-until-end-of-year/)
Idol group NMB48 announced on Friday that member Shimada Rena (18) will be suspending her entertainment activities for the rest of the year. This includes withdrawing from the AKB48 “senbatsu janken tournament” for their 24th single that will be held on September 20th.
Last month, a photograph of Shimada with her boyfriend was discovered on the internet. Although the photo was taken last year, before she joined NMB48 as a 2nd generation member, it caused a lot of talk among fans. At the time, her management recognized that it was a past photo and chose not to take any action against Shimada.
Since then, Shimada herself has been having concerns about whether she should still be allowed to continue performing with NMB48 under the current circumstances. As a result, it is said that she requested a self-suspension of her activities for the rest of 2011. NMB48′s management office accepted her request.
Shimada will still participate in NMB48′s special handshake event in Tokyo on September 3rd, but her suspension will go into effect immediately after that.