TOKYO (TR) – Former AKB48 member and television personality Tomomi Itano announced on Wednesday that she is leaving her longtime talent agency, Horipro, to strike out on her own after a 19-year stint.

For more than half her life, while other members came and went, Yuki Kashiwagi has been an effervescent presence of the hugely popular AKB48 group. But she will finally move on to a new stage in life ...