J-Pop Girl Group NMB48 Announces Farewell Concert For Its Captain, Asia Tour

J-pop girl group NMB48 announced a few concerts and a tour scheduled for this fall, including the farewell concert for its "graduating" member Sayaka Yamamoto.

Yamamoto has been the captain of the Osaka-based AKB48 sister group since its inception in 2010. When exactly she'll be leaving the group is yet to be announced, but her graduation concert will be held Oct. 27 at the Expo '70 Commemorative Park in Osaka.

The special concert will be the girl group's largest show ever and also its first in an outdoor venue. Yamamoto, affectionately called Saya-ne ("Big Sister Saya") by her fans, said she hopes that it will be a fun-filled event rather than a teary one.

"It'll be NMB48's first outdoor concert, so I'm sure we'll have an incredible view," she said. "It'll be my final big concert with everyone, and I'm hoping the show will be the culmination of our work so far and be lots of fun instead of being all sad."
 
Leading up to the graduation concert, NMB48's 8th-anniversary shows will be held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba on Oct. 2 and at Osaka-jo Hall on Oct. 17. The concert in Chiba, near Tokyo, will also be a first for the group, because the girls have never performed an anniversary concert outside of western Japan before.

NMB48 also announced a second tour of Asia this fall, following its successful trek through the region last year. Dates and locations will be announced later.