It was announced today that w-inds. member Ryuichi Ogata officially withdrew from the group on May 31st.
In a message on the group's official website, it was stated that Ogata has been feeling an immense amount of pressure and anxiety in recent years, and after
going to a medical institution he was diagnosed with a psychosomatic illness. It was revealed that he asked to leave the group and end his contract with Rising Production himself because he wants to reassess his physical and mental state. While his departure
comes just before w-inds.' 20th anniversary, after numerous discussions, the group's members and their staff agreed to respect his decision.
The group's remaining members Keita Tachibana and Ryohei Chiba intend to continue activities together as w-inds..
In an individual comment, Ogata thanked the fans for their 19 years of support, stating that he can't make any promises about what form it will be in, but that he hopes they'll be able to meet again when he's in a healthier state. He mentioned
that the pride he feels about his many years as a member of w-inds. will help to push him forwards, and that he hopes that the fans will continue to support the group he has loved so much in the future.
The video for w-inds.' January
single DoU can be viewed below.
