On October 7th, Johnny & Associates Inc. announced that two NEWS members, Yamashita Tomohisa and Nishikido Ryo,  withdrew from the group on the same day.  Yamashita will pursue his solo activities, and Nishikido will focus on his activities in Kanjani∞. Consequently, NEWS will continue their activities with four members: Koyama Keiichiro, Kato Shigeaki, Masuda Takahisa, and Tegoshi Yuya.

Yamashita commented, “It will be a challenge all on my own from now on. There may be inconvenient or hard things which I have never felt before, however, I would like to strive in every project with the precious experiences that I received with NEWS.”

Koyama, who will stay in NEWS, expressed positively, “Although we will be going on different paths, the four members of NEWS will continue the legacy of the eight years we walked together.”

Nishikido, who belonged to both Kanjani∞ and NEWS, revealed that the reason behind his withdrawal was that his schedule adjustments for both groups didn’t work well. He said, “Please continue to support this new NEWS with Koyama, Kato, Masuda, and Tegoshi.”

Source: Sponichi Annex

[ Thanks to everyone who sent in their tip! ]