AKB48's Itano Tomomi has announced that she'll be suspending her singing activities for a while.

According to her agency HoriPro, Itano developed a vocal cord nodule and a minor case of Chorditis (or inflammation of the vocal cords). It will take approximately three to four weeks for a full recovery.

On September 4th, Itano made an appearance at AKB48's handshake event in the Nagoya Dome. Though she didn't perform with her group mates, she still participated in the handshake event. Later, Itano blogged, "I'm sorry that I couldn't speak much at the handshake event. I hope I� recover fully soon!"

The following day, she wrote a more formal apology on her blog, which read: "I'm sorry to cause everyone to worry about my throat. In order to recover quickly, I will refrain from using my voice."

Get well soon, Itano!

Source: Sponichi