[caption id="attachment_187105" align="aligncenter" width="280" caption="Oba Mina of Team 4"][/caption]

On November 12th, former AKB48 Team 4 captain Oba Mina (19) made an appearance at AKB48's handshake event, where it was announced that she would be making a comeback in January.

Oba had been suspended from her activities since September 2nd after her old blog entries revealed that she had a boyfriend and had consumed alcohol.

Oba was invited by AKB48 manager Togasaki Tomonobu to attend this event. Tearing up, she commented, "Everyone, I'm very sorry for causing you to worry because of the problem I created."

She continued, "I ran away from reality by asking for a suspension. I'm very sorry for that also. I realized how much I depended on AKB48. I felt that AKB48 meant everything to me. Honestly, I thought about quitting, but I really wanted to come back. At this point, I want to ask everyone something. It's not for me to say, but I have something I want to ask everyone here. Next year, please let me resume my activities as a member of Team 4. Please, I ask of you."

As Oba bowed deeply, the fans warmly accepted her request with a round of applause.

With manager Togasaki approving of this decision as well, Oba will officially return to her activities as AKB48.

Source: Nikkan Sports