It's the end of an era for many J-Pop fans: Niigaki Risa has announced that she'll be graduating from Morning Musume and Hello! Project.

The idol, who joined Morning Musume as a 5th generation member back in 2001, became the leader of the group after Takahashi Ai graduated earlier this year. Niigaki must have felt that her time was coming to an end as well, for on January 2nd, she announced that she'll be moving on after Morning Musume's 2012 Spring concert tour.

Stay tuned for more updates on Niigaki Risa's graduation.

Source: Hello! Project official website