On July 5th, former AKB48 member Sashihara Rino performed with the Fukuoka-based 48 group HKT48 for the very first time during the Team H song "Te wo Tsunaginagara".

As we previously reported on tokyohive, producer Akimoto Yasushi stated early in the morning on June 16th that Sashihara would be switching from AKB48 to HKT48 to give the idol a fresh new start after her scandal. About twenty days after the shocking news, Sashihara has finally made her debut on HKT48's stage as part of Team H with the song "Te wo Tsunaginagara". According to insiders, the idol has been getting lessons on performing the song every day since her announcement.

When the curtains were raised and Sashihara appeared on stage, a huge round of cheers swelled throughout the audience. After singing "Te wo Tsunaginagara", Sashihara went on to perform the rest of the setlist that day with a huge smile on her face, including the unit song "Glory days" for a total of thirteen different songs.

Once the first four songs were over, member Kodama Haruka greeted the crowd with a message. "It's been decided that from today forward, Ms. Sashihara Rino will be joining Team H, and that we'll go on with our activities as seventeen members!" she exclaimed. Sashihara also made a short comment to the crowd, earning her a warm applause from the audience welcoming her into the group.

It has also been decided that Sashihara will be appearing as a regular on both "Shichousha Sanka Kata Jouhou Live 'Tamariba'" (beginning July 11th) and "Asa Desu. KBC" (beginning July 12th).

Check out more pictures of her first performance with HKT48 below!

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Source + Images: natalie