With the recent news about AKB48 member Oku Manami graduating, another member of the AKB family has decided to step down. 10th generation research student, Kanazawa Yuuki, has decided to leave the group. Although she isn�t a full-fledged member of AKB48, it�s still a sad day for AKB fans.

Kanazawa left a message for her fans:

"I have requested to be excused from the AKB48 research students due to personal reasons, so as of February 20th it will be going into effect.

I�m sorry for this abrupt announcement, but Kanazawa has also thought long and hard about other possibilities before arriving at this conclusion.

And since I thought hard about this, I hope you all respect my decision.

I�m looking forward to the day when I can meet you all on this stage again."

Source: AKB48 Official Blog