Country Girls will go on hiatus after their concert on December 26 at LINE CUBE SHIBUYA, Tokyo. 

Country Girls formed in 2014 with Satoda Mai as the supervisor. Since summer of 2017, in order to liven up Hello! Project's 20th anniversary, Morito Chisaki and Funaki Musubu have been balancing their activities in two groups, while Yamaki Risa and Ozeki Mai have been limiting their work to after school and long vacations. 

At the beginning of the year, Country Girls talked to the Hello! Project staff about their future activities. Yamaki wanted to end her work in showbiz and seek a new path by finding a job elsewhere. Meanwhile, Ozeki expressed her wishes of challenging herself in showbiz while aiming to continue her education. Similarly, Funaki wanted to separate herself from Hello! Project and test her abilities by studying dance. The agency respected their wishes and decided on Country Girls' hiatus. 

Yamaki will graduate from both Hello! Project and College Cosmos, and ultimately retire from showbiz. Ozeki will graduate from Hello! Project, but will continue her activities in showbiz. Funaki will graduate from both Hello! Project and ANGERME in March of 2020, then take a break from showbiz. Finally, Morito plans to continue her activities in Morning Musume.'19. After the four graduate from Country Girls, the group will search for new members and restart their activities. 

Source & Image: natalie