On March 27th, Risako Sugaya (28) of Berryz Kobo announced that she will be leaving her agency of 20 years, Upfront Create. The exclusive management contract is scheduled to be terminated at the end of March 2023.
In March 2018 Risako gave birth to her first child and followed by her second child in September 2020. In her official statement on the Upfront Create official website she said “From now on, I want to take a different path and give priority to my family. After I stopped working, I got married, gave birth to two children, and my environment changed. When I thought about what I wanted to do in the future, I decided I wanted to challenge things at my own pace on a different path. With the help of my family, I’m going to move forward little by little.”
Since the disbandment of Berryz Kobo in 2015, Risako has also retired from activities in the entertainment industry.