AKB48’s Hanada Mei claims management made her shave head, DH denies and explains first-ever termination was for rules violation involving private fan contact

In J-pop mess, now-former AKB48 member Mei Hanada has made headline for shaving her head and claiming management made her do it, then becoming the first member to be fired by the company.

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Backtracking a bit, Mei joined AKB48 as a trainee in March 2024 and only became a full member in December 2025. AKS stated in their official statement that Mei had been repeatedly arriving late to activities when she became a full member, and that she cited health concerns as the reason. She went on hiatus in May, but management discovered that she was meeting with a fan during that time, “During that process, it came to light that she had connections with a specific fan. While she explained that she had only met the individual twice by chance, interviews with relevant parties revealed that she had met this particular fan on multiple occasions. Maintaining connections with specific fans is prohibited within AKB48, as it compromises member safety, fairness among members, and the trust of fans.“

After she expressed that she wanted to return, management says they agreed but she would only talk with them through her lawyer and management didn’t agree with her demand to lift the ban on the fan she was meeting and punishing other members who she claimed was gossiping about her, “She also requested disciplinary action against members whom she claims spoke negatively about her, as well as the lifting of the ban imposed on the specific fan in question. However, these matters fall within management’s discretion and could not be immediately accommodated, preventing us from reaching an agreement. Furthermore, she refused direct communication with us. Her attorney, Takahiro Karasawa, ultimately informed us, ‘She has asked that discussions be declined. After comprehensively considering all of these circumstances, we reached the conclusion that terminating the contract was unavoidable. This marks the first contract termination in AKB48’s history.“

They also explained that while Mei claimed to have been forced to shave her head, they’d never give that instruction. The shaving of the head obviously brought back the infamous Minegishi Minami incident from 2013, though worth noting that was also said to have been done on her own accord.

Meanwhile, Mei posted a video on social media of herself with a shaved head explaining her side of the story.

配信はできないかもしれないので

動画を撮りました。

皆さんに見て頂きたいです。 pic.twitter.com/kourF50I0g

— 花田藍衣 (@mei_hanada) June 23, 2026

In the video, Mei apologizes for meeting a fan and publicly holding hands, and said she was not believed by management when she denied anything further. She says management brought up Minegishi Minami shaving her head and suggested she should do the same to atone, so she went on hiatus while deciding whether to do so, and she ultimately decided to go through with it. She claims management then backtracked on the request, that nobody showed any concern for her, and that as a result she experienced a deterioration in mental health. Mei further claims that she was warned if she went public that she might be sued, but she wanted to reveal it to prevent future members from suffering like her, and concludes by saying she loves AKB48 and never wanted to leave.

In response to the reaction, Mei reiterated on social media that she was asked to shave her head, but takes responsibility for the actions with a fan that led to her termination.

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Let’s start with the obvious that nothing a company does would surprise me, and it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that DH made her do this. That said, as many have pointed out already, it does feel a bit odd that management would ask her to shave her head. Just logically that would create a PR disaster for them, and citing Minami’s case is weird as a reference because they had arguably never gotten more backlash internationally (and domestically from the general public) than in that moment, so it’s hard to see why they would recreate that scenario, or why she was specifically chosen for this despite others in similar situations having had far less harsh punishment.