Ikuta Erina (生田衣梨奈)

Basically just relaying from the other forum and Mister Amp. Ikuta-kaichou is proving to be ambitious and I personally hope all her goals come to fruition

Released today 3/19, Tokyo Chunichi Sports Newspaper has an article featured on new Morning Musume. '24 Leader Ikuta Erina. They said Eripon has 3 manifestos to help Morning Musume take a leap forward :

1. Elimination of the bento lunch box rule (seniors got to choose first)
2. Raising member's individual visibility / awareness
3. Overseas World Tour

full article
https://www.chunichi.../article/870397
https://www.chunichi...ticle/870397/2/

Ikuta Erina (26) of the Hello! Project idol group Morning Musume. '24 became the group's 10th leader last November.

Taking over the baton from her predecessor, Fukumura Mizuki (27), who joined the group in the same year, Ikuta has been with the group for over 4,800 days as of the end of February, breaking the record for the longest tenure in the group's history. In an interview with this newspaper, the new leader, who has become the mainstay of the group, set forth a three-point manifesto for the further growth of the group.

(1) eliminate the bento rule, (2) raise the profile of each individual, and (3) organize a World Tour.

Her nickname is "Eripon" and she uses the hashtag "#Eriponkawaii" on SNS. Combined with her open and honest personality, she seems to be well trusted by her juniors. She supported her predecessor Fukumura, who had been the leader for about 9 years, as a sub-leader and was entrusted with the baton.

"Mizuki told me, 'Eripon will be fine. I think it's okay for you to stay the same.' The 17th gen. members are new members and I am a rookie leader, so there are a lot of things I don't know and can't do, but the members have been very supportive of me saying, 'Here is what you should do.' I feel that I don't have to be so uptight about it as I thought I would be."

Now that she is in a position to lead the group, she is reflecting on the words of her manager that she received immediately after she joined the group.

"He said, 'You were chosen as only four out of 9,000 people (who auditioned), so you have to carry the feelings of 9,000 people on your shoulders.' Even now, I keep that in mind as I go about my activities. As idols, we must never forget that."

Upon assuming the leadership position, she reported to the previous leaders of the group, and they unanimously said, 'Ikuta will be fine.'

"The history of Morning Musume is important, and the atmosphere of the time is also important, but I really felt that it would be great if I could make Morning Musume the wonderful Morning Musume that I want it to be. I can be the kind of person who can properly lead the rope that pulls everyone along. I don't want to be a group that stifles the younger members."

To achieve this, Ikuta's first goal is to "(1) eliminate the bento (boxed lunch) rule. In Morning, it has long been an unspoken agreement that the senior members of the group get to choose their favorite bento box first. I think hierarchical relationships are important, but the order in which people get hungry is not necessarily the order in which seniors get hungry, and sometimes juniors arrive earlier than seniors, so I don't think such rules are necessary. I often say things like, 'Let's get it before the seniors.' I think we have to be flexible and change the flow of things as time goes by."

The next goal is "(2) Raising member's individual visibility / awareness." Although the Morning Musume name has been passed down from generation to generation, unfortunately, the public is not widely aware of how many members the group currently has and who belongs to it. In fact, Ikuta's wish is to make each and every member of Hello! Project's leading group, which is full of unique personalities, better known.

"My first thought was, 'I want all of us to appear in a TV commercial. I hope that the commercials will lead to more fans visiting our live performances and events, and that they will say, 'Let's check out this girl's Instagram.' "

Another dream is "(3) to hold a World Tour." To date, Morning has held solo performances in Taiwan, New York, and other cities in the U.S. They have also performed at events in Thailand and France, but due to the Corona virus, they have not been able to visit their overseas fans for the past five years.

"We all talked about what we wanted to do after Mizuki graduated. We got together in a circle in the kind of rough chit-chat. Then we said, 'We all want to do a world tour together.' I really feel that it would be great if we could make it happen this year."

She has been with the group for more than 5,000 days this year, and now that she has assumed the position of leader, she intends to continue showing her big, gentle back to the younger members until the day comes when she can pass the baton to the next leader with peace of mind.

What is Ikuta's personal ambition that "only I" have not been released to the general public?

Ikuta also has something she wants to accomplish this year. She told the staff at the office, "It's a complaint, and I want to say it out loud," as if she was trying to be heard.

"All of the members up to the 15th gen have published photobooks, but I am the only one whose book has not been released to the general public. Moreover, it is only sold at the Hello Pro Online Shop. The others have been released for general release and are in the bookstores!"

She released a photo book titled "Erina" in 2016 and "if" in 2018, both of which did not appear in bookstores and are said to be rare in a sense.

"Even if though it is not NG to wear a swimsuit, I'm not getting any offers! I would like to publish a third photobook to commemorate my appointment as leader, so I am looking forward to receiving offers from publishers who are willing to release it for general distribution! The shooting location doesn't have to be overseas. I will do my best in Yokohama or Odaiba. My dream is to publish a solo photobook and be interviewed by the media alone for the first time."