That certainly would not remotely have anything to do with an announcement for a full disbandment of the entire group, a date and venue for their finale, and the date of their last single, all within less than 48 hours of some rando posting a picture. New fiscal year starts April 1st, their contracts were already up at that date, and 3 months is about as much notice as we get for most graduations. They weren't a perennial group and weren't given the fanfare of longer-lasting groups like Berryz or C-ute, and with Ayapan having wanted out since 2019, this all would have been pre-planned long in advance.
Whether or not they were dating, it's a picture from behind without being acknowledged and no indication at all that it wasn't a cap someone made when they realized who it was, and honestly even if you're dating an idol, who tf secretly takes pictures of their gf from that angle when those phones in Japan have a mandatory shutter sound that would let them know immediately anyway. At least the one over a year ago had her charging her phone with some other dude's power bank, and that was never acknowledged even though it was just as obviously her. So long as there's any benefit of the doubt, and there's far more to doubt here than there was for some of the others that were never punished, the agency just doesn't care as much anymore about dating, and neither should any of the relics of the past that still care about "purity" for idols. They've gotta give up the ghost or they're forever going to be disappointed when they learn that their faves are regularly dating behind the scenes.
