Weekly Shincho apparently has posted pictures (see right) of a Goto Maki sighting. As most H!P fans know, Goto Maki surprised her fans at the final concert of her tour by announcing it would be her last H!P concert and she was graduating. Goto Maki around the same time was inadvertently connected to a scandal because of her brother who was caught stealing cables. While one magazine cited Goto’s leaving due to the scandal, it was later revealed that she already had intentions of leaving due to creative differences. It seemed that Goto and H!P did not agree on the direction her career was going, so when time came to renew her contract, she chose not to stay with H!P. While still signed as an UFA talent, Goto has been inactive (probably taking a very well deserved vacation) and it is rumored that she is going to let her UFA contract run its course. After it expires, many hope she will move to another label (most are rooting for avex, I have mixed feelings about that) and restart her career there.
In the pictures shown, it’s obvious that Maki is a smoker, and apparently this fact is well known. Being over 20, it’s not a big deal at all, neither is it a scandal. I’m just happy to see that she’s freaking ALIVE. Goto has been pretty MIA in everything, and I think it’s probably best that way. Seeing that she got sick over the summer of 2007 due to be overworked, I’m glad she’s still resting and just taking it easy. While I hope she will get signed again, I think as long as she is happy, I’ll be okay with that. If I’m going to root for a label, I don’t know if I’d go with the obvious choice of avex. While the label is one of the biggest in Japan, I can see Goto being suffocated there in competition and forced to do be an obedient lapdog as she might have been with H!P. I would love to see a company like Sony or Toshiba pick her up, but again, as long as Goto is happy, I’ll be okay with where ever she goes. I hope Goto sightings don’t continue to be so far and few in between, and that the next time we see her, it will be for a new single release. Note that Goto’s scandal with her brother obviously had little effect on her marketing, since SanDisk still has her face posted on their website for advertisements.
Source: Hello-Online Forums
