A Surprising Addition to BEYOOOOONDS! Who is Hana Kojima? ~Idols are Stronger with a Story, Is Joining at an Older Age a Disadvantage?~

On May 29, 2026, a new member joined BEYOOOOONDS.
She is Hana Kojima, a 22-year-old from Tokyo.

Her joining is quite unusual.
The reason for this is her "past life."

Her past life was as an idol.
However, in Hello! Project, having a past life as an idol is actually quite common, including former Morning Musume/Country Girls member Morito, former ANGERME members Sasaki and Kawamura, current member Tameiwa, and BEYOOOOONDS member Takase who is graduating this year.

So why is this unusual?
It is because she transferred from the major talent agency Stardust Promotion (more precisely, Stardust Promotion Section 3, Star Planet).
Until now, most members who had past lives as idols were from local or underground idol backgrounds.

However, if we look back, there is a precedent with Takako Inaba of Taiyo to Ciscomoon who came from Yoshimoto Kogyo's Osaka Performance Doll.
However, in her case, her activities with Osaka Performance Doll ended in 1996.
There was a certain gap before she resumed activities with Taiyo to Ciscomoon in 1999.

Current member Momohime Kiyono also worked as a backup dancer at Avex Academy and Asobi System, but she did not have a formal debut (though I am not certain as there is no accurate information).

Hana Kojima was active as a member of AMEFURASSHI until March of this year.
She left the agency at the end of March and announced her joining of BEYOOOOONDS on May 29.

This is a transfer with a very short span of time.

The process leading up to her joining was through an introduction by her acquaintance, former Juice=Juice member Karin Miyamoto.
When the group's disbandment was decided, she consulted Karin Miyamoto about her future, and she introduced her to her own agency.

As you can see from the reactions of the current members in the announcement video, they seemed to be acquainted to some extent.
*Some members have co-starred on television programs.

Her age at joining, 22, is not young.
In terms of joining age alone, it is the record following Morning Musume's first leader, Yuko Nakazawa, at 24.
There is an urban legend in Hello! Project about a 25-year-old retirement age, and many members do graduate at 25.

However, BEYOOOOONDS is special; in fact, 4 out of the 9 members excluding Kojima are over 25, which is surprisingly high.
Perhaps due to the impact of activities stopping during the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years, many members in each group are over 25, such as Oda, Nonaka, and Makino from Morning Musume, Danbara from Juice=Juice, and Tanimoto and Ono from Tsubaki Factory.

BEYOOOOONDS in particular has many members who joined or debuted late.
And many members are skilled in a particular talent.
In terms of utilizing her singing ability and the like, BEYOOOOONDS can be said to be the right fit.

Therefore, her age cannot be called a disadvantage.

But the biggest reason why I cannot say it is a disadvantage is the "narrative" she has walked through until now.

She started her activities in 2014.
In other words, she is a veteran of over 10 years.
During that time, she has been a member of numerous groups (mainly 3B junior and AMEFURASSHI).
She has experienced the disbandment of groups twice during that time.

And now this transfer.
To put it bluntly, perhaps she has a personality that doesn't give up easily.
Although the phrasing is poor, I think it is a great compliment for an idol.
Pursuing one's own ideals and chasing them, continuing to seek them until satisfied regardless of others quitting.
This can be said to be a very important element for an idol.
I have even seen idols who reached the Budokan with just that kind of grit.

Her history since 2014 is not just paying her dues.
That is precisely why her "story" will make her shine.

Stories make idols shine.
This often applies to past Hello! Project members as well.
Representative examples are former ANGERME members Rikako Sasaki and Ayano Kawamura.
Rikako Sasaki became depressed due to the earthquake disaster, and her parents, worried about her, made her an idol.
She worked as an idol in Kesennuma, a place that had lost everything, joined S/mileage/ANGERME after being a Hello! Project trainee, moved the Kesennuma city government to hold a concert in Kesennuma, which was her dream, and graduated at the Yokohama Arena, a large venue with over 10,000 people—a great act of filial piety.

Ayano Kawamura worked as a local idol, but she couldn't give up her dream of becoming a Hello! Project member and became a Hello! Project trainee at the very late age of 17.
At that time, even though President Nishiguchi told her there was no guarantee of a debut even if she became a trainee now, she pursued her dream of becoming a Hello! Project member in her idol life, fulfilled it, and finished her entertainment career in Hello! Project.

I have been saying this for a long time, but the two of them have lives that could be made into a morning drama.

Hana Kojima possesses something equivalent to that.
In idol activities, age does not become a disadvantage, but rather a strength in the form of experience.
And the weapon of a story also becomes a strength in getting to know her.

Furthermore, she likely has the knowledge, experience, and skills from Stardust that are different from Hello! Project.
This can also be called a considerable strength.

I look forward to seeing how she will shine within the unconventional group that is BEYOOOOONDS from here on out.