Rin Okabe graduates AKB48 with a glimpse of her ass

Yesterday we reported on AKB48 alum Mariko Shinoda, who is attempting to recover from her adultery and divorce scandal by playing an adulteress in a TV drama.

Now here’s another AKB48 lady who is on the verge of leaving the supergroup and, in a (desperate?) bid to make a splash as she graduates, has shown fans a flash of her butt.

The slinky 27-year-old is publishing her first photo book and the previews reveal her naked rear — or rather, show Okabe herself deliberately pulling down her bikini bottom to expose her butt.

Okabe will graduate AKB on March 27, with her as-yet-untitled photo book set to come out from Shueisha at the same time. It was shot in Okinawa and the decidedly less exotic location of Ibaraki (because it’s Okabe’s home prefecture).

Known as Berin to her fans, Okabe joined AKB in 2014, making her a real veteran of the group.

Let’s be honest, AKB48 is a shadow of its former self in terms of the fame of its main members. Back when Mariko Shinoda was in the group, at least for the first few years, the major members were everywhere in pop culture, from modeling to gravure to advertising to acting. And when they left, the biggies were guaranteed careers in fashion and entertainment.

More recently, the idols who have left have largely disappeared into oblivion (to be fair, even when AKB and its spin-off groups were at the peak of their cultural influence, there were still loads of members who promptly disappeared without trace upon graduation).

Will showing a bit of her ass mean Rin Okabe can graduate to newer, better things? Well, a bit of nudity has helped to extend Nana Owada’s post-AKB career, to say nothing of Kira Takahashi and Mariya Suzuki.