Teen idol Ami Suzuki is apparently on the verge of making a comeback after disappearing from the J-pop radar more than a year ago.
Various "sports" newspapers and TV shows recently reported that Suzuki has signed a management deal with the powerful Osaka-based production company Yoshimoto Kogyo and that she will be releasing a "sai debut" ("re-debut") single in the near future. According to these reports, the as-yet-untitled single will be produced, like Suzuki's previous material, by Tetsuya Komuro and will be released either by R&C Japan (Yoshimoto's record label) or Avex.
The reports are based on information from unnamed sources. R&C Japan President Takeyasu Hashizume, usually a pretty forthright guy, tells me he has no comment to make on these reports. Avex Chairman Tom Yoda says they're wrong about his label's supposed role in Suzuki's putative comeback. And a Sony spokesman says Suzuki is still signed to that label.