Tomohisa Yamashita(山下智久), Ryo Nishikido(錦戸亮) leaving NEWS

Johnny's Jimusho(ジャニーズ事務所) announced on Friday that NEWS members Tomohisa Yamashita(山下智久)(26) and Ryo Nishikido(錦戸亮) (26) have both left the group. Yamashita will be focusing on his solo career, while Nishikido will focus on his activities with Kanjani8. The remaining members – Keiichiro Koyama(小山慶一郎) (27), Shigeaki Kato (加藤成亮) (24), Takahisa Masuda (増田貴久) (25), and Yuya Tegoshi (手越祐也) (23) – will continue as a 4-person group.

NEWS originally made their debut in 2003 as a 9-member group. Takahiro Moriuchi (森田貴寛) left shortly after that, and members Hiroki Uchi(内博貴) and Hironori Kusano(草野博紀) were later forced to leave the group after it was revealed that they were guilty of underage drinking.

NEWS Dome Party 2010 Live! Live! Live! DVD! [Regular Edition]

Yamashita made his solo CD debut in 2006, and he completed an international solo tour in 2010.

Nishikido has been a member of Kanjani8 since 2002.

Source: tokyograph.com