Her 20-page opening feature brings roller skates and a shorter hairstyle to the October 23 issue, alongside photographs and interviews spanning five Morning Musume generations.
Maria Makino returns to Up To Boy for her first cover since graduating from Morning Musume in June. Vol.368, the December 2026 issue, goes on sale on October 23, 2026, with a 20-page opening feature exploring her new start.
Wani Books says this brings Makino’s cumulative cover count to 18 appearances: seven solo and eleven with Morning Musume. The publisher describes that total as the highest in the magazine’s history.
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The finished cover pairs a close portrait in white lace with pale pink lettering. The accompanying photographs move between a smiling, winking swimwear portrait beside blue water, an outdoor shot carrying white roller skates over her shoulder, and a seated portrait in black with a blazer draped over her shoulders.
Roller skating is one of Makino’s current interests, according to the announcement. The released skate photograph shows her carrying the boots rather than skating, while the wider feature incorporates the activity alongside new swimwear photography.
In comments supplied with the release, Makino says she cut her hair as a step forward after her final Morning Musume concert. Returning to the magazine after roughly six months, she reflects on feeling more responsibility for each job, recognizing the support she receives and wanting to give something back to the group and the people around her.
The magazine’s 40th-anniversary lineup connects Morning Musume members and alumni through separate features:
Makino represents the twelfth generation in that connection. These are individual photographic and interview features, rather than a newly photographed five-person reunion. Sayashi’s calendar and Oda’s photobook are separate publications, not books included with the magazine.
The cover also lists Kokoa Kai of STU48, Nana Shiogama of Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora, Rio Nagashima of Nogizaka46, and 22/7. Regular contributors named there include Oda, AKB48’s Narumi Kuranoo, Boku ga Mitakatta Aozora’s Eren Sugiura, and Nogizaka46’s Urumi Morihira.
December is the issue label, not the on-sale month. Publication information is available through the official Up To Boy website.
Cover artwork and all five accompanying editorial photographs: Wani Books / Up To Boy, supplied via PR TIMES.
Source: Wani Books via PR TIMES
Rio Nagashima makes her BOMB debut on the back cover, while Kokoa Kai and Miyu Wada lead the limited edition.
The November 5 debut offers seaside and indoor cover portraits across two editions, with identical contents and separate Seven Net postcard bonuses.
The November 5 debut pairs new 30-page and 20-page features with unpublished selections, plus a choice of regular and limited-cover editions.
