Q: Did producer Akimoto Yasushi advise you to cut your hair?

Hirate: No, on the contrary, if Akimoto-san had told me to cut my hair, I probably wouldn’t have cut it. In everything, if it’s not something I agree with, then I won’t do it.

Q: If there's something you don't like, will you say so?

Hirate: Yes. I want to live honestly. If I think I can’t do something, then I’ll say: "I can’t do this."

Q: The Hirate-san who works hard all the time is someone who gives courage to more than one generation. What do you think of this?

Hirate: Ehh… I don’t work that hard (wry smile)

Q: Not only the younger generation, older people also look up to you.

Hirate: Ehh... That stuff doesn’t feel real to me (wry smile).

Q: Do you want to be popular?

Hirate: I don’t have any thoughts like that at all.

Q: Then, do you have no thoughts when you're performing?

Hirate: None. I often get asked: "What kind of feelings do you have when you're performing?" But I don’t know, so I can only say: "None."

Q: In Keyakizaka46, what makes you feel: "This is youth"?

Hirate: I wonder....  But if I think of "something I can only do right now," perhaps Keyakizaka’s activities are my youth. Awesome! I’m having two youths at the same time. (laughs)

Q: You are singing songs about youth, but are there any of Akimoto-san’s lyrics that resonate with you, you who are now right there in the middle of youth?

Hirate: They totally resonate with me. When I first read the lyrics, I think: "How does he know what I'm feeling. Scary!" (laughs). On the School of Lock radio program, it makes me really happy when high school students who hear the program write in that they like the lyrics. They resonate with the teen generation.

Q: It goes beyond teens. The lyrics also get through to adults. (laughs)

Hirate: I’m sure that adults see us as in a rebellious phase and being naughty. But in my opinion, everyone must have had a rebellious phase, and there are a lot of feelings that we share. Like: "I went through that, too."

Q: Do the songs you sing influence how you feel?

Hirate: That happens a lot (wry smile). For example, I was usually dark when we were singing Fukyouwaon. But because Kaze ni Fukaretemo is a happy song, I’m usually happy now.

Q: By the way, you have turned 16. Is there anything that has changed?

Hirate: Being a high school student is a big thing. When I’m doing Keyakizaka46 activities, I often forget that I’m a high school student. But when I hear the bell ring, at the start of the class or at the end of the class, it never fails to make me think: "Ahh. I’m a high school student."