Idol duo Tackey & Tsubasa—consisting of Hideaki Takizawa and Tsubasa Imai—have announced a hiatus, citing “differences in the direction of activities as a unit“.

Announced just before the 15th anniversary of their debut on September 11, 2002 with their debut album “Hatachi“, the two came to this conclusion after a thorough discussion over time.

In a statement, their agency apologized for the sudden announcement right before the duo’s anniversary, and said the reason the decision was made is due to the two being unable to perform together over the past few years due to Imai’s inner ear problem. As a result, they started discussing how to approach the future, and about a year ago, they finally came to the conclusion to focus on solo activities for the time being.

With this break, they hope to focus on their individual talents and build upon their skill sets for when they reunite again. The duration is unknown, though they want to reinforce this is not a dissolution.

Their hiatus will begin after filming their performance for TV Asahi’s “MUSIC STATION Ultra FES 2017” scheduled to be broadcast live on September 17.

Takizawa and Imai joined Johnny’s Jimusho on the same day in 1995. When the agency’s president Johnny Kitagawa had the idea of pushing Takizawa as a soloist, he asked to debut with Imai, creating Tackey & Tsubasa. Since 2002, the two have released 16 singles, 5 original albums and 2 mini albums together.

(via Yahoo, Tip: Cherry)