the stress. Sashihara debuted at the HKT48 Theater as a member of HKT48 Team H on July 5, 2012. Sashihara released her second single, "Ikujinashi Masquerade", on October 17, 2012. The single reached number one on the Oricon Weekly chart, only the third solo single by an AKB48 member ever to do so. In 2013 she assumed the position of HKT48 co-manager and theater manager, while continuing to be a member of HKT48 Team H. Sashihara's promotion was also seen by some as a confirmation of Yasushi Akimoto's wish to grant her a role in the management of the group because of her production skills, something he's been hinting at since as early as 2010. In 2013 she would produce SKE48 member Kaori Matsumura's first solo single "Matsumurabu". Sashihara was given free reins over costume design, lyrics writing, PV direction, as well as choice of music and instrumental arrangement. Sashihara received the most votes in AKB48's annual general election in 2013: with 150,570 votes she beat out Yuko Oshima, who received 136,503 votes. In the wake of her mainstream popularity, on August 11, 2014, Sashihara's first autobiography, "Gyakuten-ryoku ~ Pinchi o Mate ~", was published by Koudansha, selling over 20,000 copies in its first week of release and prompting a number of subsequent reprints. The book was based on a series of interviews with Sashihara, and recollects various periods of her life and career. The book was widely advertised by press as a self-improvement volume, whose reading was recommended to salarymen and OL, as well. In 2015, Sashihara won AKB48's general election with a total of 194,049 votes, returning to the center position. In 2016, Sashihara won AKB48's general election with a total of 243,011 votes. In 2017, Sashihara won AKB48's general election with a total of 246,376 votes. In 2017, she started the audition for voice actress idol competition on April 29. In the same year, she started producing Japanese idol group =LOVE (Equal Love). and that same year became member and theater manager of the newly founded STU48. She resigned from STU48 on November 25 to focus on HKT48. 2017–present On December 15, 2018, she announced her graduation from HKT48. Her concert was then held on April 28th, 2019 titled "Sashihara Rino Graduation Concert ~Sayonara, Sashihara Rino~". On February 12, 2019, she announced her second idol group ≠ME (Not Equal Me), a sister group to =LOVE. AKB48 General