http://www.time.com/time/musicgoesglobal/asia/mhikaro.html

I guess it is true.

Maybe! Dang she's not gonna need any scholarships or financial aid..!

Thank you for pointing.

I feel terrible when I read this sentence

"Hikaru plans to retire young?as early as 28"

I think she always know what the way she will going.

http://www.asiafinest.com/japanese/utada.htm

Another old source which has some more information about her.

Please don't make your own assumption, its old article and on her announcement she said she taking a break from music and will be back with more mature music UtadaNet News.

Not completely retired for now, yet if she really retired from music let her the one who said it to her fans around the world.

I guess 28 has always been a milestone in her mind all these years

Yes, but there's also something to be said for her decision NOT to fully retire; merely to fade into a bit of obscurity for a while. She has even promised to keep in touch with her fans. I think she's grown a lot since that interview took place and what she was saying then and what she says now is indicative of a very different perspective on life. I would say that the reasons she thought she would be retiring at 28 then and the reasons she's chosen to take a break at 28 now are not the same; the age happens to be convenient and consistent with her past statements, but the motive has changed.

@ swallowtail
surely dark_armed_dragon can assume what he wants to? what he's saying isn't slanderous towards hikaru-sama in any way. i think what he's trying to point out is that hikaru-sama has had this plan floating around in her mind for a while, in one form or another. she's consistent and true to herself.

but i agree with shurikid, the fact that "retirement" has become more like a long break shows that hikaru-sama has developed since the time of these interviews. maybe her view on life has changed, or the way that she relates to other people and to music. i guess we'll never know unless she tells us outright.

i'm glad that hikaru-sama can pursue "human activities" as of next year. she more than deserves it. but now, unlike at the time of the interviews that dark_armed_dragon has shared, she'll be coming back to give us more music. she doesn't have to, but she is. and i think hikaru-sama is a very selfless person for that.

Extracts from The Justin Tedaldi /Jetwit interview from January 2009 (Published May)....Utada?s thoughts...relevant with the pleasure of hindsight....

http://jetwit.com/wordpress/2009/06/08/jq-interview-with-hikaru-utada-by-justin-tedaldi/

Q Tedaldi:
Where does this kind of reserve come from within you? How did you know you?d be able to deal with these things for all this time you?ve been a recording artist?

A Utada:
I guess, growing up, my mother was a very famous singer. I saw her picking jobs, or [having] to take jobs she didn?t want to do, just because of the record company making her do it, or?it just looked sad. It didn?t seem like the ideal environment for an artist, and I could see how frustrated she was and the bad effect it had on her. And then, my father was managing her in her later years as a singer, and he-as my manager-to begin with for my career as well, my father took extra care to make sure that I would have the control over what I want to do and what I don?t want to do, what I think I want to do and what I don?t need to do. And?we?ve had a very good relationship with the record companies and as management on the artist?s side, really. So I think that protection [and] freedom that came from-in the beginning, when I was too young to be aware of that kind of thing, and that?s when artists get caught up with all that, like they sign something that they don?t know what they?re signing, and they have to do all this stuff they didn?t know they had to do, and then they have all these problems with the record company later on because of their first contract and?they keep on changing management companies because they don?t get along well, and all this, but?it was sort of the same feeling and ideas about what the artist wants to do, and fortunately I?ve never had that problem, because my father has been the manager from the beginning.

Q Tedaldi:
What goals do you have in music, in life, anything else, in the future, and how do you want to be remembered?

A Utada:
Goals and?I really don?t have goals [laughs]. I never have goals or plans for the future.

Q Tedaldi:
It?s not a huge thing, basically, for this album to become the greatest thing that?s ever happened to the U.S.?

A Utada:
Well, that would be great if it happened, but it?s not something?I?ll do what I can on my part to try to make this happen for this project but?I think it?s silly to plan ahead-if you don?t know what?s going to happen tomorrow, then that might change everything, so what?s the point of planning? I just don?t have any life planning in me, because everything happened so unexpectedly, and things never happen the way you expect them to, and to me its better that way; I love that about life...................

But I do, eventually, want to take a long break and have kids and play with them for a while, that kind of thing, some time, but I don?t have any specific idea of when or where I want to live, or career-wise, what I want to do in the future?I have no idea.

Q Tedaldi:
And being remembered, is it the same?

A Utada:
Remembered?I?d like being remembered more as an artist than a celebrity, and an intelligent artist with integrity, honesty, an honest artist.

Comments and thoughts welcome ?

http://honolulu.metromix.com/music/article/utadas-a-global-sensation/1710791/content

You've been described as very humble. Do you ever regret being famous?

I used to when I was younger (around 17), because when you're that young and that famous, you get all the cons of being famous and none of the pros. You can't buy a car or a house. You just want a normal high school life. You want to hang out with your friends, but you can't. You want to walk around, but you can't. It's difficult enough at that age to just grow up, and growing up in public can get really awkward sometimes. But I just wanted to live with it, and it's made me a better person in a lot of ways.

What's next for you?

I'll be touring in the United States. After that I'm going to promote the new album a little more, and the single, "Dirty Desire." I might do a cover album, or I might take a break just to get some fresh ideas.