The final tour? Arashi to end activities after 2026 concerts
The five-member male idol group Arashi announced on May 6 that it will end activities with a concert tour to be held next spring.
The unit created by Johnny & Associates Inc. had been on hiatus since the end of 2020.
Arashi released a three-minute video on its website for official fan club members, acknowledging it has been four and a half years since the five members were seen together before revealing that they are preparing for a concert tour scheduled for around next spring.
The J-pop group's activities will end with this tour, as will the official fan club's operations in May 2026.
Satoshi Ono, 44, the group's leader, said in the video: 'After many discussions, we all came to the conclusion that we would get together once again to hold a concert as Arashi and end our activities as a five-member group with the act of expressing our thank you directly to all the fans, which was not possible during the COVID-19 pandemic.'
He added, 'It was unthinkable that we would go into another hiatus after resuming our activities.'
Arashi consists of Ono; Masaki Aiba, 42; Jun Matsumoto, 41; Kazunari Ninomiya, 41; and Sho Sakurai, 43. The group members made their debut with the release of their first CD in 1999.
Their popularity earned them an appearance in the annual nationally televised New Year's Eve music and entertainment show "NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen' for 12 consecutive years starting in 2009.
Each member also took on individual roles, appearing on variety shows as well as in TV dramas and commercials, earning support from audiences of all ages.
On the 20th anniversary of their debut in 2019, the group announced that it would suspend its activities at the end of 2020.
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