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Japan Forward
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Forward
Arashi to Hold Final Tour in 2026 Before Disbanding
このページを 日本語 で読む The popular Japanese idol group Arashi announced on X that they will hold a concert tour in the spring of 2026. Following the tour, the group will officially conclude all activities. Here is the full statement. We have something we would like to share with you. It has been about four and a half years since we went on hiatus. During our final year before the hiatus, we were unable to perform in front of all of you due to the impact of COVID-19. To express our heartfelt gratitude directly to the fans who have supported us all this time, the five of us have come together once again to begin preparing for a concert tour planned for next spring as Arashi . At one point, especially after the establishment of our company, Arashi Inc, we considered moving forward with a new structure and new staff. However, after more than 20 years of being supported by the same dedicated team, we realized we wanted to create this final chapter together with them. This tour will mark the official conclusion of our activities as Arashi. About a year and a half ago, the five of us began meeting and talking whenever we had the chance, discussing the possibility of reuniting as Arashi. As the environment surrounding us, as well as our individual circumstances, have changed, it wasn't easy to find a clear answer on how to do this. After much time and many conversations, we arrived at one shared decision: to reunite one more time and perform as Arashi. By doing the things we couldn't during the pandemic, such as directly thanking our fans and performing live, we hope to bring our journey as a five-member group to a close. Once this tour begins, there are no plans for another hiatus. Members of the boy band Arashi. To give priority to current fan club members for concert ticket applications, we are temporarily suspending new fan club registrations. Preparations for the tour are underway with the help of many people, but we are not yet ready to share all the details. As plans are finalized, we will share updates directly with our fans, in our own words. Additionally, with the conclusion of Arashi's activities, the fan club will officially close at the end of May 2026. Until then, we intend to provide as much content as possible for fan club members, and we hope you'll enjoy what we have planned. For those not currently in the fan club, we're preparing to reopen membership registration so you can enjoy upcoming content as well. The next content release for fan club members is scheduled for mid-next month [June]. Once again, the five of us will come together to thank our fans for their continued support by bringing you something very special. Please look forward to it. Arashi — Aiba Masaki, Jun Matsumoto, Kazunari Ninomiya, Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai Arashi is a Japanese boy band formed in 1999 by the former Johnny & Associates (now SMILE-UP.). The group debuted on September 15, 1999, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Over the next two decades, Arashi became one of Japan's most successful and influential pop groups, achieving numerous albums that topped the Oricon charts. The above is an unofficial translation. Subheadings were added by the editorial team. Author: The Sankei Shimbun このページを 日本語 で読む
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
J-Pop Group Arashi to End Activities Next Spring
Tokyo, May 7 (Jiji Press)--Popular Japanese pop group Arashi has announced that it will end its activities after holding a concert tour around next spring. According to the announcement made through the website of the group's paid fan club on Tuesday, the fan club's activities will also be terminated, at the end of May 2026. The five-member male idol group is composed of Masaki Aiba, 42, Jun Matsumoto, 41, Kazunari Ninomiya, 41, Satoshi Ohno, 44, and Sho Sakurai, 43. After its debut in 1999, Arashi released many hit songs, supported by a wide fan base. The group performed in "Kohaku Uta Gassen" (red and white song battle), the iconic year-end music show of Japan Broadcasting Corp., the country's public broadcaster better known as NHK, for 12 years in a row. Despite its popularity, Arashi suspended its activities as a group at the end of 2020 after holding an online concert on New Year's eve, with leader Ohno taking a break from the show business indefinitely. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
