Arashi, J-pop mega group, to disband after final tour, prompting outpouring from fans
Group who debuted in 1999 to reunite after 5-year hiatus for one last tour in 2026 after which they’ll disband; members are in their 40s now
J-pop mega group Arashi, wildly popular in Japan and elsewhere in Asia, say they will end their activities as a band following a final tour next year.
After debuting in 1999, the five-member boy band rocketed to stardom with their catchy, chart-topping music to become the face of Japan’s now-defunct boy-band empire Johnny and Associates, before going on a hiatus in 2020.
Fans have since been anxiously awaiting news of their return to the spotlight, and on May 6, the group said in a bittersweet announcement that they would perform once again next spring – but that it would be their final act.
“In the last year before our hiatus, we couldn’t perform in front of you due to the pandemic”, Arashi’s official X account said. “The five of us will now reunite.”
It said the idols, now in their forties, would start preparing for a concert tour scheduled for around spring next year, “and that tour will end our activity as Arashi”.
Social media was soon inundated with outpourings of gratitude and lamentation. The prospect of the group’s disbandment dominated Japanese news programmes for much of May 7.
“Their dissolution is immensely sad and my brain can’t quite process the information yet, but thank you so much for creating one last opportunity for us to see you all”, one fan wrote on X.
Even Japan’s top government spokesman offered a tribute, describing Arashi as the “national idol group that has commanded a big presence with their numerous hit songs”.
“They have also taken on the role of promoting Japanese cultures overseas, and collaborated multiple times with the Japanese government to this end”, Yoshimasa Hayashi said.
Arashi’s former talent agency Johnny and Associates admitted in 2023 that its founder and music mogul Johnny Kitagawa – who died aged 87 in 2019 – had for decades sexually molested teenage boys and young men under his tutelage.
