Japan’s Current Top Male Idol Group Arashi Announces End of Group Promotions in 2020
At the end, and still classy and united as always. Japan’s top boy idol group Arashi announced today that they are officially ending active group promotions at the end of 2020, leaving over a year remaining on their tenure as a group entity and leaving on such a high note it’s hard to remember an ending/pause as thoughtfully done as this. The group debuted in 1999 as the younger brother group to mega popular SMAP and since then has carved out their own identity and in some ways even surpassed SMAP, which disbanded three years ago in 2016.
Arashi consisted of leader Ohno Satoshi, Mastumoto Jun, Aiba Masaki, Ninomiya Kazunari, and Sakurai Sho, with each having fame as actor, host, and variety star beyond being part of Arashi. It was leader Ohno who is reported behind the disbandment having confessed a desire to live a normal life, and his four group brothers have decided it makes sense to end the group rather than continue as a four-some. Fans across Asia are teary and paying tribute to this ground breaking 20-year successful group, as am I. Arashi has been there during my entire teen to adulthood, thank you boys for being so consistently amazing.
Never got into J-pop, but I imagine how their fans feel is how I am going to feel if Shinhwa ever decides to stop promoting as a group permanently. Been a fan of them for 20 years since I first got into kpop.
Never really became their fan but I knew them because of Matsujun during Hanadan days and because TVXQ has been compared to them before. And even though I’m not a fan, I’ve got some soft spot to them since there was a time my world stops when I listened to their song MY GIRL. I have that on repeat for so many times during its release, the beat and the meaning has really got me into that song that I did bothered to get to know a bit each of the members, lol. Anyways, their announcement came as a shock but their action of doing needs to be lauded. I have never seen a group done this before. If only TV5XQ done this before their split…hehe Thank you guys, for being honest!
Can’t imagine how difficult it is for fans to accept this. When you’re into a group for so long, this is the kind of news that you despise the most.
btw OP, its HIATUS, not disbandment. The members clearly said it during the presscon. It may sound the same but they mean differently. Your rubbing more salt on the wounds of their fans.
They are probably using the term hiatus because it leaves the option of coming back and wouldn’t cause a riot among their fans but I wouldn’t be surprised that they are done with the idol part of their career fromhere on our. I mean most if not all of them are in their mid-thirties. They probably want to settle down and focus on their acting and variety careers from this point on but a disbandment is too extreme since they are still friends in real life.
But let’s be real most groups that go on hiatus for the reasons they are going on hiatus it usually means they aren’t coming back. The guys have given a good 20+ years of being a top idol and it’s not like they are leaving entertainment so why is it rubbing salt on the wound?
my thought as well. you go gurl!
Lol exactly. This site is full of untrue information with the blogger purposely using certain words for clickbait.
They will go on hiatus at the END of 2020, which gives them about two years left of being active. This is a hiatus, not the end.
Good luck guys and thanks for the glorious ride.?
They didn’t disband, though. Not ending group promotion, but halting promotion. Ohno needs time for himself and the other members respect him. If one wants to take a break, then all of them will do it, because Arashi is five.
Arashi will always be my ultimate bias even though I don’t follow them closely anymore.
Their hiatus as a group doesnt mean an end to their individual activities so I hope to see more of them in the future, as well as one or two members together in shows or dramas hopefully since I’m not sure about their 5-member variety shows.
I can imagine it is a dilemma for fans. One part of them are most likely sad about the halt of group activities while another part of them are wishing the members the best in doing what they want to do. I really liked their show VS Arashi so I’ll miss them. I admire them as artists too. Being an united and close group for 20 years isn’t easy. The friendship between them are the best I have seen among boybands while for girls it is S.H.E.
Omg they are not disbanding. They are all still Arashi they can still get together in a couple of years to promote. This is just ending active promotions as they have been doing so for 20 years without a break. They deserve the break. They deserve to have normal lives and focus on their loved ones.
Even thoiugh they call it a hiatus I wouldn’t be surprised if they call it quits. I think the break was was mainly because Ohno’s heart just wasn’t there anymore, I guess he wants to have a more normal life basically I guess enjoy a lot of fishing. (and possibly as some speculated get married)
This also might give a chance to the others to maybe get married, Nino is dating a announcer? Matsujun it seems is hooking up with a AV actress. Don’t know if Aiba has a rumored gf.
I’m gonna miss Arashi so much but I respect their decision. I’m glad they’re still united even till the end.
Your article is flawed. It’s not ending but suspending indefinitely group promotions. In other words, an indefinite hiatus with Sakurai Sho conforming in last night’s News Zero, where he’s one of the Monday newscasters, that a comeback is very possible. But largely that would depend on Ohno since he’s the one who wanted to step back from the industry and live his life freely. The fandom is generally accepting and supportive of them with the hashtag “Ohno-kun’s summer vacation” and “Arashi fans will make Arashi happy” trending. Lastly, gosh, it’s not one year to go but two years since it’s at the end of 2020. And even now that they haven’t started their hiatus, everyone’s talking about their return already and how this impacts Japan’s Entertainment and other related economy with s projected loss of 100 billion yen a year or over 900 million dollars. A bit of research would have been nice.
It’s not a disbandment. And they don’t call each other brothers. This is Jpop, not Kpop ???????????????
Your site and you have always been notorious for inaccuracies. It seems for the sake of hits, you don’t even bother to check your facts. Maybe you should fact-check first before posting as a service to your readers, after all, they are the ones that bring you the hits and the Google earnings. That’s the courtesy that your readers deserve.
Holy crap, it’s been a while since I’ve posted to this site but when did the commenters get so mean? I don’t see what the problem with is with Koala’s article. Indefinite hiatus=ending activities after 2020. It was Ohno himself who said he wanted to end his participation. You guys act like Koala has no respect for the group when she’s clearly a fan.
Anywho…2020 will be an end of an era. First SMAP, now Arashi. Thank you Arashi for giving us almost 2 years to prepare for the “end”. I wish all the members the best and I hope someday they get back together for a reunion
I am not exactly sure why all of these arashi fans are so pressed. Koala stated that they are ending group promotions in 2020, that is true. A hiatus is still ending promotions. This may be a pause, but it also might actually be an ending. Only time will tell. Not sure why a lot of commenters are attacking Koala.
No she reported that they are ending promotions AND disbanding (clearly written up there) and that they have one year left when it’s closer to two.
People are calling her out because she does this all the time. I can’t even count how many times I’ve read her articles and found wrong information.