Japanese National Idol Arashi Ends 27-Year Career with 490,000 Attendees at Tokyo Dome

Japan’s national idol group Arashi has concluded 27 years of activity since their Debut in 1999. The group ended its career following the “We Are Arashi” concert held at the Tokyo Dome, which was attended by 490,000 people.

The five-member male group Arashi, who debuted in 1999 under the name meaning “storm,” gained love across all generations through over 20 years of activity. The late 2000s and 2010s marked Arashi’s peak popularity. Especially after the breakup of the popular idol group SMAP in 2016, they solidified their status as the true national group.

Arashi appeared continuously for 12 years starting in 2009 at Japan’s most prestigious year-end music festival, the <Hongbaek Gahapjeon>. In 2019, they performed a celebration concert during Emperor Naruhito’s accession ceremony. The members were active not only in music but also in acting and variety shows. In particular, Jun Matsumoto gained high popularity in Korea through Japanese dramas such as <Hana Yori Dango> and <Kimi wa Pet>.

At a press conference held in 2019 to mark their 20th anniversary, Arashi announced that they would suspend activities starting in 2020. After continuing solo activities, they revealed plans for their final concert tour last May. From March this year, they held a total of 15 concerts across five Japanese cities—Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Sapporo.

During the 3-hour-and-30-minute final performance, the group’s Leader, Satoshi Ohno, thanked his fans by saying, “Our activities end today, but Arashi, created together with you, will continue to live on. I too will carry those precious memories in my heart as I move forward.”

Fans from across the country flocked to see Arashi’s final concert, causing accommodation costs to soar. In March, the railway company JR Kyushu launched a special program that kept special express trains parked at Fukuoka Hakata Station all night so fans could stay there.