Arashi is ending all activities on May 31, 2026, with their final concert at Tokyo Dome that day. The group resumed activities in 2025 after a hiatus that began in 2020.
Sho Sakurai, speaking on the March 16 broadcast of Nippon TV's "news zero," described the opening of Arashi's final tour as the moment the group felt like itself again. The tour, "ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2026 'We are ARASHI'," opened at Sapporo Dome on March 14. Sakurai said it had been about six and a half years since the group last stood directly in front of fans, because the final year before the hiatus was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He described meeting fans at the concert venue as the instant "Arashi began to move as Arashi." He also mentioned spending time with members and staff in the dressing room, eating and drinking alcohol together for the first time in a long while. Sakurai said he saw social media posts showing fans writing messages for Arashi at airports and record stores, and that it moved him. The tour has 12 performances through May 31, continuing in Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Osaka.
On May 29, Spotify published a data retrospective titled "Thank You, Arashi: Looking Back at the Journey with Fans Through Spotify Data." The article highlighted streaming milestones, including the new song "Five"-the group's first release in five and a half years-which hit No. 1 on the Daily Top Songs Japan chart and set a domestic all-time record for first-day streams. Following Arashi's 2025 announcement of their activity end, total streams of their catalog grew more than 50% year-over-year, reaching an all-time high, and continued to exceed 50% growth through March 2026. Nearly half of Arashi's domestic listeners are under 35, while the fastest-growing demographic is listeners aged 55 and older, up nearly 30% year-over-year. The number of first-time Arashi listeners on Spotify in 2025 hit a record high, nearly 400% higher than in 2022, and user-created playlists featuring Arashi songs now exceed 4.5 million. Spotify described Arashi as "truly an artist representing Japan" whose music continues to have an impact beyond their active period.
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The intellectual entertainment group QuizKnock will collaborate with the long-running manga and anime series Bonobono for the latter's 40th anniversary of serialization and 10th anniversary of its TV anime, as well as QuizKnock's own 10th anniversary. Eight QuizKnock members will make guest appearances in the Bonobono TV anime for four consecutive weeks, starting with the August 8 broadcast on Fuji TV at 5:22 a.m. Each member will voice a character designed by anime director Hidenori Yamaguchi based on their personal traits and favorite animals. The characters include Raizawa (Takashi Izawa), Makemo P (P Fukuura), Kawamajiro (Takuya Kawamura), Suggafuro (Shunki Sugai), Yamamori (Yoshiaki Yamamoto), Tsurupen (Shuko Tsurusaki), Takomon (Higashimon), and Takogon (Higashigoto). Alongside the anime appearances, a collaboration video titled "Can a Quiz King Also Guess the Lines from the Manga Bonobono!?" will be released on the QuizKnock to Manabou YouTube channel on June 26 at 7 p.m. In late July, rubber strap merchandise featuring all eight characters alongside Bonobono will go on sale for 1,400 yen each.
Sho Sakurai commented on the opening of Arashi's final tour during the March 16 live broadcast of "news zero" on Nippon TV. The group, which announced it will end all activities on May 31, 2026, resumed group activities in 2025 after a hiatus that began in 2020. Their last concert tour, "ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2026 'We are ARASHI'," opened at Sapporo Dome on March 14. Sakurai said it had been about six and a half years since the group last stood directly in front of fans, because the final year before the hiatus was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He described the moment of meeting fans at the concert venue as the instant "Arashi began to move as Arashi." He also mentioned spending time in the dressing room with members and staff, eating and drinking alcohol together for the first time in a long while. Sakurai said he saw posts on social media showing fans writing messages for Arashi at airports and record stores, and that it moved him. He stated the tour has 12 performances through May 31, and he wants to treasure each one. The tour will continue in Tokyo, Nagoya, Fukuoka, and Osaka.
On May 29, Spotify published a data retrospective titled "Thank You, Arashi: Looking Back at the Journey with Fans Through Spotify Data" ahead of Arashi's final concert on May 31 at Tokyo Dome, which marks the end of their activities. The article highlights the group's streaming milestones, including their new song "Five"-their first release in five and a half years-which hit No. 1 on the Daily Top Songs Japan chart and set a domestic all-time record for first-day streams. Following Arashi's 2025 announcement of their activity end, total streams of their catalog grew more than 50% year-over-year, reaching an all-time high, and continued to exceed 50% growth through March 2026. Spotify noted that nearly half of Arashi's domestic listeners are under 35, while the fastest-growing demographic is listeners aged 55 and older, up nearly 30% year-over-year. The number of first-time Arashi listeners on Spotify in 2025 hit a record high, nearly 400% higher than in 2022, and user-created playlists featuring Arashi songs now exceed 4.5 million. Spotify described Arashi as "truly an artist representing Japan" whose music continues to have an impact beyond their active period.