We are ARASHI — 27 Years with the Storm, and What Comes Next [Part 4]

January 1, 2021. The world turned a new page, but for ARASHI's fans, the morning arrived with something fundamentally missing.

The five men who had been a weekly presence on television screens were gone. There would be no Kōhaku reunion at year's end, no new singles climbing the charts, no Monday-night variety shows to look forward to. ARASHI had "paused," not "ended" — everyone understood this intellectually. But the emotional reality of their absence weighed far more than anyone had anticipated.

In Japan, there is a phrase for this kind of loss: aimai na sōshitsu (曖昧な喪失) — ambiguous loss. The person is not dead, but they are not present. The group is not disbanded, but it is not active. You cannot mourn properly because the object of mourning technically still exists. For three million fan club members, the first months of 2021 were an exercise in navigating this ambiguity.

The rituals of fandom persisted even without their object. Fans continued to stream ARASHI songs on their morning commutes. Wedding planners reported that "Love so sweet" remained the most requested first-dance song in 2021. The group's official Instagram account, frozen at its last post, continued to gain followers — a digital shrine visited by people who needed to confirm that the page still existed, that the name was still there.

The stopped clock hung on the wall. Five men began ticking at different speeds.

Five Paths, Five Lives

Ninomiya Kazunari — The One Who Left the House

Ninomiya took the most structurally radical step of any member. Already married since November 2019 to former news anchor Itō Ayako, he became a father twice — a daughter in March 2021, a second daughter in November 2022. But it was his professional moves that drew the most attention.

In 2021, he launched "Janino Channel" (later renamed "Yonino Channel") on YouTube alongside Yamada Ryōsuke, Kikuchi Fūma, and Nakamaru Yūichi. The channel amassed over 4.5 million subscribers, pioneering a new model of former Johnny's talent engaging directly with audiences outside the traditional agency framework.

Then, in October 2023, Ninomiya departed SMILE-UP. (the renamed Johnny's agency) to establish his own management company, "Office Nino." He was the only ARASHI member to leave the agency structure entirely. Yet this was not a severance from ARASHI — Ninomiya remained a shareholder in ARASHI Inc. and would participate in the Last Tour without hesitation. His independence was personal, not relational.

Sakurai Sho and Aiba Masaki — The Same-Day Wedding

On September 28, 2021, Sakurai Sho and Aiba Masaki announced their marriages on the same day — a first in Johnny's history. Sakurai married a Keio University classmate he had been dating for over a decade; their first child was born in February 2023. Aiba married a woman he had been with for approximately ten years; their son arrived in October 2022.

The synchronicity of the announcement was pure ARASHI — two men who had spent twenty-two years doing everything together, naturally reaching the same life milestone at the same moment. Sakurai continued his role as a Monday news anchor on "NEWS ZERO," while Aiba maintained his presence in variety television. Both quietly filled the void left by the group's absence with the rhythms of ordinary domestic life.

Matsumoto Jun — The Shogun and the Stage

Matsumoto undertook the most visible solo challenge of any member. In 2023, he starred as Tokugawa Ieyasu in NHK's year-long taiga drama "Dō Suru Ieyasu" (What Will You Do, Ieyasu?) — 48 episodes spanning the life of Japan's most famous unifier.

For international readers unfamiliar with taiga dramas: these are Japan's equivalent of a prestige historical miniseries, broadcast every Sunday evening for an entire calendar year. Being cast as the lead is among the highest honors in Japanese acting. The role demands not just talent but endurance — twelve months of near-continuous filming, with the entire nation watching.

The series averaged an 11.2% household rating — modest by taiga standards — but introduced pioneering virtual production techniques previously unseen in Japanese period drama. Critics noted that Matsumoto brought an idol's sense of visual spectacle to a traditionally austere genre. This instinct for production design would prove directly relevant: Matsumoto would serve as the creative producer of ARASHI's Last Tour.

In 2024, he returned to the stage for the first time in thirteen years with NODA MAP's "Seisankaku Kankei" (Equilateral Triangle Relationship), including a London run that was met with warm critical reception. Among the five, Matsumoto remained the only unmarried member — a fact that Japanese tabloids noted with varying degrees of tactfulness.

Ohno Satoshi — The Man Who Disappeared

Ohno did exactly what he said he would do. He vanished.

Reports placed him on Miyako-jima, an island in Okinawa Prefecture, living a life of painting and fishing — the two passions he had pursued long before ARASHI existed. He gave no interviews. He made no public appearances. His social media accounts went dark. For all practical purposes, Ohno Satoshi ceased to exist as a public figure.

For fans, Ohno's absence was both painful and deeply respected. The hashtag that had trended on the day after the hiatus announcement — #大野くんの夏休み (#Ohno-kun's Summer Vacation) — had set the tone. This was not abandonment; it was a vacation that a man had earned through two decades of service. Occasional reports surfaced of locals on Miyako-jima spotting a quiet man fishing at dawn or painting on the beach, but these were treated more as folklore than gossip. The fandom had collectively decided to let Ohno be.

In Part 1 of this series, we described a teenager who turned off his phone for two weeks after being thrust into an idol group he never asked to join. Now, as a man in his forties, he had turned off his public self for years. The parallel was unmistakable — except that this time, nobody was trying to call him back.

Or so it seemed.

November 3, 2021 — The Only Exception

In the years following the hiatus, there was exactly one occasion when ARASHI members appeared together in public.

On November 3, 2021 — ARASHI's debut anniversary — a surprise stage greeting was held at Marunouchi Piccadilly theater for the premiere of "ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5×20 FILM 'Record of Memories.'" Aiba, Matsumoto, Ninomiya, and Sakurai appeared onstage together, stunning the audience.

Ohno was not present. But a letter he had written was read aloud on his behalf.

Matsumoto later explained the reasoning on TBS's "Kin Sma": "It was the premiere of a film shot while ARASHI was still active together. If we let this chance pass, I didn't think we'd get another one." The five had met beforehand to discuss it, and Ohno had agreed: "Sure. I'll write a letter while I'm at it."

Matsumoto also revealed a crucial unspoken rule that had governed the hiatus period: "We made a point of never appearing together as four in public." The purpose was simple — they did not want to give fans false hope of a reunion. This self-imposed restriction is what made the November 3 gathering so remarkable. It was the sole exception to a rule the four had rigorously maintained.

After this day, no combination of ARASHI members would appear together again until May 6, 2025. Three and a half years of pure silence.

The Agency Earthquake and "ARASHI Inc."

While ARASHI maintained their silence, the organization that had defined their careers underwent an existential crisis.

In 2023, the long-suppressed sexual abuse allegations against the late Johnny Kitagawa became a national reckoning. The agency renamed itself "SMILE-UP." and separated its talent management functions into a new entity called "STARTO ENTERTAINMENT." The name "Johnny's" — which had been synonymous with male idol culture in Japan for over half a century — was erased from the industry's vocabulary. For international readers, the closest analogy might be imagining if Disney's talent division were forced to rename itself and restructure from the ground up due to its founder's posthumous disgrace.

In this upheaval, ARASHI charted their own course.

On March 25, 2024, ARASHI Inc. was established — a limited company registered in Shibuya, Tokyo, with capital of ¥5 million. The representative director was attorney Shinomiya Takashi. And the shareholders? All five members — including Ohno Satoshi.

This was the first concrete proof that the man who had disappeared into Okinawa's islands had not severed his connection to ARASHI. He had asked for freedom, and freedom was given. But he had never abandoned the name. The paradox that had defined Ohno's relationship with the group since 1999 — the reluctant leader who was always, somehow, there — found its most powerful expression in a corporate filing.

On April 10, 2024, coinciding with STARTO Entertainment's official launch, ARASHI Inc. was publicly announced. The group signed a "Group Agent Contract" with STARTO — a partnership between equals, not the traditional superior-subordinate dynamic that had characterized the old agency system. This was not merely a business arrangement. It was a declaration of autonomy.

The five issued a joint statement: "We want to exercise greater agency than ever before, make more independent judgments than ever before, and take more independent action than ever before. Above all, we want our fans who support us every day to feel us closer than ever."

The establishment of the company was an unmistakable signal. ARASHI would move. The only questions were when and how — and what "moving" would ultimately mean.

Eighteen Months of Quiet Conversations

Beginning in late 2023 or early 2024, conversations were underway behind closed doors.

Would the group resume activities? If so, in what form? And crucially — what would come after?

Seven years had passed since the Osaka hotel room conversation described in Part 3. Once again, five men sat down to talk — not once, but repeatedly, over the course of approximately eighteen months. No deadlines. No external pressure. Just five people who had known each other for a quarter of a century, working through what might be the most consequential decision of their shared lives.

The conclusion they reached carried a weight that even the 2017 decision had not: "We could not imagine resuming activities only to enter another hiatus afterward."

The logic was as elegant as it was final. If they came back, it could not be temporary. A second hiatus would cheapen the first. It would transform what had been a thoughtful, carefully negotiated pause into a pattern — something cyclical rather than deliberate. The only honest option, if they were to return at all, was to return for the last time.

Not a reunion. A conclusion.

May 6, 2025 — Ohno Satoshi, 1,587 Days Later

At approximately 6:30 PM on May 6, 2025, a video appeared on the ARASHI fan club website.

Five faces. Together.

Ohno Satoshi was showing his face publicly for the first time since December 31, 2020 — approximately 1,587 days of absence. The man who had asked to be free, who had retreated to an island to paint and fish and breathe, was back on a screen, sitting among the four men he had walked beside since he was eighteen years old.

He looked different. Tanned. Relaxed in a way he had rarely appeared during his active years. But the eyes — the quiet, observant eyes that fans had spent decades learning to read — those were unmistakably Ohno. Fans who had not seen his face in over four years reported feeling an almost physical jolt of recognition, as if a part of their own past had suddenly reappeared in the present tense.

The five delivered a joint message whose core passage read: "During the final year before our hiatus, we were unable to perform in front of you due to the impact of COVID-19. In order to directly convey our gratitude to the fans who have supported us, we have gathered again as five and have begun preparations for a concert tour planned for next spring. And with this tour, we will bring our activities as ARASHI to an end."

Not "hiatus." Not "disbandment." "Activity end" — katsudō shūryō (活動終了).

The choice of language was precise. "Disbandment" implies a severing of bonds. "Hiatus" implies a future return. "Activity end" means neither. The name ARASHI will persist. The bonds between five men will endure. But ARASHI as a performing entity — the concerts, the songs, the stages — will cease to exist. It is not a goodbye to each other. It is a goodbye to a shared form.

On social media, "嵐 活動終了" (ARASHI activity end) and "大野くん" (Ohno-kun) immediately trended. In Taiwan, the news was reported as a shock. The fan response mirrored 2019 — deep sadness, but no anger. The trust that ARASHI had built over twenty-six years held firm.

A Quarter-Century Inventory

On November 3, 2024 — their twenty-fifth debut anniversary — ARASHI conducted what amounted to an inventory of their entire creative output. Twelve live concert films from 2003 to 2013 were simultaneously released on Blu-ray. Approximately seventy previously unreleased music videos were published on YouTube. A fan-driven project called "MY BEST ARASHI" invited fans to curate their personal playlists from the group's complete catalog of 423 songs.

Four hundred and twenty-three songs. Each one a vessel for someone's memory — the track that played during a first kiss, the ballad that provided solace during a hospital stay, the upbeat anthem that powered a morning commute for years. A discography is not merely a list of recordings. It is a shared autobiography, written in melody.

The YouTube release of seventy unreleased MVs was particularly significant. For years, ARASHI's music had been among the most tightly controlled catalogs in J-pop — unavailable on most streaming platforms until their 2019 digital debut. Now, previously hidden visual treasures were being offered freely to anyone with an internet connection. It was as if the group were systematically dismantling the walls around their legacy, ensuring that every piece of their history would be accessible long after the final curtain.

On November 22, 2025, a new video arrived in the fan club inbox. Aiba said, "We have an important announcement." Ohno read the tour title and dates. Ninomiya explained ticketing details. Sakurai hinted at live-streaming plans. And finally, Matsumoto Jun spoke — the same Matsumoto Jun who had wept on New Year's Eve five years earlier, who had spent a year becoming Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had produced the group's most ambitious concert productions:

"We would be so happy if you would run alongside us, all the way until the very moment our activities come to an end."

A five-dome farewell tour, and the prayers of millions of fans, had begun to move.

Continued in Part 5: "The Last Storm — 2026: We are ARASHI, Now and Always"

In your country, has an artist or group ever returned after a long silence — not for a comeback, but for a final farewell? What emotions did that "reunion" stir? Tell us in the comments — we'd love to hear your stories of endings that felt like gifts.

References