Arashi: The Life Story Behind Japan's Biggest Group

In Japan, there is a group that is more than a pop group. Arashi is a part of daily life, like the weather or the changing seasons. For more than twenty years, their songs played on the radio, their faces were on television every week, their concerts filled the biggest stadiums in the country, and their fans, young and old, sang along to every word. They were five young men who became the biggest group in Japan, and they did it not by being the loudest or the flashiest, but by being warm, funny, hardworking, and always together. Their story is the story of a friendship that became a career, and of a career that became a piece of Japanese culture.

The group was formed in 1999 by Johnny & Associates, the talent agency that created many of Japan’s most famous boy bands. Its five members were Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. They were teenagers, they were talented, and they were very different from each other. Ohno was the quiet leader and a gifted dancer. Sakurai was the smart one, a rapper and later a newsreader. Aiba was the cheerful one, always smiling. Ninomiya was the sharp, funny actor. Matsumoto was the cool, handsome star of television dramas. Together, they were Arashi, a name that means “storm” in Japanese, and like a storm, they swept across Japan and changed everything.

Their story has a beginning, a long middle, and an ending that is still being written. They debuted in Hawaii in 1999, they struggled for years before their big breakthrough, they became the biggest group in Japan in the late 2000s, they filled stadiums for a decade, and then, in 2021, they stopped, taking a break that their fans had never expected. In 2025, they announced that they would return for one final tour in 2026 and then bring the group to a close. That is a long story, and it is a story about five boys who grew up together, in front of the whole country, and who stayed together for more than a quarter of a century.

Five Boys, One Name, and a Debut in Hawaii

Arashi was formed in 1999, when the five members were still teenagers. They had all been trainees at Johnny & Associates, the agency founded by Johnny Kitagawa, and they had spent years learning to sing, to dance, and to perform. The agency had a history of creating successful boy bands, and Arashi was its next hope. The five boys were chosen because they were talented, because they looked good together, and because, in the words of the people who chose them, they had a feeling of warmth that other groups did not have. That warmth would become their trademark, and it would carry them further than anyone expected.

Their debut was unusual. Instead of debuting in Tokyo, they debuted in Hawaii, on 15 September 1999, in front of a crowd of fans who had flown from Japan to see them. Their first single was “A.Ra.Shi”, a bright, energetic pop song that spelled out the group’s name. It was a success, and it made them known, but it did not make them stars overnight. The years that followed were hard ones, and they are an important part of the story. Arashi did not become the biggest group in Japan in a year. They became the biggest group in Japan after years of work, years of television shows, years of concerts, and years of slowly winning the hearts of the Japanese public.

The early years were a time of learning. The five members were young, and they had to learn how to be a group. They had to learn each other’s habits, each other’s strengths, and each other’s weaknesses. They lived and worked together, they travelled together, and they performed together, night after night. That closeness created a bond that fans could see on stage and on television. When Arashi laughed together, it was real laughter. When they teased each other, it was real teasing. The audience could tell that these five young men genuinely liked each other, and that liking is what made people love them. A group that likes each other is a group that is fun to watch, and Arashi was fun to watch from the very beginning.

Their early music was bright pop, with catchy melodies and energetic dances, and it sold well, but it did not yet make them the biggest group in the country. Other groups were bigger, and Arashi were, for a time, just one group among many. But they kept working, they kept performing, and they kept growing. They appeared on television variety shows, they acted in dramas, and they built a fan base one person at a time. It was a slow build, and it was a build that would pay off in a way that no one could have predicted. The storm was gathering, slowly, and when it finally broke, it would be the biggest storm Japanese pop music had ever seen.

The Long Climb and the Breakthrough

The years between 2000 and 2006 were the long climb for Arashi. They released singles, they performed concerts, and they appeared on television, but they were not yet the number one group in Japan. Their songs sold well, but they did not dominate the charts in the way they would later. It was a time of hard work and patience, and it was a time when the five members learned what it meant to be a group. They learned how to support each other when things were hard, how to keep going when the crowds were small, and how to believe in themselves when the world had not yet believed in them.

During these years, the members also began to build their own careers outside the group. Jun Matsumoto starred in the television drama Hana Yori Dango in 2005, playing the rich, proud Domyoji Tsukasa, and the drama became a huge hit. Kazunari Ninomiya acted in films, including the American film Letters from Iwo Jima in 2006, directed by Clint Eastwood, and his performance was praised around the world. Sho Sakurai began to work as a newscaster, bringing a serious and intelligent side to the group’s public image. Masaki Aiba became a popular television host, known for his warmth and his cheerfulness. Satoshi Ohno, the leader, became known as a talented artist and a gifted dancer. Each member was growing, and the group was growing with them.

The breakthrough came in 2007, with the song “Love So Sweet”. The song was the theme for the drama Hana Yori Dango Returns, starring Matsumoto, and it became a huge hit. It was a bright, joyful love song, and it captured the feeling of the drama perfectly. Suddenly, Arashi were everywhere. Their songs were on the radio, their faces were on television, and their concerts were selling out. “Love So Sweet” was followed by more hits, including “Happiness”, “Step and Go”, and “One Love”, the theme for the film Hana Yori Dango Final. The group that had climbed slowly for seven years was now at the top, and they would stay there for more than a decade.

What made the breakthrough so powerful was that it was not a lucky moment. It was the result of years of work, years of television, years of acting, and years of building a fan base. The Japanese public had watched these five young men grow up, and they felt as if they knew them. When the hits finally came, it felt like a reward for everyone, for the group and for the fans who had waited with them. That feeling of shared success is one of the reasons Arashi’s fans are so loyal. They did not join the group at the top. They climbed with them, and they remember the climb.

The Biggest Group in Japan: Stadiums, Records, and 5x20

The years from 2008 to 2020 were the golden years for Arashi. They were the biggest group in Japan, and their success was on a scale that few Japanese artists have ever reached. Their singles topped the charts, their albums sold in huge numbers, and their concerts filled the biggest stadiums in the country, including the Tokyo Dome and the National Stadium. They performed on the New Year’s Eve show Kohaku Uta Gassen year after year, and they became a fixture of Japanese life, as familiar as the changing of the seasons.

Their songs in this period became classics. “Truth” and “Kaze no Mukou e”, “Monster”, “Troublemaker”, “Sakura Sake”, “Kimi no Uta”, and many others were hits that everyone in Japan knew. Their music was bright, hopeful, and full of energy, and it was sung by people of all ages, from children to grandparents. That is a rare thing for a pop group. Most pop groups are loved by one generation. Arashi were loved by many generations, because their songs were about love, friendship, and hope, and those feelings belong to everyone.

Their television work was just as important as their music. They hosted variety shows, including VS Arashi and Arashi ni Shiyagare, where they played games, talked with guests, and showed their personalities to the audience every week. Those shows made them feel like friends, not like distant stars. Viewers watched them laugh, fail, and tease each other, and they felt as if they were part of the group. That closeness is the secret of Arashi’s success. They were not only singers. They were companions, and their fans spent years with them, week after week, year after year.

The peak of their career came with the 5x20 tour, a series of concerts held in 2019 to celebrate twenty years of the group. The tour filled stadiums across Japan, and it was watched by millions of fans. The name 5x20 meant five members times twenty years, and it was a celebration of everything they had achieved together. The tour was a triumph, and it was also, though no one knew it at the time, a farewell of sorts. At the end of 2019, Arashi announced that they would take a break from group activities at the end of 2020, and the 5x20 tour became the last great celebration of the group as it had been for twenty years.

The Hiatus: A Goodbye That Was Not a Goodbye

On 27 January 2019, Arashi announced that they would suspend their activities as a group from 1 January 2021. The news shocked Japan. Arashi were the biggest group in the country, and they were still at the top. Why would they stop? The members explained that they wanted time to think about their own lives, to rest, and to try new things as individuals. Ohno, the leader, had spoken about wanting time away from the spotlight, and the other members had agreed to respect his wish. It was a decision made together, by five men who had spent more than twenty years together, and who trusted each other enough to stop.

The announcement was met with sadness, but also with respect. Fans understood that the members had given twenty years of their lives to the group, and that they deserved time for themselves. The year 2020 became a year of farewells, with concerts, television specials, and a final performance on Kohaku Uta Gassen on New Year’s Eve. The last concert, held without a live audience because of the pandemic, was watched by millions of fans online, and it was a moving end to an era. On 1 January 2021, Arashi went on hiatus, and the biggest group in Japan fell silent.

The hiatus years were quiet ones for the group, but busy ones for the members. Sakurai continued his work as a newscaster. Ninomiya acted in films and dramas. Matsumoto acted and directed. Aiba hosted television shows. Ohno, true to his wish, stepped away from the public eye and lived a quieter life, focusing on his art. Each member found his own path, and each one grew in his own way. But the fans never forgot the group, and they never stopped hoping that the five would come together again. Arashi had been a part of their lives for twenty years, and a hiatus, however long, could not erase that.

The hiatus also showed something important about the group: they were not only a business. They were a friendship, and a friendship does not end because the work stops. The five members stayed in touch, they supported each other’s solo work, and they kept the door open for a return. That door would open again in 2025, when they made an announcement that their fans had been waiting for, and that would bring the story of Arashi to its final chapter.

The Final Tour and the End of the Storm

In May 2025, Arashi announced that they would return for one final tour in the spring of 2026, and that after the tour, the group would come to an end. The news was both happy and sad. Happy, because the fans would see the five members together on stage one more time. Sad, because it meant that the story of Arashi, which had begun in Hawaii in 1999, would finally close. The members said that they wanted to thank their fans, to perform for them one last time, and to bring the group to a proper end, together, on stage, where it had begun.

The announcement was met with an outpouring of love from fans across Japan and around the world. People who had grown up with Arashi shared their memories, their favourite songs, and their gratitude for twenty-five years of music and laughter. The final tour became one of the most talked-about events in Japanese music, and tickets were in enormous demand. For many fans, it was a chance to say goodbye to a group that had been a part of their lives for as long as they could remember, and to thank five men who had given them so much.

The decision to end the group, rather than to keep it going forever, is a brave one, and it is one that the members made together. They could have stayed on hiatus, or they could have returned for a few more years. Instead, they chose to give their fans a final tour, and then to close the chapter with dignity. That choice shows the same care and the same respect for their fans that marked their whole career. They did not want to fade away. They wanted to say goodbye properly, on stage, with their fans, and with their music.

Today, as the final tour approaches, Arashi’s place in Japanese music is secure. They are not only the biggest group of their time. They are one of the biggest groups in the history of Japanese pop music, and their songs will be sung for generations to come. Their story is the story of five boys who became five men, who stayed together for more than a quarter of a century, and who gave their fans a lifetime of music, laughter, and warmth. The storm is ending, but the songs will remain, and the memories will remain, long after the last concert is over.

Five Friends Who Became a Part of Japan

Arashi’s legacy is not only about records and concerts. It is about the way they became a part of Japanese life. For more than twenty years, they were on television every week, their songs were on the radio every day, and their faces were in every home in Japan. They were not distant stars. They were friends, and their fans felt as if they knew them. That feeling is rare, and it is the reason their fans are so loyal. A group that feels like a friend is a group that stays in your heart, even after the music stops.

Their legacy is also a lesson about friendship and teamwork. Five very different young men stayed together for more than twenty-five years, through success and through struggle, through fame and through a long break, and they did it because they respected each other and because they cared about their fans. That is a powerful example, not only for musicians but for anyone who works in a team. A team that lasts is a team that trusts each other, that laughs together, and that puts the group before the individual. Arashi did that, for a quarter of a century, and their success is the proof that it works.

They also leave a lesson about endings. Many groups fade away, or break up in anger, or simply disappear. Arashi chose to end their story with a final tour, with thanks, and with dignity. That is a beautiful way to end, and it is a way that honours the fans who gave them so much. When the final concert is over, and the five men take their last bow together, it will be a sad moment, but it will also be a proud one, because they will have ended their story the way they lived it: together, with warmth, and with love for their fans.

When people look back on the music of Japan in the early twenty-first century, they will remember many names, but Arashi will be one of the first they mention. They were the storm that swept across Japan, the five boys from Hawaii who became the biggest group in the country, and the five friends who stayed together for more than twenty-five years. Their songs will be sung for generations, their television shows will be remembered with laughter, and their story will be told as one of the great stories of Japanese pop music. That is their mark, and it will not fade.

The Solo Lives: Actors, Hosts, and Artists

One of the most interesting things about Arashi is that each member built a life outside the group, and those solo lives made the group stronger rather than weaker. Sho Sakurai became a newscaster on the news programme News Zero, where he reported serious stories with intelligence and calm. It was unusual for a pop idol to become a newsreader, and it showed a side of Sakurai that fans had not seen before: a thoughtful, serious man who cared about the world. His work as a newscaster gave Arashi a different kind of respect, because it showed that the group was not only about music. It was about people who had something to say.

Kazunari Ninomiya became one of Japan’s most respected actors, appearing in films and dramas that won awards and praise. His role in Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima in 2006 brought him to the attention of the world, and his later work in Japanese film and television showed an actor of great depth and honesty. Jun Matsumoto became a star of television dramas, most famously as Domyoji Tsukasa in Hana Yori Dango, and later as an actor and a director in his own right. Masaki Aiba became a beloved television host, known for his warmth, his cheerfulness, and his love of animals. Satoshi Ohno, the leader, became known as a talented artist, holding exhibitions of his paintings and sculptures, and as a dancer of rare grace.

These solo careers mattered because they gave each member a life of his own, and they gave the group a richness that a group of five singers alone could not have had. When the five came together on stage, they brought with them everything they had learned outside the group: the newsroom, the film set, the drama, the variety show, and the art studio. That richness is part of why Arashi’s concerts and television shows felt so full of life. They were not five people who only knew how to sing. They were five people who knew the world, and who brought the world with them onto the stage.

My Take:

When I think about Arashi, I do not think first about their songs, or their records, or their concerts. I think first about five young men laughing together on a television show, teasing each other, failing at a game, and laughing again. That laughter is the heart of Arashi for me, because it is real, and because it is the thing that made millions of people love them. A pop group can have great songs and still feel distant. Arashi never felt distant. They felt like friends, and I think that is the greatest achievement of their career. They did not only make music. They made people feel less alone, week after week, year after year, and that is a gift that goes far beyond entertainment.

What I admire most about them is how long they stayed together. Twenty-five years is a very long time for any group, and it is an especially long time for five young men who became famous as teenagers. Most groups break up after a few years, because fame puts pressure on friendships, because people grow apart, and because the work is hard. Arashi stayed together, and they stayed together because they respected each other, because they laughed together, and because they put the group before themselves. I think that is a powerful lesson, not only for musicians but for anyone who works with other people. A team that lasts is a team that trusts each other, and Arashi trusted each other for a quarter of a century. That trust is the real foundation of their success, and it is worth more than any hit song.

I also think about the long climb, the years between 1999 and 2007 when they were not yet the biggest group in Japan. Those years are easy to forget, because the golden years that followed were so bright, but I think the long climb is the most important part of their story. It was in those years that they learned to be a group, that they learned to support each other, and that they built the fan base that would stay with them for decades. A group that becomes famous overnight can lose its fame just as quickly, because it has not learned how to keep it. A group that climbs slowly, year by year, learns how to hold on to what it has earned. Arashi climbed slowly, and they held on to their success for more than a decade, because they had earned it the hard way.

The breakthrough with “Love So Sweet” is a moment I think about often, because it shows how a single song can change everything, but only if the ground has been prepared. “Love So Sweet” was a wonderful song, but it would not have become a huge hit if Arashi had not spent seven years building their name, appearing on television, acting in dramas, and winning the hearts of the Japanese public. The song was the spark, but the years of work were the fuel. I think that is a lesson for anyone who is waiting for their big moment. The big moment will come, but only if you have done the work first, and only if you have kept going when no one was watching. Arashi kept going, and when the moment came, they were ready for it.

I want to be honest about the hiatus, too, because it is the part of their story that makes me saddest, and also the part that makes me respect them most. When they announced in 2019 that they would stop at the end of 2020, I felt the shock that all of Japan felt. Why would the biggest group in the country stop, when they were still at the top? The answer, when it came, was simple and human: they were tired, they needed time for themselves, and they wanted to live their own lives for a while. I think that takes great courage, because fame tells you to keep going, no matter what, and stopping feels like giving up. But stopping is not giving up. Stopping is listening to yourself, and Arashi listened to themselves, together, as a group. That is a rare and beautiful thing, and it is one of the reasons I admire them so much.

The final tour announcement in 2025 is the part of their story that I find most moving, because it is an ending chosen with care. Many groups end badly, in anger, or in silence, or simply by fading away. Arashi chose to end with a final tour, with thanks, and with dignity. I think that is a beautiful way to end a story, and it is a way that honours the fans who gave them so much. It says: we are grateful, we want to see you one more time, and we want to say goodbye properly. I wish more artists ended their stories that way, with gratitude rather than with bitterness. It is a lesson about endings, and it is a lesson that applies far beyond music. How we end something matters as much as how we begin it, and Arashi are ending their story well.

I also think about the individual members, and about what each one brought to the group. Ohno was the quiet leader, the dancer and the artist, who carried the group with a calm strength. Sakurai was the smart one, the rapper who became a newscaster, who showed that a pop star could also be a serious journalist. Aiba was the warmth, the smile, the person who made everyone feel welcome. Ninomiya was the sharp mind, the actor who could make people laugh and cry in the same scene. Matsumoto was the cool star, the actor who carried dramas on his shoulders. Together, they were more than the sum of their parts, and that is the magic of a great group. Each one was good alone, but together they were something else entirely, something that no one of them could have been on his own. I think that is the real meaning of a group, and Arashi understood it better than almost anyone.

There is another thing I want to say, and it is about the fans. Arashi’s fans are among the most loyal in the world, and they have a name, or rather, they have a feeling: they are people who grew up with the group, who watched them on television every week, who went to their concerts year after year, and who feel as if the five members are a part of their own lives. I think about the mothers who watched Arashi with their daughters, the grandmothers who sang along to their songs, and the young people who found comfort in their music during hard times. That is a fan base that is not built on hype. It is built on years of shared life, and it is a fan base that will stay with the group long after the final concert, because the songs and the memories will stay with them, too.

I also think about what Arashi means for Japan, and I will be honest: I think they mean more than music. They are a symbol of a time, the 2000s and the 2010s, when Japan was changing, and when five young men became a constant in a changing world. Their songs played at weddings, at graduations, at New Year’s Eve, and at moments of joy and sadness in millions of lives. That is a rare thing for a pop group, and it is a thing that will not be repeated easily. When the final tour is over, and the five men take their last bow, Japan will feel the loss, because a part of daily life will be gone. But the songs will remain, and the memories will remain, and that is the best that any artist can hope for.

If I could say one thing to a young person who dreams of being in a group, I would tell them about Arashi. I would say: find people you trust, people you can laugh with, and people you respect, and stay with them. Work hard, even when no one is watching, and be patient, because the big moment may take years to come. When it comes, enjoy it, but do not let it change who you are. And when it is time to stop, stop together, with gratitude, and say goodbye properly. That is what Arashi did, for more than twenty-five years, and it is why their story will be remembered as one of the great stories of Japanese music. The storm is ending, but the songs will go on, and the laughter will go on, in the hearts of everyone who loved them. I also think about the quietest member, Satoshi Ohno, and about what his story tells us. He was the leader, but he was not the loudest, and he was not the one who sought the spotlight. He was a dancer, an artist, and a man who loved to work with his hands, and he was the one who first said that he needed time away. I think it took great courage for him to say that, because a leader is expected to keep going, to hold the group together, and to never show tiredness. He showed tiredness, and he was honest about it, and the other four members listened to him and respected him. That is the mark of a real team: when the quietest person speaks, the others listen. I think Ohno’s honesty is one of the most important parts of the Arashi story, and it is a lesson for anyone who leads a group. A leader does not have to be the loudest. A leader has to be honest, and the group has to be honest back.

There is one more thing I want to say, and it is about the word “storm” in their name. A storm is powerful, and it is beautiful, and it passes. Arashi were a storm in Japanese music, and they changed the landscape, and now the storm is passing. But a storm leaves something behind: rain that helps things grow, and a sky that is clearer than before. Arashi leave behind songs that will help new singers grow, memories that will make people smile, and a standard for what a group can be when five people trust each other and work together for a quarter of a century. The storm is ending, but what it leaves behind will last. That is the best ending any storm can have, and it is the ending that Arashi have earned. I also think about the fans who will be at the final tour in 2026, and about what that night will feel like. It will be a night of joy, because the five men will be together on stage again, singing the songs that everyone knows. And it will be a night of sadness, because everyone in the room will know that it is the last time. I think that mix of joy and sadness is the truest feeling in the world, and it is the feeling that Arashi’s music has always carried. Their songs are joyful, but they are also about time passing, about friends growing older, and about the moments that cannot last forever. The final concert will be the last of those moments, and it will be beautiful because it is the last. I hope the fans who are there will sing along, loudly, and I hope the five men will hear them, and know how much they are loved. I also think about the way Arashi’s songs will be remembered, and about the children who will hear them for the first time in the years to come. A child who hears “Love So Sweet” for the first time will not know about the hiatus, or the final tour, or the twenty-five years of history. They will only hear a bright, joyful song, and they will smile, and they will want to hear it again. That is how great songs live on, not in history books, but in new listeners who find them, love them, and make them their own. Arashi’s songs will be found again and again, by people who were not there for the storm, but who will feel its warmth anyway. I also think about the way Arashi’s story will be told to children in the future, as a story about five friends who stayed together for twenty-five years. It will be told as a fairy tale, in a way, because it is a story about friendship, about hard work, and about a storm that swept across Japan and left behind songs that everyone knows. Children who hear that story will not know about the hiatus, or the final tour, or the sadness of the ending. They will only know that five boys became five men, that they sang beautiful songs, and that they stayed together. That is a story worth telling, and it is a story that will be told for a long time to come.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the five members of Arashi?

The five members are Satoshi Ohno, the leader, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. They were all teenagers when the group was formed in 1999.

When did Arashi debut?

Arashi debuted on 15 September 1999 in Hawaii, with their first single “A.Ra.Shi”. The name Arashi means “storm” in Japanese.

What is Arashi’s most famous song?

Their most famous song is “Love So Sweet” from 2007, the theme for Hana Yori Dango Returns. Other huge hits include “Happiness”, “One Love”, “Monster”, and “Sakura Sake”.

Why did Arashi go on hiatus in 2021?

They suspended group activities from 1 January 2021 so the members could rest and spend time on their own lives and solo work. The decision was made together by all five members.

What is the 5x20 tour?

The 5x20 tour was a series of stadium concerts in 2019 to celebrate twenty years of Arashi, five members times twenty years. It was one of the biggest tours in Japanese music history.

Are Arashi disbanding?

In May 2025, they announced a final tour in spring 2026, after which the group will come to an end. The tour is a chance to thank their fans and say goodbye together on stage.

What television shows did Arashi host?

They hosted popular variety shows including VS Arashi and Arashi ni Shiyagare, where they played games, talked with guests, and showed their personalities to viewers every week.