Arashi's final show: "We are ARASHI" at Tokyo Dome, May 31, 2026

About the artist

Arashi, whose name means "storm," were a five-member Japanese pop group: Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya and Jun Matsumoto^[1]. Formed on September 15, 1999^[2], they released their debut single, "A・RA・SHI", on November 3 that year^[3].

Two of their 2007 singles were TV drama themes: "Love so sweet" (February) for the TBS drama Hana Yori Dango 2 (Returns)^[4], and "Happiness" (September) for the TBS drama Yamada Tarō Monogatari^[5]. The music site Real Sound has called the pair Arashi's "standards among standards," and in December 2019 a TV special let viewers vote on which of the two Arashi would perform^[4].

Their best-of album 5×20 All the BEST!! 1999-2019, released in June 2019, was named the IFPI's Global Album of 2019, the best-selling album in the world that year, with 3.3 million in combined sales; Taylor Swift was second. It was the first time a Japanese act had won the award^[6].

Why this was the last show

On January 27, 2019, Arashi announced that they would suspend group activities from the end of 2020. The trigger was Satoshi Ohno's feeling that, with 2020 as a dividing line, the group might close for a while and let each member go his own way; the five had been talking it over since around June 2017. The word used was "hiatus," not "breakup"^[7].

The pandemic shaped their last year before the break: they could not perform in front of fans^[8], and a planned dome tour was abandoned^[9]. On December 31, 2020, they performed 28 songs to an empty Tokyo Dome in This is 嵐 LIVE 2020.12.31 (嵐 is "Arashi" written in kanji), streamed live around the world^[9][10].

In April 2024, during the hiatus, the five jointly announced that they had set up a new company^[2]. On May 6, 2025, they told fans through their fan club website that Arashi's activities would end with a tour the following spring^[11]. According to Real Sound, the five had spent about a year and a half talking about working as Arashi again. Their circumstances had changed and the answer did not come easily, but they settled on a last act: to come together once more, thank their fans in person and let them see the group perform live. Returning only to pause again was not something they considered^[8].

Again, the word was not "breakup" but an end to Arashi's activities^[11][8]. This archive files the show under "breakup" because the group came to an end, but that was not the members' word.

The tour, ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2026 "We are ARASHI", was set for 15 shows from March in Japan's five big domes, in Hokkaido, Tokyo, Aichi, Fukuoka and Osaka^[1]. On March 4 the group released "Five", their first new song in about five years^[12]; it entered Oricon's weekly streaming and digital single charts at No. 1^[13].

What is known about the day

May 31 at Tokyo Dome was the last of the 15 shows. The tour drew about 490,000 people in all, according to Natalie and Shūkan Josei Prime^[1][14], though a report on the morning of the final show had put the figure at about 700,000^[3]. Beforehand, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT asked people without tickets not to come to the venue^[15]. The show was also streamed, and Sho Sakurai called out to viewers around the world^[1].

According to Natalie, it opened with a clock running forward from December 31, 2020, the day the hiatus began, to the present, before the five appeared from a rig above the stage. Jun Matsumoto's first words were "Hey! Tokyo!" and a shout that Arashi were back^[1]. The first song was "Løve Rainbow"^[16]. The tour's title came from the end of the 2020 stream, where "We are ARASHI!" had been the final declaration^[1].

They performed 33 songs^[17][16]. In a "Members' selection," each member picked two; Ninomiya chose "Whenever You Call", a song produced by Bruno Mars^[17]. The closing run was "Love so sweet", "Mai Gāru" ("My Girl"), "A・RA・SHI", "Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi" and "Happiness"^[16].

In the farewell speeches, Ninomiya, who joined the Johnny's agency in 1996, said he was ending his "Johnny's life" of about 30 years that night, and Masaki Aiba said Arashi had been everything in his life^[16]. Ohno said he was truly glad they had protected, for 26 years, the Arashi everyone had built together^[1][16]. Sakurai, speaking last, named all five members and said, "We were Arashi," then corrected himself: "We are Arashi"^[1].

The last song was "Five", their newest^[1][17]. Cannons fired as it ended; the five hugged and formed a huddle, closing a show that had run about three and a half hours^[1].

On Nippon TV's news zero the next day, Sakurai revealed that after the show the five had sat in a circle on the empty stage, drinking together and talking about when they would next meet^[18]. Ohno left STARTO ENTERTAINMENT as of that day; the other four continue to work in entertainment^[18].

What the show left behind

In the week after the show, Arashi's songs climbed the streaming charts. On Billboard Japan's Streaming Songs chart for June 1–7, "Five" rose from No. 9 to No. 1, Arashi held six places in the top 10, and 24 of their songs charted in all^[19]. On Oricon's weekly streaming chart, "Five" returned to No. 1 after 12 weeks, 45 Arashi songs made the top 500, and "Love so sweet" and "Happiness" reached their highest positions ever^[20].

The fan club closed on June 15^[14]. On July 3, the official X account of Arashi Inc. announced Ohno's personal social media accounts; the same day, Ohno announced a personal salon, Satojima, and Sakurai and Aiba announced individual fan clubs. Matsumoto launched "MJ's Membership", and Ninomiya has a fan club within his own office^[21].

A Blu-ray and DVD of the final show are scheduled for November 3, 2026, the anniversary of Arashi's debut, sold only through Famikura Store Online^[22]. Reviewing the show, Real Sound called Arashi a "national idol" group in its headline and wrote that the five had brought the curtain down as the same five^[17].

Arashi went into their hiatus in an empty Tokyo Dome on New Year's Eve 2020. Five years and five months later, they ended in the same building, in front of their fans.