KAT-TUN's last concert: "Break the KAT-TUN" at ZOZO Marine Stadium, Chiba, November 8, 2025

About the artist

KAT-TUN was formed in 2001; its name comes from the initials of the members' family names^[1]. The original six were Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnosuke Taguchi, Koki Tanaka, Tatsuya Ueda and Yuichi Nakamaru^[2][3].

On March 17, 2006, before releasing any CD, they played Tokyo Dome, a first for an act yet to debut, according to Oricon. Five days later they debuted with the single "Real Face", the album Best of KAT-TUN and the DVD Real Face Film, all released the same day and all entering Oricon's weekly charts at No. 1^[1]. "Real Face", with lyrics by Shikao Suga and music by Tak Matsumoto^[4], sold 1.046 million copies, the group's only million-seller, and their singles went on to reach No. 1 twenty-nine times in a row^[1].

Akanishi left in 2010, Tanaka in 2013 and Taguchi in 2016^[3]. As a trio, KAT-TUN took a break after their tenth-anniversary tour in May 2016 and announced their return in January 2018^[1]. Their single "Ask Yourself", released that April, included "Real Face#2", the debut song remade for the three of them^[5][6]. In 2021, their 15th-anniversary year, they sang it on their first appearance on NHK's New Year's Eve show Kōhaku Uta Gassen^[7].

Why this was the last show

On February 12, 2025, the group's agency, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, announced that KAT-TUN would disband on March 31^[1]. The company said that after about a year of talks with the members, it had concluded that retiring the KAT-TUN name and letting each of them choose his own path would be better for their futures. Kamenashi would leave the agency on the day of the breakup, when his contract ran out, while Ueda and Nakamaru would stay^[8]. The announcement added that, at the members' request, the company was working to create a place where they could meet their fans in the near future^[8][3]. KAT-TUN disbanded as planned on March 31, in the 25th year since its formation in 2001^[1].

On August 7, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT announced on its website that Break the KAT-TUN would be held on November 8 at ZOZO Marine Stadium in Chiba^[3][9]. The Japanese press called it unusual: a concert by a group that had already broken up^[9][2]. According to the music site Real Sound, it happened because the three, hearing their fans' voices, went to the agency and asked for it^[10].

Jin Akanishi, who had left in 2010, responded with a message to his fans on X: he had no plans to appear at KAT-TUN's last concert. Nakamaru quoted the post and replied, "I'll be there"^[11].

What is known about the day

November 8 fell exactly 27 years after Kamenashi and Nakamaru had auditioned for and joined the agency, on November 8, 1998^[12][10]. It was the group's first concert at an outdoor venue. About 30,000 people attended, and the show was also streamed live^[13]. It began at 5 p.m.^[10]

The stage was built as a pirate ship^[2][12]; the entertainment news site Modelpress saw in it an echo of the group's 2004–2005 concerts KAT-TUN Live 海賊帆 (the title means "pirate sail"). Ueda opened by singing a phrase of "Harukana Yakusoku" ("a distant promise") unaccompanied, then shouted that this was their last voyage, and the first song, "GOLD", began^[12].

The setlist ran to 51 songs, including songs from before the debut and every single, over about three hours^[2][13]. Partway through, a counter on the screens stopped at 2004 for a run of songs recalling their early tours, then moved on to the day of their debut^[12]. For the debut single "Real Face", the original six-member recording was used, so the voices of the three former members were heard, while lights in the members' colors shone on the empty places on stage^[13][10][12]. It was the first time the trio had performed the original version in concert^[2]. In one talk segment, Nakamaru joked about the fact that the group had already broken up, and Kamenashi and Ueda played along with mock surprise^[2][12]. As the main set closed with "PRECIOUS ONE", the words "Thanks to" appeared on screen with the names of Akanishi, Tanaka and Taguchi^[12].

After eight encore songs, the three gave their farewell speeches. Kamenashi said that KAT-TUN, formed when he was a teenager, had been his youth, and that it had been his pride, his aesthetic and his honor^[13][2]; he added that he hoped they could have that kind of youth again someday^[12]. Ueda, in tears, thanked the group for the life it had let him lead since his teens^[13][2]. Nakamaru looked back on a quarter century in which he had been blessed with good people^[2][12].

Then the three and the audience joined hands, and at Kamenashi's call of "We are!", everyone shouted "KAT-TUN!" The last song was "Real Face#2"^[12][2]. Fireworks went up while it played^[12], and the show ended with about 3,000 fireworks and a champagne fight on stage^[2][10]. According to Modelpress, after the sparks and special effects, the pirate ship quietly fell apart^[12].

Akanishi did come, as a member of the audience, and watched the trio's last stage. After the show the four posed for a photo, which Akanishi and Nakamaru each posted on Instagram^[14][15].

What the show left behind

The full show, all 51 songs and about three hours, was released on Blu-ray and DVD. It was sold to order only through Famikura Store Online, from November 17, 2025, to January 9, 2026^[16], and came out on March 22, 2026, the 20th anniversary of KAT-TUN's debut^[17].

The same day, the group's whole catalogue, all 29 singles and 13 albums, arrived on streaming services, adding 273 tracks for a total of 312^[18][4]. That evening, video of "Real Face#2" from the last concert premiered on YouTube^[17].

Daily Sports put the group's total since its formation at 444 shows and 6,318,000 attendees^[2]. Oricon News described Break the KAT-TUN as a last concert held, unusually, after the breakup^[18], and the music news site Natalie wrote that KAT-TUN's activities as a group ended with it^[17].

Nearly 20 years after "Real Face", KAT-TUN's last stage closed with the same song, remade for the three who remained.