Perfume's last concert before their hiatus: Tokyo Dome, September 23, 2025

About the artist

Perfume are a Japanese pop trio: a-chan, KASHIYUKA and NOCCHi^[1]. Formed in Hiroshima in 1999, they moved to Tokyo in 2003 and began working with producer Yasutaka Nakata of capsule (now CAPSULE). Their major-label debut, “Rinia Mōtā Gāru” (“Linear Motor Girl”), came out in 2005, and in 2007 “Poririzumu” (“Polyrhythm”), the song from their TV commercial for an NHK environment and recycling campaign, became a hit^[2]. Their choreography and staging have long been the work of MIKIKO^[3].

On New Year's Eve 2008 they sang “Poririzumu” on NHK's Kōhaku Uta Gassen, their first time on the show; afterwards KASHIYUKA said she now knew that dreams come true^[4]. In 2010, their tenth year, they sold out their first headline show at Tokyo Dome^[2], titled “1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11”^[5]. They toured four Asian countries in 2012, their first tour abroad, and in 2019 played the American outdoor festival Coachella for the first time^[2].

Why this was the last show

2025 marked Perfume's 25th year together and the 20th anniversary of their debut^[1]. They had released a two-part album, Nebyura Romansu (“Nebula Romance”), conceived as the soundtrack to an imaginary film: the first part in October 2024, the second in September 2025^[2]. An arena tour of 23 shows in 11 cities ended on April 20, 2025^[6][7].

On September 18, the group told fans to expect a very important message on the 21st, the anniversary of their debut^[8]. That day the official site announced that Perfume would go into “cold sleep” from 2026^[8]. The statement was signed simply “Perfume”^[9], and the press reported it as a hiatus beginning at the end of 2025^[8][10].

According to the statement, live shows were at the heart of what the three did, and leaving a record of themselves at their brightest had long been one of their dreams. They wanted to mark this moment, when they could proudly say they were shining, and to draw a line before taking on something new^[8][10]. Having never taken a break, they would use the time, for the first time, to face their own lives, and hoped to come back stronger as a “new Perfume”^[8][9]. As long as the three were together, it said, they would be Perfume for life^[10]. No date was given for a return^[9].

The statement did not mention the concerts, but the same day a-chan wrote on social media that the Tokyo Dome shows over the next two days would be their last before the cold sleep^[9]. The press described them as Perfume's last solo concerts before the hiatus^[10][11], and at short notice the second night was set to stream live worldwide on LIVESHIP^[8][12].

This archive files the show under “hiatus,” but the word Perfume chose was “cold sleep.”

What is known about the day

September 23 was a public holiday, and the show began at 5 p.m.^[12] It was Perfume's fourth time headlining Tokyo Dome and their first in five years. At their previous visit, “P Cubed” in Dome in 2020, the second night had been called off on the day to help stop the spread of COVID-19^[13][5]. According to the official report, this show opened with “GAME,” which had opened the 2020 show too^[13].

The 22 songs included all ten from the second part of Nebyura Romansu^[14][15]. “Perfume no Okite 2025” brought back displays of numbers recalling the first Tokyo Dome show in 2010. Late in the set came a medley, “Perfume ZO/Z5 Reeeeemix,” of “Poririzumu,” “Butterfly,” “edge” and “Chokoreito Disuko” (“Chocolate Disco”)^[13][14], and in the “P.T.A.” segment, named after their fan club, they sang “NIGHT FLIGHT” and “MY COLOR”^[14][16].

The official report, which covers both nights, says each member spoke about the cold sleep. KASHIYUKA said she wished she could tell her younger self, full of regrets after their first Dome show, that it would be all right. In a-chan's words, they had kept going because they got along and because it was fun; the three then joined their hands to make a heart. After they said goodbye and left the stage, the speakers played “Negai” (“A Wish”), a song rarely heard at their concerts, while a film looked back over Perfume's history^[13].

The last song was “Megurūpu,” the lead track of the album's second part and the theme of the Nippon TV drama Chihayafuru: Meguri, released ahead of the album in July 2025^[15]. The three sang and danced it in pure white dresses^[13].

The night closed with “GISHIKI” (“ritual”), a staged finale. At the 2010 show, the three had walked along the cross-shaped runway to meet at its center as numbers counted up; this time it ran the other way^[17][5]. Holding up veils, they walked slowly out from the center in three directions and, as a countdown ran down from 25, vanished into particles of light. Then the familiar words “SEE YOU AT THE NEXT STAGE” appeared^[13][5].

What the show left behind

After Tokyo Dome, the live news on Perfume's official site announced no further concerts, only cinema screenings and a costume exhibition^[18]. The September 23 show was screened in cinemas in all 47 prefectures of Japan from November 25 to 27^[16], and in Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Mexico^[19].

The group's last stage before the cold sleep was on television. On December 31, at their 17th Kōhaku Uta Gassen^[20], they sang a medley of “Poririzumu,” the song from their first appearance, and “Megurūpu.” Before singing, a-chan said each of them wanted to come back stronger, and “Megurūpu” ended with the three disappearing into particles of light^[21][4]. Oricon News and Modelpress called it their last stage before the cold sleep^[21][22].

On May 15, 2026, a documentary, Perfume “Kōrudo Surīpu” -25 years Document-, opened in Japanese cinemas; it follows the Tokyo Dome shows and what led up to them^[23]. Its theme song, “Kōrudo Surīpu,” was written for the film by Yasutaka Nakata and recorded by the trio before the hiatus; it was released the same day^[24]. Blu-ray and DVD editions of the September 23 show followed on May 27^[14][7]. On September 21, 2026, the group announced Favorites (Selected by Perfume) / Kōrudo Surīpu, an album of songs chosen by each member, for December 23^[25]. As of October 2026, no return has been announced^[26].

In 2010, the three walked to the center of the cross at Tokyo Dome. Fifteen years later, in the same building, they walked away from it in three directions.