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Arashi Idol Group Members Establish New Company
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
In the announcement, the members note that they are now all in their 40s, but still want to "be more independent than ever before, make more independent decisions than ever before, and act more independently than ever before."
Arashi formed in 1999 under the Johnny & Associates agency, and is composed of Jun Matsumoto, Satoshi Ohno, Shō Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, and Kazunari Ninomiya. The group has released 17 studio albums and several compilation albums, in addition to singles. The group's more recent studio album, This Is Arashi, debuted in 2020.
The group suspended all joint activities and has been on hiatus since December 31, 2020. The members made the announcement in January 2019, almost two years before starting their group hiatus. Ohno has been on hiatus from entertainment since then, while the other members have pursued their solo careers.
Arashi members, both as a group and as individuals, were one of many groups associated with Johnny & Associates' that halted commercial appearances after the agency publicly admitted for the first time in October 2023 that Johnny & Associates' late founder Johnny Kitagawa sexually abused a large number of aspiring pop star teenagers from the 1970s to 2010s.
The renewed allegations in 2023 led to the resignation of then-president Julie Keiko Fujishima (with actor and personality Noriyuki Higashiyama taking over as president), the agency establishing compensation measures for sexual abuse victims of Kitagawa, the renaming of the agency to Smile Up (a legal entity focused on handling compensation for the victims), and the renaming of many of the agency's associated acts. A new talent agency was established under president Atsushi Fukuda in October 2023 to handle the entertainers formerly managed by Johnny & Associates, and that new agency received the finalized name Starto Entertainment in December.
Arashi performed theme songs for the live-action Hana Yori Dango [2005] and Hana Yori Dango 2 [Returns] television series, the live-action Honey and Clover television series, and the Kochikame anime series.
Members of the group have also acted in television series and movies. Ninomiya has starred in the live-action Gantz, Gantz II: Perfect Answer, Assassination Classroom, Assassination Classroom: Graduation, and Ōoku: The Inner Chambers projects. He also starred in the Tekkonkinkreet anime film. Matsumoto has starred in severa live-actionl Hana Yori Dango projects, as well as the live-action Gokusen and Kimi wa Pet projects. Ohno starred in the live-action Kaibutsu-kun series, Shō Sakurai starred in the live-action Yatterman and Honey and Clover films, and Masaki Aiba has starred in the live-action Bartender, Sakanoue Animal Clinic Story), and My Girl series.
Sources: Starto Entertainment via Music Natalie
