Arashi today announced the group’s intention to halt activities at the end of next year and go their separate ways. Uploaded videos are being taken down so if you can’t see the links below, try searching “嵐活動休止” on Google or YouTube.
No details has been released regarding how long the group will remain split but leader Ono Satoshi commented that this is a decision all 5 members has agreed upon after discussion and Aiba Masaki added that this is not due to any conflicts between the members.
No further information is available, but it is apparent that this wasn’t Ninomiya Kazunari’s idea as he mentioned in the video that he was surprised when he first heard this news.
Will post updates as more information is released.
Update (1/28): Some of the videos taken down have been removed from this post. After going through the videos, I learned that Ono gathered the members in June of 2017 to share his intention to quit the group or maybe even leave Johnny’s altogether. However, after much discussions, the members together decided to go on a hiatus instead. So far the story goes, this is Ono’s decision but it’s also one of the clearest announcement on a group’s break I’ve seen this last 10 years. More information on their press conference in a separate post.
Wow you’re fast!
They’re aren’t splitting up though, not technically ^^ Thankfully.
lol, I posted as soon as I saw the 速報 on TV, so I didn’t finish watching the videos before posting. Now then I know Ono wanted to leave, so it’s hard to imagine them returning =X
Who knows that they might be back again like Spice Girls coming back for reunion. Maybe it’s better for you to change the title because it can be quite misleading. The word “split” and “suspend” have different meaning, and from the video, they only meant to stop all activities as a group by 2020.
P.S. Sorry if I sounded harsh, but as a fan, I hope that misleading news can be corrected to provide as correct as it can be to the international fans.
Oh, I meant split as in the members will split at the end of 2020; not as a disband. Hmm…