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130-622: Arashi ( 嵐 , lit. "Storm") is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno , Sho Sakurai , Masaki Aiba , Kazunari Ninomiya , and Jun Matsumoto . Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999, in Honolulu , Hawaii, and made their debut CD on November 3, 1999. The group was initially signed to Pony Canyon and released one studio album and six singles—beginning with their 1999 eponymous debut single before moving to

260-413: A YouTube channel for their trainee groups, Johnny's Jr. In January 2019, Hideaki Takizawa was named the president of a new subdivision of the company called Johnny's Island, where he would manage and oversee the debut of trainee group Snow Man . After Kitagawa's death on July 9, 2019, his niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima was made the new president of the agency, while Takizawa and Suguru Shirahase became

390-429: A boy band created by the agency, became successful. Four Leaves left a lasting legacy to the industry because it was produced as a " Group sounds band that does not play instruments", a product of Kitagawa's taste for emphasizing the attributes, personality and physical abilities of a performer. Kitagawa formed a number of other successful acts, such as Masahiko Kondō , whose song "Orokamono" ( 愚か者 , Fool ) , won

520-509: A briefing for the press on the April programming lineup and said that it would “continue to solemnly continue” the use of talent belonging to Smile-Up. (formerly Johnny & Associates). On September 26, 2023, Hiroshi Shinozuka, president of TV Asahi , announced that he had asked the office to consider changing the company name, compensate the victims, and take thorough measures to prevent recurrence. He also stated that he did not believe that there

650-429: A close eye on the response from their offices. On September 7, 2023, Fuji Television Hideaki Tatematsu, head of the programming and production bureau, responded, “There was no problem with the talent on the program, so we will continue to cast the talent as before. At a regular press conference on September 29, President Koichi Minato stated that sexual assault is unacceptable and asked the company to consider changing

780-538: A concert on October 7, it was canceled due to a military coup d'état . On February 21, the group released their first single of the year, " Love So Sweet ", the theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2 , which peaked at the number-one spot on the Oricon daily and weekly charts. It is also Arashi's first single to sell more than 200,000 copies in a week in almost five years. Their nineteenth single " We Can Make It! ", released on May 2, also charted number-one on

910-418: A different theme each year. In 2006, Oricon sued journalist Hiro Ugaya when he was quoted in a Cyzo magazine article suggesting that the company manipulated its statistics to benefit certain management companies and labels (specifically, Johnny & Associates). Ugaya condemned the action as a strategic lawsuit against public participation , and it was later dropped by Oricon with no charges filed against

1040-405: A firm focused on reparations for Kitagawa's sexual abuse cases, and Starto Entertainment , a talent agency managing the acts that had been managed under Johnny & Associates. In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys . In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rented an office space owned by Watanabe Productions , operating under its management as well. Six years later, Four Leaves ,

1170-525: A firm focused on reparations for Kitagawa's sexual abuse cases, and Starto Entertainment , a talent agency managing existing acts under Johnny & Associates. Starto Entertainment , which takes the place of the entertainment side of Johnny's, started activities in April 2024, with an all-agency concert series, with Arashi 's Jun Matsumoto and Super Eight 's Tadayoshi Okura as co-directors. Groups Timelesz , Super Eight and West. performed before their fans soon after their respective name change. Under

1300-680: A first in Arashi's history. It became the first album of 2009 to break one million. On November 11, Arashi released " My Girl " as their last single of the year. It debuted atop of the Oricon daily chart by selling about 178,000 copies on the first day and about 432,000 copies by the end of its first week. It was announced on November 17 that Arashi had thus monopolized the top four best first-week sales for singles of 2009. On November 20, Arashi held an event organized by House Foods called Arashi in Tokyo DisneySea Premium Event . Reserving

1430-415: A five dome tour were SMAP and KinKi Kids . The tour also coincided with their eighth studio album, Dream "A" Live , which was reported to be a hit with male buyers by Oricon despite the fact that most releases by Johnny's artists are geared towards female teens and young adults. In the midst of the tour, Arashi released their twenty-second single " One Love ", the theme song for the last production of

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1560-565: A former member of V6 , replaced Takizawa as vice president. On 4 September 2023 it was announced that Julie Fujishima would step down as president of the company and Noriyuki Higashiyama would become president. In the wake of continuing sexual abuse allegations directed against Kitagawa, who died in 2019, his niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima, stepped down as president in September 2023. On October 2, 2023, Johnny & Associates announced that they would be splitting into two entities: Smile-Up,

1690-569: A majority of Arashi's concerts to allow them to move closer to the audience seated at a distance from the main stage. In November, Arashi released a theme song for the manga -based drama Hana Yori Dango , which starred Matsumoto as one of the lead actors. " Wish " went on to sell an estimated 178,000 copies in its first week and over 300,000 copies by the end of its chart run, making it their first single to sell over 300,000 copies in total in nearly three years since "A Day in Our Life" in 2002. By 2006,

1820-485: A million copies and the first album in Japan to reach a million copies sold in 2010. Additionally, "Dear Snow" was released as a single on October 6 and became Arashi's fourth 2010 single to sell over 500,000 copies in the first week. The group released their sixth single of 2010, " Hatenai Sora ", on November 10. The single sold 572,000 copies in its first week, surpassing the group's old personal record of 557,000 copies sold in

1950-498: A million copies by the end of its chart run. On April 5, 2000, Arashi released their second single, " Sunrise Nippon/Horizon ", which debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly singles chart selling 304,340 copies. The next day, the group began their first concert tour at Osaka Hall . In July, the group released their next single " Typhoon Generation ", which debuted at number three on the weekly singles chart with 256,510 copies sold, and continued to chart for nine weeks before leaving

2080-453: A number of variety shows, and remain an influential figure in Japanese media. On January 27, 2019, Arashi announced that group activities would be suspended as of December 31, 2020. Johnny & Associates announced the group's debut on September 15, 1999, through a press conference aboard a cruise ship off the coast of Honolulu, Hawaii. Then-president Johnny Kitagawa chose five trainees from

2210-618: A paid on demand format. In January 2018, Johnny & Associates lifted their photo ban completely and allowed the press to post approved images of their talent more freely. In March 2018, Johnny & Associates launched a YouTube channel for selected Johnny's Jr. groups. Since Kitagawa's death in 2019, Johnny & Associates have expanded accessibility for their talent. This includes the opening of an official Twitter account for itself (which shares information about Johnny's talent, mostly in English), as well as different social media accounts for

2340-427: A particularly divided response among the broadcasters. On 8 September 2023, NHK , the Japanese public broadcaster, said in a statement that they took the matter seriously, and that they would "work harder to ensure that human rights are more respected in the broadcasting industry" when it comes to using performers who best fit program content and production. The public broadcaster added that it did not fully acknowledge

2470-472: A press conference on September 7 to formally acknowledge Kitagawa's abuse for the first time, while Fujishima resigned as CEO to assume the position as a representative director. Former Johnny's talent Noriyuki Higashiyama took over as CEO. As a response to the investigation's findings, several companies cancelled their contracts with entertainers from Johnny & Associates, including Tokio Marine Nichido , Asahi Group , and Japan Airlines . This led to

2600-453: A private record label by the end of 2001, Arashi released " Jidai " as their final single under Pony Canyon . Used as the theme song for Matsumoto's drama Kindaichi Shōnen no Jikenbo 3 , it was named Best Theme Song in the 30th Television Drama Academy Awards. Arashi began 2002 by releasing their first single under J Storm . " A Day in Our Life " was used as the theme song for Sakurai's comedy drama Kisarazu Cat's Eye and debuted atop of

2730-438: A row. It was announced on January 15, 2011, that Arashi would release the song " Lotus " as a single on February 23, 2011. "Lotus" was also adopted as the theme song for Aiba's drama Bartender . Released on January 26, 2011, Arashi's music DVD Arashi 10–11 Tour "Scene": Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fūkei – Stadium sold 618,000 copies in its first week, making it the first music DVD in Oricon history to sell over 600,000 copies in

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2860-554: A special charity-oriented group called J-Friends , to raise funds for the 1995 Hanshin and Awaji earthquake victims. The group continued with several activities, until their disbandment in 2003. The agency continued its fundraising project, now with Marching J, for the Tōhoku earthquake victims in 2011. Its first event was held on April 1–3. Hey! Say! JUMP , SMAP , Tokio , KinKi Kids , V6 , Arashi , Tackey and Tsubasa , NEWS , Kanjani8 , KAT-TUN and Johnny's Juniors participated in

2990-401: A summer tour titled One to support their album of the same name . One of the highlights of the tour included the live performance their first single of the year, " Sakura Sake ", on top of "Johnny's Moving Stage" ( ジャニーズムービングステージ , Janizu Mubingu Suteji ) , a transparent stage that travels over the top of the audience. Invented by Matsumoto, "Johnny's Moving Stage" has since been used in

3120-539: A week in seven years seven months since Keisuke Kuwata . At the end of June, Arashi announced their tenth anniversary tour Arashi Anniversary Tour 5x10 , which included three consecutive shows at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. They became the first artist to play at the stadium for three consecutive days. Their third single of the year, " Everything ", was released on July 1 and sold nearly 342,000 copies in

3250-513: Is cleared by their main office in the US. On October 5, 2023, FTI Consulting admitted the existence of the 'blacklist' as well as a candidate list of "preferable" reporters. According to the firm the lists were given to the conference moderator. Mutual concerns over reporters who could spend long periods of time talking about their own opinions, or ask thoughtless questions (or remarks) that could be unnecessarily stressful, painful, and/or uncomfortable to

3380-422: Is making progress in dealing with the victims. We may have a different way of thinking than NHK .” At the regular press conference on April 22, 2024, President Akira Ishizawa explained that he is continuing dialogue with both Smile-Up and Starto Entertainment . He said that CEO Atsushi Fukuda visited Nippon TV December of the previous year. He then stated that he was aware that the production site had entered

3510-510: Is no longer, being reborn under the name "Mindful", for which a new company has been established. General Incorporated Association "Mindful" will take over the charity activities, as well as other social contribution activities, like mental health care (which includes the support for sexual assault victims), enrollment support for higher education students in the Nursing field, and others. The business model of Johnny & Associates has an agency at

3640-436: Is steadily progressing, and that requests to perform–including Kōhaku Uta Gassen for current Starto celebrities would resume. Commercial broadcasters had already announced on the resumption of new appointments to celebrities belonging to Starto. On the other hand, the four commercial broadcasters with numerous regular programs are taking a flexible stance, allowing the talent to continue appearing on their programs while keeping

3770-478: The Arashi Jet until January 2011. The song "Love Rainbow" was released as a single on September 8. It debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly singles chart and sold around 529,000 copies, making "Love Rainbow" the group's third 2010 single to surpass 500,000 copies sold in the first week. On October 12, Boku no Miteiru Fūkei sold a total of a million copies, making it the group's first studio album to sell over

3900-531: The Hana Yori Dango trilogy. Like "Step and Go", the single sold over 300,000 copies in its first week and charted at number-one of the weekly singles chart. As the start of the group's second Asia tour, Arashi became the third musical group—after SMAP and Dreams Come True —to perform at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo as their first major outdoor concert on September 5. The first two legs of

4030-580: The Japan Academy Awards , partly due to a dispute about the musical genre of one of their groups at the 32nd Japan Record Awards . Another reason cited was that the nominations would engender competition among Johnny groups and with other nominees. In 1997 the agency founded a record label, Johnny's Entertainment. Also, a New Year's Eve countdown concert is held live on Fuji TV from the Tokyo Dome since 1996 known as Johnny's Countdown Live with

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4160-510: The Johnny's Jr. division of the agency to become the members of Arashi, the Japanese word for Storm , and to represent the agency's thrust of "creating a storm throughout the world". On November 3, 1999, they made their CD debut by releasing the single " Arashi ", which became the theme song for the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Cup hosted by Japan in 1999. It went on to become a major hit, selling 557,430 copies in its first week and almost

4290-799: The Oricon daily and weekly charts. In April, the group performed in one of their largest concerts: Arashi Around Asia in Dome , a continuation of their Triumphant Homecoming concert held in January, which was aimed to celebrate the successful Asia tour. Arashi Around Asia in Dome was held at the Kyocera Dome in Osaka and at Tokyo Dome , making it Arashi's first time performing there. On July 14, Arashi launched their summer tour titled Time – Kotoba no Chikara to support their seventh studio album Time . The album sold over 190,000 copies in its first week, not only extending

4420-405: The Oricon weekly album chart for two consecutive weeks. By selling around another 125,000 copies, the album has sold a total of 856,000 copies. In September, Japan Airlines (JAL) launched a domestic Boeing 777-200 bearing both the images of the members of Arashi and the title of their Boku no Miteiru Fūkei album, which was sold with a specially designed cover in-flight. Japan Airlines will use

4550-425: The Oricon weekly chart selling 543,000 copies in its first week, making Arashi the first act to have thirty consecutive singles rank in Oricon's weekly Top 3 since their debut. On June 5, it was announced that the group was to release their first studio album in two years and four months since Dream "A" Live (April 2008) and hold a nationwide concert tour at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for four days and

4680-590: The Oricon weekly singles chart selling 226,480 copies. Their subsequent releases of the year, " Nice na Kokoroiki " and " Pikanchi ", were used as the theme songs for the anime Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kōen-mae Hashutsujo and Arashi's movie Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakedo Happy ( ピカ☆ンチ Life is HardだけどHappy , Pikanchi Life is Hard But Happy ) respectively. Starting in 2003, the group would only release two singles every year until 2007. Both singles released in 2003, " Tomadoi Nagara " and " Hadashi no Mirai/Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono ", debuted at number two on

4810-616: The Supreme Court of Japan . It was rejected in 2004. The case saw minimal coverage in Japan, with many journalists attributing it to Kitagawa's influence on Japanese mass media. On March 7, 2023, the BBC released a documentary centered on the sexual harassment claims against Kitagawa titled Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop . In response, Johnny & Associates released a statement stating that they were working on creating "transparent organizational structures" that will be announced later in

4940-399: The 1980s. Kitagawa himself was credited with pioneering the idol system where trainees (known as Johnny Jr.) are admitted into the agency at a young age to train in singing, dancing, and acting until their debut. Around the 1990s, Johnny & Associates' marketing strategy changed to include variety show hosting as a specialty in their talents. At the time, the agency focused on marketing

5070-507: The 1980s. Until 2019, the company was known for its strict policies regarding music distribution abroad and its strict control over the right of publicity to using the likeness of idols under its management. In the wake of continuing sexual abuse allegations directed against Kitagawa, who died in 2019, his niece, Julie Keiko Fujishima, stepped down as president in September 2023. On October 2, 2023, Johnny & Associates announced that they would be splitting into two entities: Smile-Up ,

5200-473: The 1987 Japan Record Award , and Hikaru Genji , the first Johnny group with three singles on the Japanese Oricon yearly chart in 1988. Johnny & Associates played an integral role in the post-war growth of Japanese boy bands and the idol industry . While there were idols since the 1970s who were able to sing and dance at the same time, the agency popularized the idea of performance-oriented idols in

5330-500: The 20th century, the F.C. was largely maintained through mail and fax . Johnny & Associates has exercised strict control over their talent's likeness, to the point where photographs were initially not even posted on the company's official website and silhouettes were used in place of actual imagery on official websites of films and television in which the talent appeared. The agency began changing their stance on posting photos of their talent on different sites around 2007, with

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5460-499: The 24th Japan Gold Disc Awards awarded Arashi the "Artist of the Year" prize and nine other awards in various categories. As a result, they became the first artist to win ten awards at once. It was announced on April 5 that Arashi would provide the theme song " Monster ", which was released on May 19 as a single, for Ohno's fantasy comedy drama based on Fujiko Fujio 's manga series Kaibutsu-kun . On May 24, "Monster" debuted at number-one on

5590-538: The Best Vocal Performance award at the 52nd Japan Record Awards ; Kondo was the first Johnny recipient since Ninja refused to perform live at the 1990 awards. On September 18, 2011, Kitagawa received Guinness World Record awards for the most number-one singles (232) and the most concerts (8,419 from 1974 to 2010) produced by an individual. His shows have been attended by an estimated 48,234,550 people. In 2016, SMAP , which had been active for 30 years and

5720-458: The Best! 1999–2009 passed one million copies sold, making it the first to do so in 2009. After five weeks, the album rose to the top of the Oricon yearly album chart, overtaking Mr. Children 's Supermarket Fantasy . In June 2010, it was reported that the album had sold a total of around 1,600,000 copies. As of August 2010, the album has sold a total of around 1,729,000 copies. As of April 2019,

5850-742: The Fair Trading Commission for potentially violating the Anti-Monopoly Act due to accusations of pressuring the media to reduce coverage on Atarashii Chizu, a group made up of former SMAP members Shingo Katori , Tsuyoshi Kusanagi , and Goro Inagaki . Despite lack of hard evidence, Johnny & Associates received a warning. On October 2, 2023, during a press conference addressing sexual assault allegations Johnny & Associates staff were videorecorded holding documents with lists labelled "NG (no good) Reporters," with at least 6 portrait photos and their corresponding seat numbers. According to

5980-484: The Johnny's subsidiary label J Storm in 2001, which was initially set up for their succeeding releases. While their debut single sold close to a million copies, the group took a mixture of pop and alternate/contemporary approach to its music which attracted core followers, but subsequently faced commercially slow sales. With the release of their eighteenth single " Love So Sweet ", Arashi began to gain commercial success as it

6110-494: The NHK the documents were brought in by FTI Consulting , a United States-based consulting company hired by Johnny & Associates to manage the press conference, to blacklist specific media reporters. During the conference each media outlet was allowed one question after being picked by the moderator. On October 4, 2023, Johnny & Associates denied involvement, stating "No one from our company has seen anything." Inohara on seeing

6240-447: The National Olympic Stadium. It was announced that the group would also perform there in 2013. Proposed by the Arashi members themselves, the concept of "Arafes" is that the set list was determined by fan voting, from a total of 240 songs including singles, couplings, and album tracks. A total of 44 tracks were chosen to be performed. On October 31, Arashi released their 11th studio album, Popcorn . The album sold over 750,000 copies and

6370-424: The National Olympic Stadium. This marked their sixth consecutive year of performing in the stadium. They also embarked on a dome tour which lasted from November 8 until December 22. On October 23, the group released their twelfth studio album, Love . The album sold over 670,000 copies in its first week. The Love Live Tour ran from November to December 2013. Oricon awarded Arashi with six awards this year, including

6500-441: The agency, as well as the fans, keeping a vigilant watch on what was shared, with the latter alerting people against doing it because of the possible consequences. Official events, such as the naming of Hideaki Takizawa as "Japan-UAE Goodwill Ambassador" in 2017, saw full view photographs shared online, while the agency's paid subscription services, like Johnny's Web , shared digital content in limited quantities. While some of

6630-411: The album three and a half out of five stars, stating that the first disc is "the most fun", the second disc is "seeming to be taking aim at courting a more mature (read: 'bland') image" and the third disc is "a curious collection of tracks that certainly adds variety to the compilation". CDJournal gave the album a star for an exceptional work and praised the members vocal delivery. Upon the release of

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6760-492: The album, it debuted at number-one on the Oricon daily album chart selling over 261,070 copies. On the weekly album chart the album took the number-one spot selling 753,430 copies. Due to the high opening sales, All the Best! 1999–2009 held the record for the best opening numbers for an album in the year 2009 and is their best-selling album. The album stayed at number-one for two consecutive weeks, selling over 232,800 copies in its second week. Thirteen days after release, All

6890-413: The artists. Several former acts from Johnny & Associates, including former Four Leaves member Koji Kita in 1988 and former Johnny Jr.'s member Junya Hiramoto in 1996, alleged that Johnny Kitagawa had been sexually abusing several boys at the agency in their books. In 2001, Shūkan Bunshun ran a series of similar sexual harassment allegations along with claims that Kitagawa had allegedly forced

7020-437: The blacklist during a rehearsal meeting between Johnny & Associates and FTI Consulting staff reportedly pushed back, saying "What does this mean? It's no good if we don't call on everyone." On October 5, 2023, Johnny & Associates issued a press release stating a media blacklist was never produced nor requested by their staff. When asked to issue an apology FTI Consulting allegedly countered that they can only do so once it

7150-468: The boys to drink alcohol and smoke. Johnny & Associates sued Shukan Bunshun for defamation, and in 2002, the Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of Kitagawa, awarding him ¥8.8 million in damages. In 2003, the fine was lowered to ¥1.2 million on the basis that the drinking and smoking allegations were defamatory, while the sexual harassment claims were not. Kitagawa filed an appeal to

7280-535: The center in most areas in which it operates; the company has had its own recording, publishing, producing, filmmaking, merchandising, and advertising arms, a vertical integration that parallels Japanese keiretsu system, and for most of its history transmitted information directly to fans exclusively through the Family Club , a tightly controlled, membership-based platform on which its artists and their fans can communicate and share information with each other. During

7410-411: The charity projects as part of their 2024 activities, with the single "We are", sung by the special unit "STARTO for you", formed by 75 members of 14 groups. The single was released in digital form on April 10, and as CD on June 12, with sales of the single going to Noto Earthquake relief funds. Additional information is expected to be released at a later date. As of June 5, 2024, the "Smile-Up Project"

7540-506: The charts. After holding more concerts in August, the group released their last single of 2000, " Kansha Kangeki Ame Arashi ". The single debuted at number two on the Oricon weekly singles chart and had first-week sales of 258,720. In January 2001, Arashi released their first studio album, Arashi No.1 Ichigou: Arashi wa Arashi o Yobu! . The album debuted at number-one on the Oricon weekly album chart with initial sales of 267,220 copies. Until

7670-404: The charts. The song "Kotoba Yori Taisetsu na Mono" marked the first time a member contributed to the penning of a single, as many of the group's songs are produced by other lyricists, composers, or musicians. Sakurai, who is the designated rapper of Arashi, has since written all the incorporated rap lyrics of the group's releases. The year 2004 was Arashi's fifth anniversary since debut. They began

7800-438: The company announced a strict policy of terminating the appearance of talents formerly affiliated with Johnny & Associates on its programs and not allowing them to appear on new programs after FY2024. In October 2024, NHK Chairman Nobuo Inaba announced at a regular press conference that, he had confirmed efforts of Smile-Up to compensate victims and prevent recurrence and the separation of management from Starto Entertainment

7930-446: The company had made a verbal request to Johnny's to change the name of the company and reform the organization. He also made a request in writing for the implementation of measures to prevent recurrence and to create an environment that facilitates the activities of the talents belonging to the company, claiming that relief measures for victims are inadequate. At a press conference on November 27, President Ishizawa revealed that regarding

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8060-412: The company, its acts, and Kitagawa, while reducing coverage on anything perceived to be a threat to their image and sales. An example noted by journalists mention that Kitagawa would threaten to withdraw his talent from certain music programs and channels if they provide unfavorable coverage or invite competing boy bands from other agencies. On July 18, 2019, Johnny & Associates was investigated by

8190-421: The company. Updated numbers as of 16 February, mention 957 claimants, 282 notified the details of compensation, 246 have accepted the details, and 201 have been paid. An independent probe established by Johnny & Associates reported the findings of their investigation on August 29, 2023, saying that Kitagawa repeatedly committed sexual abuse from the early 1970s until the mid-2010s. Johnny & Associates held

8320-400: The concerts were donated to the relief effort. Charity activities continued as Johnny's "Smile Up! Project". On May 13, 2020, it was reported that 76 of Johnny's artists from 15 groups, including V6, Arashi , News and others, would be included in the temporary unit "Twenty Twenty", as part of Johnny's charity project with support activity to prevent the spread of COVID-19 . This group sang

8450-470: The drama special Saigo no Yakusoku , the group's first drama together in nearly ten years. The theme song "Sora Takaku" was announced during the press conference for the drama special on December 15, 2009. Of the three newly recorded songs, only "Troublemaker" and "Yurase, Ima o" were included in the group's first single of the year released on March 3, with "Troublemaker" being the A-side song. On February 24,

8580-474: The edition of Higashiyama's words in the interview included in the program, as well as demanding a correction and apology for the problems caused by it to both Higashiyama and the victims who agreed to be interviewed. On May 3, 2024, the BBC refuted Smile-up's claims via X . For years, Johnny & Associates has been suspected of having connections with the mass media to produce extensive and favorable coverage on

8710-527: The end of January remains in the leading position of the Oricon charts, entering the fifth week in this position. The succeeding DVD concert was revealed on March 16, titled after the 2012 album of same name "Arashi Live Tour: Popcorn". After the release of the double sided single "Calling/Breathless", it was soon announced by Oricon that the single had sold a record number of copies in its first week, at approximately 756,000. This sales record makes their 40th single

8840-507: The end-of-year period with a new awareness campaign against COVID-19 and the flu, starting on November 24. "Aitsu", the new project, revolves around a series of movies continuing the health measure awareness used from the beginning of the pandemic, like the correct form of washing hands, the continuous use of a mask, among others. The movies were distributed around Japan and were included in the Smile Up! Project's social network accounts. Even in

8970-471: The entire theme park for one night, the group performed a special medley of Christmas songs and their own songs such as "Arashi" and "One Love", which made the Arashi the first celebrity to sing their own songs at Tokyo DisneySea . Arashi attended the 60th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve, making it not only the group's first time performing on the show but also the first time in twenty-one years another group from Johnny's other than SMAP and Tokio ,

9100-418: The exception of Satoshi Ohno 's solo single. A new song titled "5x10" was included with both editions. The song's lyrics were written by Arashi themselves to express their gratitude for their fans. The regular edition exclusively contains a hidden track titled "Attack It!" while the limited edition exclusively contains a third disc of the band's selections and a premium booklet. Ian Martin from AllMusic gave

9230-406: The face of Arashi 's Sho Sakurai that she had posted on her blog, substituting it with a hand-drawn teddy bear and a written message, and later, with a hand-drawn version of the fan. Apparently, one of the events that started the movement to freeing the images of Johnny's idols online, was NHK 's 2009 Kōhaku Uta Gassen , as the agency reached an agreement with the network to air the program in

9360-540: The first Japanese artist to sell over five million DVDs. On October 19, 2011, NHK announced Arashi and actress Mao Inoue as the hosts for the 62nd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen . This was the second year in a row for Arashi to be in charge of the White Team. On November 2, 2011, the group released their 36th single " Meikyū Love Song ". "Meikyū Love Song" was adapted as the ending theme song for Sakurai's drama Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de . The single sold over 240,000 copies on

9490-440: The first day and over 530,000 copies in the first week. In December 2011, it was announced that Arashi topped four categories in the 2011 Oricon yearly rankings. Beautiful World sold a total of 908,000 copies, making it the top-selling album of 2011 in Japan. This marks the third consecutive year that Arashi has topped the Oricon yearly album chart, being the first artist to do so in twenty years. This year's ranking also marks

9620-419: The first week respectively. In addition, Arashi released a music DVD titled Arashi Live Tour Beautiful World on May 23, which sold approximately 572,000 copies in the first week. On July 20, 2012, Arashi announced a concert titled "Ara-fes" which was held at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on September 20 and 21 of the same year. This marked the fifth consecutive year in which the group has performed at

9750-401: The first week set by their debut song "Arashi" in 1999. The group became the first male artist to achieve six number-one singles in a year. On December 31, 2010, Arashi co-hosted the 61st NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen with Nao Matsushita , becoming the first group to host the show. On January 5, 2011, the 25th Japan Gold Disc Awards awarded Arashi the "Artist of the Year" prize for the second year in

9880-406: The first week. On August 19, Arashi released their greatest hits album All the Best! 1999–2009 , which featured most of their singles since debut, a new song with lyrics written by the members themselves, and a limited edition third disc containing ten of the group's selections. The album sold over 753,000 copies in the first week. Thirteen days after the release, the album broke the one million mark,

10010-759: The first week. The DVD sold another 59,000 copies, bringing the total to an estimate of 677,000 copies sold and pushing the group's overall music DVD sales to 4,014,000 copies. As a result, Arashi became the first artist in Oricon history to sell over four million DVDs. In early May 2011, the group announced their new tour with concerts in July, September, and January 2012 called the "Beautiful World Concert Tour". The group then announced on May 19, 2011, that they will hold charity events at Tokyo Dome for three days starting June 24, 2011, release their tenth studio album titled Beautiful World on July 6, 2011, and start their nationwide concert tour on July 24, 2011. According to Matsumoto,

10140-539: The five major domes in Osaka, Sapporo, Tokyo, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Although the four days are not consecutive, Arashi became the first to hold four concerts at the National Olympic Stadium in the same tour. The group's song " Love Rainbow " was used as the theme song for the romance drama Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku ( 夏の恋は虹色に輝く , Summer Love Shines in Rainbow Colors ) starring Matsumoto and Yūko Takeuchi . "To Be Free", Arashi's third single of 2010, became

10270-453: The fundraiser, which included talk sessions and a cappella performances. The agency planned to hold one fundraiser per month for a year. The next event, a baseball tournament featuring Johnny's Jrs., was held on May 29. Johnny & Associates cancelled or postponed 18 concerts, including shows by Tomohisa Yamashita and Tackey & Tsubasa . Generators, trucks and 2,000 litres (530 US gal) of gasoline which would have been used at

10400-499: The group as all of their singles ranked within the Top 30 of the annual Oricon charts, with "Love So Sweet" ranking fourth in single sales overall, making it the group's first single to rank within the Top 10 on the annual charts. "Love So Sweet" was also named one of The Best 10 Singles in the 22nd Japan Gold Disc Awards in 2008. The group's success in 2007 sparked renewed public interest. In February, Arashi released their first single of

10530-543: The group embarked on a publicity tour around Asia called Jet Storm Tour on July 31. The group visited Taiwan , Thailand and South Korea , countries which later became part of their 2006 Asia tour, all in one day to hold press conferences and promote their Arashic album. For two days, September 16 and 17, Arashi held their first concerts in Taipei at the Taipei Arena . Performing "Arashi", "Wish" and " Kitto Daijōbu ", which

10660-463: The group's Jet Storm Tour. Arashi proved popular to Korean fans when their concert tickets were sold out in an hour, as some 150,000 people rushed to book tickets online. The group traveled back to Japan and then released their second and final the single of the year " Aozora Pedal ", which was written and composed by Japanese musician Shikao Suga and used for Sakurai's movie Honey and Clover . Although Arashi had planned to return to Thailand to hold

10790-562: The group's concert in Shanghai on November 15, they released their fourth single of the year, " Beautiful Days ", which was used as the theme song for Ninomiya's drama Ryūsei no Kizuna . Although "Beautiful Days" only had a little over a month to chart before the Oricon charting period for 2008 ended on December 11, the single managed to climb up to be the tenth best-selling single of the year. Their concert DVD Summer Tour 2007 Final Time - Kotoba no Chikara , released on April 16, also ranked as

10920-556: The group's singles and albums were being released outside Japan. Their studio album, Arashic , was released not only in Japan, but also in Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. The album was successful in Korea as the first 10,000 copies of the album were sold out on the first day, and it even topped the non-Korean sales charts on the third week of July. In the midst of Arashi's summer concert tour Arachic Arashic Arasick Cool and Soul ,

11050-481: The group's string of number-one releases but also propelling the album to reach Platinum status by Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). Also in July, the TBS drama production of the manga Yamada Tarō Monogatari , which starred Ninomiya and Sakurai, began. Arashi sang the theme song of the drama, titled " Happiness ", and released it on September 5 as their third single of the year. The year proved successful for

11180-436: The group's twentieth consecutive number-one single since "Pikanchi Double" (2004) on July 13. Together with Ohno's solo single "Yukai Tsukai Kaibutsu-kun" ( ユカイツーカイ怪物くん ) , which was released on the same day as "To Be Free" and placed at number-two, Arashi and Ohno accomplished the rare feat of a group and a solo artist from the group simultaneously taking the top two spots for the first time in nearly ten years. Arashi provided

11310-450: The highest total sales award. Arashi hosted the 64th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve for their 4th consecutive year with actress Haruka Ayase . Johnny %26 Associates Johnny & Associates, Inc. was a Japanese talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which managed groups of male idols known as Johnny's. The company had a significant impact on pop culture with male idols and boy bands in Japan since

11440-502: The improvement of the human rights environment (on the part of Johnny & Associates),” and added, “In the meantime, there will be no change in the current contracted talent who are performing in the future. We will continue to monitor the situation closely, ” he said. Regarding future appointments, he said, “We will make an appropriate decision while keeping a close eye on how the Johnny's will improve human rights and how it will make steady progress in this area. On March 5, 2024, they held

11570-410: The initial "photos" were life-like drawings or paintings, a small amount of authentic photos where being shared by some drama and other TV program websites, with the usage permit for these being cleared, as in the case of SMAP 's Goro Inagaki 's drama, for example. Even singer Hikaru Utada felt the pressure of Johnny's policy about their artists' photos, when she deleted a photo of an uchiwa fan with

11700-437: The journalist. In 2007, a temporary Johnny's Jr. group, Hey! Say! 7 , broke a record as the youngest male group to ever top Oricon charts, with an average age of 14.8 years. Later that year, Hey! Say! JUMP broke a record as the largest group to debut in Johnny's history, with ten members. By 2008, Johnny & Associates was known as the "top 3" recording artist companies. On November 19, 2010, Masahiko Kondo received

11830-424: The managing director, said, "We have heard that compensation for victims is progressing and that the new company, Starto Entertainment , will officially begin operations in April. For our part, we are willing to cast new talent from the former Johnny's if the compensation issue is progressing". 20 September 2023, TBS Television (Japan) President Takashi Sasaki stated, “We will continue to closely monitor trends in

11960-444: The media. Arc Times editor Toshihiko Ogata who was attending commented "As expected, it was a rigged press conference. We also got ahold of this list and are waiting for a formal response. I think it's amazing that the NHK was able to capture that footage." Shūkan Bunshun journalist Ryūtarō Nakamura commented "This is a total out . With this it's obvious that their unscrupulous ways haven't changed. 'We didn't know' or 'a third-party

12090-563: The middle of the turmoil surrounding the agency, as Smile Up, they posted a new charity event to help out the people affected in the Noto Peninsula earthquake that happened as 2024 rolled in. On January 4, the company announced through its official website that it would set up donation boxes at concert and theater performance venues where its artists would perform, and its XXXXX Pop Up Stores in Shibuya, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, in order to support

12220-406: The most successful in terms of first week sales. The single later went on to sell over 853,467 copies. Arashi announced their 41st single, "Endless Game" on April 9 during a press conference for drama " Kazoku Game " which was attended by star of the aforementioned, member Sakurai Sho. The single was announced for a May 29 release date. On September 21 and 22 Arashi once again held Arafes concerts in

12350-479: The name of "We are! Let's get the party STARTO!!", the concert series took place over three days, in Tokyo Dome on April 10 and at Kyocera Dome Osaka on May 29 and 30, with appearances of NEWS , Super Eight, KAT-TUN , Hey! Say! JUMP , Kis-My-Ft2 , Timelesz, A.B.C-Z , WEST., King & Prince , SixTones , Snow Man , Naniwa Danshi and Travis Japan . In 1998, Johnny's groups KinKi Kids , V6 and Tokio, formed

12480-405: The name of the company and separating the company in charge of victim relief from the company in charge of managing the talent. Regarding the future use of the talent belonging to the company in programs, President Minato said, “We will make an appropriate decision while confirming that measures for victims are being steadily implemented. At a regular press conference on February 16, 2024, Toru Ota,

12610-414: The policy of appointing talents to programs, Executive Director Hiroyuki Fukuda expressed his basic opinion, "We will reconsider once we confirm the progress of the case and the response of the other party, but we will not make any new casting or booking in the absence of such a confirmation". On the other hand, regarding the continued use, he said, seeking understanding, “We have also confirmed that Smile-Up

12740-460: The recommendations of the Special Team for Recurrence Prevention. In addition, the agency promised to not receive remuneration for the talent's program and commercial advertisement appearances for one year, with all income going directly to the artist. A follow-up program by the BBC aired in 2024, called "Our World: The Shadow of a Predator". On April 25, Smile Up sent the BBC a letter protesting

12870-531: The release of their tenth anniversary compilation album All the Best! 1999–2009 , the album remained the group's best-selling album with overall sales of about 323,030 for nearly ten years. From March 25 to April 30, 2001, the group embarked on their first nationwide concert tour Arashi Spring Concert 2001 . The tour took place in Sendai, Osaka, Nagoya, Hokkaidō, Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kanazawa, Toyama, and Tokyo with an unprecedented twenty-six performances. Before moving to

13000-415: The second best-selling music DVD of 2008 and ranked sixth place in the general DVD category. The group released two double A-side singles, "Believe/Kumorinochi, Kaisei" and " Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki) ", on March 4 and May 27 respectively. Both singles sold over 500,000 copies in first week sales, making Arashi the first artist to have two consecutive singles exceed the 500,000 mark within

13130-412: The sexual abuse matter despite various weekly magazine articles about the allegations and a Tokyo High Court ruling in 2004. A few weeks later, NHK announced that it would suspend new contracts with Johnny's performers–including for their annual New Year's Eve television special Kōhaku Uta Gassen –until the company has implemented compensation and recurrence prevention measures. In February 2024,

13260-484: The singing and dancing talents of their acts until they would retire around age 25 as they aged out of the industry. Taking note of former Shibugakitai member Hirohide Yakumaru's success as an MC on Hanamaru , Johnny & Associates subsequently trained their more recent groups to have public personas as well. During the 1990s Johnny & Associates began declining nominations from the Japan Record Awards and

13390-432: The song "Smile" , written by Mr. Children 's Kazutoshi Sakurai , which was released as a single in digital form on June 22, and on CD on August 12. Yuya Tegoshi was taken off the grouping, due to reports of his failing to keep orders to stay at home during the emergency situation in April. Later on, it was revealed that his contract had been terminated, and that he had left the company. Activities continued on

13520-470: The stage of considering new appointments of talents after receiving reports that the situation was progressing steadily. On 13 September 2023 was announced on the official site the establishment of the Victim Relief Committee & compensation reception desk. The Victim Relief Committee will be entrusted with determining the amount of compensation based on the contents of the declarations made by

13650-477: The talent, so we will continue to make a comprehensive judgment based on the content of the project as we have in the past. I believe that Smile-Up. is in charge of compensating the victims, but I would like to ask that you continue to proceed with this matter in good faith and as quickly as possible. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and continue our dialogue with the office". On September 25, 2023, Nippon TV president Akira Ishizawa announced that

13780-421: The theme song " Dear Snow " for the live-action movie adaptation of the award-winning Ōoku: The Inner Chambers manga starring Ninomiya and Kou Shibasaki . On August 10, Arashi's ninth studio album Boku no Miteiru Fūkei placed at number-one on the Oricon weekly album chart, selling around 731,000 copies. The album maintained its number-one spot in the second week, making it Arashi's first studio album to lead

13910-623: The third consecutive year that Arashi has topped the music DVD charts as Arashi 10–11 Tour "Scene": Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fūkei – Stadium sold 793,000 copies, making it the best selling music DVD in Oricon DVD ranking history. The second best selling music DVD for 2011 was Arashi's Arashi 10–11 Tour "Scene": Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fūkei – Dome+ , which sold 673,000 copies. The group was the 2nd artist by total sales revenue in Japan in 2011, with ¥15.369 billion. On March 7, 2012, Arashi released their 37th single, " Wild at Heart ". "Wild at Heart"

14040-537: The title was chosen to reflect on Arashi's thoughts on the future of Japan after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake . Their nationwide tour was held at four of the five major domes and the National Olympic Stadium, making it the group's fourth consecutive year performing at the stadium. On June 22, 2011, Oricon announced that the group's second music DVD Arashi 10–11 Tour "Scene": Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fūkei – Dome+ sold 539,000 copies in its first week of sales, pushing their all-time DVD sales to 5.282 million, making them

14170-583: The top three best-selling singles of the year. In 2010, all six of Arashi's singles ranked within the top ten of the Oricon singles yearly chart, and their million-selling studio album Boku no Miteiru Fūkei was named the best-selling album of the year in Japan. As of October 2020, the group had sold over 58.8 million copies of albums, singles and videos and became the best selling boy band in Asia. Since then, Arashi has continued to release chart-topping singles and albums, perform in sold-out concert tours, host

14300-450: The top two rankings on the Oricon singles yearly chart for two consecutive years with their singles " Truth / Kaze no Mukō e " and " One Love " in 2008 and " Believe / Kumorinochi, Kaisei " and " Ashita no Kioku / Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki) " in 2009, simultaneously topped the 2009 Oricon singles, album and music DVD yearly charts, and became the third artist in Oricon history to monopolize

14430-448: The tour included a return to Taipei and Seoul while the third leg was a first time trip to Shanghai. The concert in Shanghai also marked Johnny & Associates' first concert in China . Almost a month after the release of "One Love", their twenty-third single, " Truth/Kaze no Mukō e ", was released. Debuting atop of the Oricon weekly charts, the double A-side single sold 467,288 copies. Before

14560-414: The two traditional participants, performed at Kōhaku. On January 5, it was announced that Arashi would provide the song "Yurase, Ima o" as the theme song for the 2010 Winter Olympics news coverage on NTV. On January 6, Sakurai announced that Arashi would provide the theme song "Troublemaker" for his then-upcoming comedy drama. The next day, Mezamashi TV aired the first preview of the theme song for

14690-435: The vice presidents and Kitagawa's older sister, Mary Yasuko Fujishima, became the executive director. However, Mary Yasuko Fujishima died on August 14, 2021. After that, Johnny & Associates made their discography available on streaming platforms and opened social media accounts. On November 1, 2022, Takizawa resigned from his position as vice president and departed from Johnny & Associates. Yoshihiko Inohara ,

14820-412: The victims who are watching the conference was given as a reason to create the blacklist. Contradicting Johnny & Associates' claims FTI stated both parties confirmed their policy on conducting the press conference. The press conference attracted criticism from journalists, broadcasters, and politicians at a time when Johnny & Associates was attempting to mend its public image and relationship with

14950-403: The victims, as said on the announcement. The committee is composed of three lawyers with no ties to Johnny's Office, nor to the victims seeking compensation. On 2 October, an external Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) will be appointed to formulate and implement basic policies on human rights and develop internal rules. According to the site, the agency plans to announce more specific measures based on

15080-554: The victims. "By conducting this fundraising campaign as part of "Smile Up! Project", we aim to provide continued support. The entire SMILE-UP Group sincerely prays for the earliest possible recovery and reconstruction so that everyone affected by the disaster can return to their normal lives." One day later, they also posted information on the donation of 50 million yen to the Noto Peninsula Earthquake Disaster Relief Fund. Starto Entertainment continued

15210-746: The year by releasing their twelfth single, " Pikanchi Double ", in February as the theme song for their second movie Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakara Happy ( ピカ☆ンチ Life is HardだからHappy , Pikanchi Life is Hard Thus Happy ) . Selling 89,106 copies in the first week, it is Arashi's lowest-selling single to date. In celebration of their anniversary, the group released a greatest hits album 5x5 The Best Selection of 2002–2004 , which included their second 2004 single " Hitomi no Naka no Galaxy/Hero ". In 2005, on New Year's Day, Arashi released their first concert DVD since How's It Going? in 2003 titled 2004 Arashi! Iza, Now Tour!! . From July 26 to August 24, they embarked on

15340-608: The year, " Step and Go ", which debuted at the top of the Oricon weekly chart for having sold 324,223 copies, making it as the group's first single to exceed 300,000 copies sold in the first week since "Sunrise Nippon/Horizon" in 2000. The same month, it was announced that the group would be doing a concert tour of the five major domes in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka, and Sapporo. The tour, titled Arashi Marks 2008 Dream-A-Live , consisted of ten performances, from May 16 in Osaka to July 6 in Sapporo. The only other Johnny's artists who have done

15470-1157: The year. Due to the release of the documentary, reports from books and magazines dated back to the 1960s began to surface, with the first report appearing in Weekly Sankei 's 29 March 1965 issue. On April 12, 2023, musician and former Johnny's Jr. member Kauan Okamoto claimed Kitagawa had abused him since he was 15, and that he was not the only victim. As a response, Johnny & Associates stated they were working on transparency from within company and were working with their affiliates, to ensure thorough compliance with laws and strengthen organizational governance. The presidents of television networks Fuji TV , NHK , TV Asahi , and Nippon TV all stated in press conferences that they did not tolerate any kind of sexual violence and were conducting internal investigations. The networks continued to work with talent from Johnny & Associates. On May 14, 2023, Johnny Kitagawa's niece and company head Julie Keiko Fujishima issued an apology to all talent who had been allegedly sexually abused by Kitagawa and claimed not knowing any other information. She stated

15600-527: Was any problem with the talent himself regarding his appearance on the program, and explained that there would be no change in the policy of making a comprehensive judgment based on the program's planned content. On March 8, 2024, a briefing on the April reorganization was held, at which Director General Akihiro Okukawa and General Manager Taichi Kono of the Content Organization Bureau took the stage. They said, "We are not aware of any problems with

15730-470: Was broadcast, exceeded 20%. At this high-profile press conference, Tokyo Shimbun reporter Isoko Mochizuki , who is said to have been on the blacklist, persistently asked Noriyuki Higashiyama if he himself had been victims of sexual assault. All the Best! 1999%E2%80%932009 Both the regular and limited editions contain all of the band's singles from their debut single " Arashi " (1999) to " Ashita no Kioku/Crazy Moon (Kimi wa Muteki) " (2009), with

15860-492: Was called a nationally popular group, suddenly broke up. The reason was said to be a feud between the female manager Michi Iijima in charge and Mary Yasuko Fujishima, who was an executive at the office, a sister of Johnny Kitagawa. Iijima later established a new company, and the three members who left the office belonged to her company. In 2018, Johnny & Associates, especially Kitagawa, who had been previously known for strictly controlling access to their acts, established

15990-480: Was certified for a Triple Platinum by the RIAJ . The Popcorn Live Tour ran through December into January and was reported as of December 15 to have attracted 730,000 people with 16 shows. Arashi hosted the 63rd NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen on New Year's Eve for their third consecutive year with actress Maki Horikita . Ninomiya declared, "I want to win this year." Sakurai added, "We want to do something new as artists." The group

16120-506: Was committed to implementing measures addressing the victim's needs. In the following days, more victims came out stating Kitagawa abused them, including former Johnny's Jr. Yasushi Hashida and former Kis-My-Ft2 member Kyohei Iida, the latter of whom stated he left his group due to being repeatedly sexually assaulted. As of 2 October 2023, 478 people reportely have claimed to have been victimized by Kitagawa and 325 of them sought compensation. Only 150 have been confirmed to have belonged in

16250-456: Was responsible' is not valid. At the September 7 press conference attended by Noriyuki Higashiyama , Yoshihiko Inohara , and former president Julie Keiko Fujishima attracted a great deal of public attention and was broadcast live on almost all television stations in the afternoon. The total household viewership of NHK and four commercial broadcasters in the Kanto region, where the press conference

16380-609: Was the 3rd artist by total sales revenue in Japan in 2012, with ¥10.454 billion. On January 11, Arashi announced that their 40th single " Calling/Breathless " would be released on March 6. The double A-side single features the themes for Aiba Masaki's Fuji TV drama Last Hope and Ninomiya Kazunari's feature film Platina Data (プラチナデータ). The first video preview for "Calling" was unveiled on February 5 with an introduction by Aiba referring to his drama as "medical suspense entertainment". Arashi's live DVD Arafes , released on December 26, 2012, reportedly sold over 624,000 copies and as of

16510-463: Was the theme song for Matsumoto's drama Lucky Seven . The single sold 550,000 copies in the first week, making it the group's third highest first week sales after Hatenai Sora and Arashi (This position later became fourth highest after the 2013 release of Calling/Breathless"). Later in March, Arashi revealed their second single for 2012 and 38th in total, " Face Down ". The single was released on May 9 and

16640-436: Was the theme song for Ohno's drama Kagi no Kakatta Heya . In late April, the release date of June 6 was announced for their 39th single Your Eyes , which is the theme song for Aiba Masaki's NTV drama Mikeneko Holmes no Suiri (三毛猫ホームズの推理). Not since "Dear Snow" and "Hatenai Sora" (Beautiful World) in 2010 have two singles been released within a month of each other. "Face Down" and "Your Eyes" sold 526,000 and 478,000 copies in

16770-537: Was their first single release of the year, the group represented Japan in the 3rd annual Asia Song Festival in South Korea on September 22. Almost two months later, they became the first group from Johnny's to perform individual concerts in South Korea. According to The Korea Times , the concerts in Korea were decided because about 1,500 Korean fans gathered at the Incheon International Airport during

16900-400: Was used as the opening theme song for the high-rating drama Hana Yori Dango 2 whose protagonist is played by Matsumoto, making it one of the top five best-selling singles of 2007 in Japan and the group's first single to exceed 400,000 copies sold overall in nearly seven years. For the next two years, Arashi gained a number of achievements and records as they became the first artist to place

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