Taka from ONE OK ROCK Spotted in Two-Shot with Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park

On the night of February 10th, in front of an apparel store in Nakameguro (Meguro Ward, Tokyo), Mike Shinoda (48), a member of the American rock band “Linkin Park,” who was in Japan for a concert tour, was seen interacting with a large crowd of fans.

“Linkin Park is an American rock band that originated from the band ‘Super Xero,’ which was formed in 1996. They are one of the best-selling bands of the 21st century, with total worldwide sales exceeding 100 million records. Many of their songs are long-time hits, and even now, their song ‘Numb,’ released 21 years ago, continues to sell. It ranked on the Billboard Global Chart (excluding the U.S.) last June, remaining a phenomenally popular track.

Unfortunately, in 2017, the band lost its vocalist Chester Bennington, which led to a temporary halt in their activities. However, in 2018, Shinoda released a solo album titled ‘Post Traumatic.’ He also performed under the name ‘MIKE SHINODA of LINKIN PARK’ at Summer Sonic in Japan that August. In September 2024, the band was reunited with a new vocalist, female singer Emily Armstrong (38), and Shinoda returned to Japan in February for their first Japanese concert in 12 years,” said an editor of a music magazine.

As his name suggests, Shinoda has a Japanese-American father and is familiar with Japan—his younger brother even studied abroad at Doshisha University. That night, he visited a pop-up store selling apparel in collaboration with the store. With his 48th birthday approaching the next day, it seemed that Shinoda was gifted a cake and received warm birthday wishes from many Japanese fans.

The two-night-only Japan concerts held on February 11th and 12th at “Saitama Super Arena” concluded successfully. On February 13th, “ONE OK ROCK’s” Taka (36) updated his Instagram, posting a two-shot photo with Shinoda, arms around each other, and wrote:

“It was truly an emotional concert. I’m really looking forward to performing together in France!”

He also announced that “ONE OK ROCK” would be appearing in “Linkin Park’s” world tour in Paris, France, on July 11th. Expectations for the performance of Shinoda and Taka are high, and many fans hope they will collaborate in Japan as well.

 

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