Arashi’s Hiatus Leaves SMAP and KAT-TUN Fans Devastated

The difference that SMAP and KAT-TUN fans felt compared to Arashi

On May 6, Arashi announced that they will end their group activities after their concert tour scheduled for next spring. Because the final year before their hiatus coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, preventing them from performing in front of fans, they have expressed a desire to fulfill the performances they couldn’t do during the pandemic. In contrast, fans of SMAP and KAT-TUN, who were unable to see their groups perform live for their final concerts before disbandment, are shocked by this difference compared to Arashi.

Arashi had been on hiatus since the end of 2020. According to an official statement on their social media, about a year and a half ago, the five members started meeting to discuss resuming activities as Arashi. Ultimately, they decided to end their activities as a five-member group after giving their fans direct gratitude and the chance to see their performance live. The members expressed that “We couldn’t imagine that after resuming activities, we would go back into a hiatus again.”

Although Arashi said they are ending activities, this can effectively be considered a disbandment. Among Johnny’s groups, KAT-TUN officially disbanded on March 31 of this year. When announcing the disbandment, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (formerly Johnny’s) explained on their official website that after about a year of discussions with the members, they decided that for the second year of the contract starting April 1, 2025, it would be better for the members to retire the KAT-TUN name and each pursue their own paths.

This company decision raised doubts among fans, with many KAT-TUN fans questioning whether it truly reflected the consensus of members Kazuya Kamenashi, Tatsuya Ueda, and Yuichi Nakamaru. Moreover, KAT-TUN did not hold any large-scale events with all three members before disbandment. Although a fan club members-only live streaming event titled “Thanks to Hyphen 2025” was held on March 31, fans had to say goodbye without ever seeing live KAT-TUN one last time, according to entertainment reporters.

Due to distrust toward the agency’s handling of KAT-TUN’s disbandment, many expressed frustrations online:

“Why was Arashi allowed to have a live concert before ending activities but KAT-TUN wasn’t? What’s the difference?”

“Arashi will have a proper final concert. The way KAT-TUN was treated by the agency was just awful, and they treated us fans like fools.”

“Arashi announced their ending a year ago and will do a live for fans, so that’s still something to be thankful for. KAT-TUN’s disbandment was too sudden, and as a Hyphen (KAT-TUN fan), I can’t accept it. Their treatment was terrible.”

Similarly, fans of SMAP, which disbanded at the end of 2016, have expressed sadness. After announcing their disbandment in August 2016, SMAP did not hold any farewell concerts, and the last time all five members appeared together was on the December 26 broadcast of “SMAP×SMAP” (Fuji TV). Because of this, SMAP fans commented:

“It’s sad that they’re ending activities, but at least they’re doing a concert. SMAP didn’t do that in the end”

“I wanted to see SMAP’s final live.”

“Many people are sad about Arashi’s ending, but from a SMAP fan’s perspective, we had about a year to prepare ourselves mentally, and I’m jealous that Arashi fans will get a final live show.”

The sadness among SMAP fans might be even stronger now that Masahiro Nakai announced his retirement this January, making a reunion of the group members virtually impossible.

As for KAT-TUN, although disbanded, there remains a possibility that the three members might reunite in some capacity:

“At the time of the disbandment announcement, the agency said, ‘Although KAT-TUN will disband on March 31, the members hope to create opportunities to meet fans again in the near future, and arrangements are underway.’ Also, during their last streaming event, they mentioned they would inform fans once dates for meeting fans are decided. Kazuya Kamenashi left STARTO on the same day, but nowadays collaborations between former and current agency talents are becoming common, so the hurdles to making this happen are not that high,” said an industry insider.

The question now is whether KAT-TUN will appear before fans again before Arashi, and whether they can conclude their activities on a positive note.