Junior Group Disbands, Fans Lament Loss of Roller Tradition

On the night of July 24, STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (hereafter STARTO) updated the “Junior Official Website” to announce that the young group Go!Go! Kids would be ending their group activities as of that date. The sudden, de facto disbandment prompted an outpouring of heartbroken reactions from fans.

Compared to other groups

The group was formed in May 2022, during the period when Hideaki Takizawa (43) was in charge of training Johnny’s Jr. At the time of its formation, it was an eight-member group consisting of Hamura Jinsei (18), Matsuura Kinji (18), Terasa Kotou (17), Mimura Koki (17), Sakuma Restu (16), Samehima Ryo (16), Tanaka Hinari (16), and Uehara Kenshin (15), and they specialized in roller skating.

“However, perhaps due to Takizawa leaving the former Johnny’s Office at the end of October 2022, in recent years they had fewer opportunities to perform compared to other Jr. groups such as HiHi Jets, Bishonen, 7 MEN Samurai, and Shonen Ninja, and it couldn’t be said that they were fortunate.

From October last year to the end of March this year, Samehima and Sakuma gradually withdrew and left the agency. Terasa suspended his entertainment activities indefinitely from March this year due to underage smoking allegations circulating online. Furthermore, at the end of June, Mimura also left the agency, leaving Go!Go!kids as a four-member group consisting of Hamura, Matsuura, Tanaka, and Uehara,” said an entertainment writer.

On July 24, STARTO Entertainment announced: “As of July 24, 2025, Go!Go!kids will conclude activities as a group. We sincerely thank everyone who has supported Go!Go!kids and apologize for the sudden announcement.”

They added that each member will now move on to new stages and encouraged fans to continue supporting them, saying, “Although the form of expression will change, each member will walk their path while cherishing the experiences gained and gratitude toward everyone.”

This summer, the Jr. members will participate in various concerts, but there were no scheduled group activities under Go!Go!kids.

According to the Jr. official website, Uehara is set to perform at the “Fuga Onishi & Hyotaro Okazaki Summer Special Concert 2025” in Tokyo from July 26–30, while Tanaka, Matsuura, and Hamura are scheduled to appear at the “SUMMER FES ROPPONGI SUNNY BEATS Tokyo Jr. Next Generation 2025” from July 30 to August 1. Although the official announcement was made on July 24, signs of the group’s disbandment had already been apparent beforehand.

The traditional roller-skate unit disbands

Following this announcement, some junior fans commented:

“Go!Go!kids are ending. I guess it can’t be helped with so many members gone. Maybe the group was already over once Takki left.”

“Go!Go!kids seem like Takki made them and then just abandoned them—so sad.”

“Takki should be held more accountable for Go!Go!kids ending. If he planned to ditch them from the start, he shouldn’t have created a junior unit and left.”

“The end of Go!Go!kids are entirely Takki’s fault for quitting the agency and leaving everything behind.”

Criticism is being directed at Hideaki Takizawa, who produced the juniors at the time of the group’s formation. Since the group’s exposure had already decreased, some people seem to sympathize with the members.

“Also, in the old Johnny’s era, groups using roller skates—a hallmark of ‘Hikaru GENJI’—kept appearing. Among debuting groups, ‘Kis-My-Ft2’ continued that tradition, but recently, opportunities to perform with roller skates have decreased.

The junior group ‘HiHi Jets’ followed a similar style, but with the February junior group reorganization this year, it was effectively disbanded. Now that Go!Go!kids have ended, there is no longer a junior unit using roller skates as their main feature.”

Because of this, fans lament:

“The traditional Johnny’s roller-skating groups are gone.”

“Finally, there’s no junior group performing on roller skates anymore.”

“The tradition of roller-skating cannot disappear like this!”

Additionally, fan posts suggest many are hoping a new group will emerge, keeping attention focused on future developments.