Sho Sakurai Sparks Backlash Over Ren Meguro Info, Prompted to Make Corrections

Unexpected Commotion from a Blog Update

Sho Sakurai (44) of Arashi updated his blog on the fan site FAMILY CLUB web on January 15. He wrote an episode about Ren Meguro (28) of Snow Man, which sparked a series of reactions and comments. As the situation gained traction on social media, the text of the blog was reportedly modified.

Sakurai’s personal page on FAMILY CLUB web, called Otonoha, is traditionally updated on the 15th of each month. In the blog posted on the 15th this year, he started by mentioning that he had received New Year greetings from juniors including Meguro of Snow Man.

Speaking of Meguro, on December 31, 2025, at the New Year’s live concert COUNTDOWN CONCERT 2025-2026 STARTO to MOVE held at Tokyo Dome by STARTO ENTERTAINMENT artists (commonly called Kaukon), he covered Arashi’s song “Still.”

In the “Shuffle Medley” segment, where members from different groups collaborate for one night only, he performed together with his peers—Yoshitaka Hara (30) of timelesz, Kento Nagao (23) of Naniwa Danshi, Kaito Nakamura (28) and Kaito Matsukura (28) of Travis Japan, and Ken Kojima (26) of Aぇ! group.

“According to Sakurai, Meguro sent him a message saying that he had been allowed to sing with Hara at the Kaukon. Meguro and Hara joined the agency at the same time and had performed together in the junior group Uchu Six. Sakurai also mentioned that he had watched the main broadcast of the Kaukon on Netflix, which started streaming on January 7, and was moved seeing the two—who had once danced behind Arashi—perform the rap lines he had written,” explained an entertainment writer.

As for Arashi, the group will conclude its activities with this year’s tour, ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2026 “We are ARASHI”, from March 13 to May 31. Perhaps in preparation for the final tour, Sakurai had recently been revisiting old concert footage. During that, he reportedly thought, “Oh! Meguro was there with us during ‘Japonism’ too!”

“After many twists and turns, Meguro debuted as a member of Snow Man in January 2020. Meanwhile, after Uchu Sixdisbanded in October of the same year, Hara, working as an actor individually, auditioned for the new members of timelesz and became a member in February 2025.

During Kaukon’s performance of ‘Still.’, there was a scene where Meguro and Hara looked at each other while singing. Hara appeared deeply moved to be on stage singing alongside his longtime ally Meguro. Perhaps feeling the emotional intensity of the moment, Sakurai wrote, ‘This is the essence of the countdown performed by our organization. The true thrill,’” added the same source.

Controversy over the “Still” performance

However, sharp criticism came from some fans. As mentioned earlier, “Still” was performed not just by the two of them, but by six people in total, including Nagao. Yet viewers watching the live stream of the “Countdown Concert” on FAMILY CLUB online raised questions about the way “Hara-Megu” was featured, with negative comments such as, “The other four looked like backup dancers and it was sad for them.”

Meanwhile, Sakurai praised the controversial “Still” performance that had stirred debate over Meguro & Hara’s treatment. At the same time, it was revealed that he had written incorrect information on “Otonoha.” Meguro did not participate in Arashi’s 2015 tour ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2015 Japonism; in fact, Nakamura from Travis Japan, who was part of the “Still” selection, served as a backup dancer instead.

Since Sakurai had not mentioned Nagao, Nakamura & Matsukura, or Kojima in his blog regarding “Still,” fans criticized him mercilessly:

“Sho-chan, you didn’t consider the other four at all, and I’m disappointed. Meguro wasn’t in ‘Japonism.’”

“I can’t believe the blog is treating the original performance as if it only featured Hara-Megu. And Sho-san, it was Kaito in ‘Japonism’”

“If you mention the backing performers of ‘Japonism,’ you should mention Kaito, not Hara-Megu. As an Arashi fan, it’s sad. Didn’t Meguro join Arashi tours starting with ‘Are You Happy?’ anyway?”

“Writing about Meguro, who wasn’t in ‘Japonism,’ and ignoring Kaito, who actually backed, is harsh.”

After realizing the situation, Sakurai’s blog was later updated: the tour title for Meguro’s part was changed from Japonismto ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2016-2017 Are You Happy? A sentence was also added: “We have corrected the information. We sincerely apologize for the mistake.” This response from Sakurai drew positive comments such as diligent and so like Sho-chan.

Ahead of a major group performance, Sakurai’s mistake drew anger from various fans. However, because he acknowledged the error and issued an apology promptly, the backlash did not continue, and he successfully managed the follow-up.