Members Themselves Mention Unsold Tickets… With Both Tickets and CD Sales Slumping, an Unusual Turn of Events Occurs During A.B.C-Z’s National Tour

The “leftovers” mentioned by the members

A.B.C-Z’s national tour, “A.B.C-Z Concert Tour 2026 The Way of L.O.V-E,” kicked off on October 14.The tour is scheduled to visit four cities: Osaka (October 14–15), Aichi (October 19–20), Tokyo (October 31–November 1), and Fukuoka (November 24).

However, on October 26, with the Tokyo shows just around the corner, member Ryosuke Hashimoto (33) posted on the group’s X account : “It looks like there are still a few online tickets left for the live show. I’ve even been telling my classmates to come see how grown-up I’ve become. I’m so cute.Please come out!” “#IWon’tLetYouDown.” This post became a hot topic.

When it comes to idols affiliated with STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (formerly Johnny’s Associates), many groups—such as “Snow Man” and “timelesz”—are known for having “extremely competitive concert ticket sales.” Hashimoto himself included the hashtag “#NoOtherIdolWouldPromoteLikeThis,” making it an unusual form of promotion.

Furthermore, on the 28th, a new post was released under the name of Shota Totsuka (39), featuring a link to “Ticket Pia”—the ticket sales site—and a promotional video for the tour.

Totsuka wrote, “We’ll be taking the stage at Tokyo Garden Theater on October 31 and November 1! To everyone whose schedule suddenly opened up, everyone who’s on the fence about whether to come, and everyone eagerly awaiting the big day!Let’s have fun together with the A.B.C-Z that’s at the peak of their career!”

“Hashimoto, Totsuka, and others even mentioned the ‘unsold tickets’ themselves. On the 29th, A.B.C-Z’s record label, Pony Canyon, also made an announcement via its official account, indicating just how desperate the situation has become.“The Tokyo Garden Theater, where the concert will be held, has a maximum capacity of about 8,000 people,” said a sports newspaper entertainment reporter.

“Love Me”

“A.B.C-Z” made their DVD debut in February 2012 as the first group under Johnny’s (at the time), but around 2015, they shifted toward releasing only CDs, similar to other groups.Furthermore, Ikuto Kawai (39), who served as the group’s MC, left the group on December 21, 2023, and since then, the group has continued its activities as a quartet consisting of Hashimoto, Totsuka, Koichi Gokaku (41), and Ryoichi Tsukada (39).

“A.B.C-Z’s CD sales had been sluggish even before Kawai left, and in recent years, even when they release a single, first-day sales have been in the 10,000 to 30,000 range.

Their album *The Way of L.O.V-E*, released on September 30 of this year, reached No. 3 on the *Billboard JAPAN Weekly Album Sales Chart “Top Albums Sales”*, but sales totaled only 28,506 copies.“The group is by no means in a position where it can be called ‘successful.’ It’s no wonder they’re struggling to draw crowds,” (ibid.)

In early September, *Josei Seven* broke the story of a date between Hashimoto and Erika Sawajiri (40).On October 1, Hashimoto posted messages on X suggesting a breakup, saying things like, “All I have left are the people who love me,” and “It’s okay now—please love me more than ever.” In fact, *Josei Seven* reported the couple’s breakup in mid-October.

“Some fans may have drifted away from the group due to the reports of Hashimoto’s date. However, perhaps thanks to the members’ unusual promotional efforts, Hashimoto posted on X around 5:00 a.m. on October 30 that the November 1 performance had sold out.

As of 10:00 a.m. that same day, both dates were listed as ‘Sold Out,’ but on ‘Pia,’ ‘box office exchange tickets’ (single-person tickets) for the 31st were available for purchase as of 7:00 p.m. on the 30th, and sales of ‘box office exchange tickets *with notes* (reserved seats)’—which were set to begin at 10:00 a.m. on the 31st—had also been added.”(Record label executive)

The “Ticket Exchange Voucher *Reserved Seats with Notes*” comes with a disclaimer stating that “the entire stage and some parts of the production may be difficult to see.” The fact that they added new tickets at the last minute suggests the organizers likely calculated that this would prevent the event from turning into a “festival of empty seats.”

If this momentum continues, I hope the November 24th Fukuoka performance will also sell out…