Tokyo

Iconic Japanese male pop group Arashi has said that it would start global online distribution of all of its single songs.

According to the announcement on Sunday, about a year ahead of its scheduled suspension of its activities, all of the five-member group's 64 past songs and a new song would become available online later in the day.

Arashi also opened its official accounts on five social networking services--Twitter, Facebook, Instagram TikTok and Weibo. Arashi is the first to release songs online globally among entertainers belonging to Johnny & Associates, a major Japanese talent agency.

“We want our fans to enjoy our songs anytime,” Jun Matsumoto, 36, one of the members, said at a press conference in Tokyo on Sunday.

https://twitter.com/arashi5official/status/1190963999082463233?s=20

“Creating an environment enabling people to enjoy music anywhere in the world was a dream of Mr. Johnny Kitagawa,” he said, mentioning the founder of the entertainment agency, who died in July at the age of 87.

The other four members of Arashi are Masaki Aiba, 36, Kazunari Ninomiya, 36, Satoshi Ono, 38, and Sho Sakurai, 37.

Arashi, which shocked fans early this year with an announcement of its decision to suspend its activities at the end of 2020, said that it will hold a concert in Beijing next spring, the group's first performance in China in 11 years. Details will be announced later.

It will also perform live at Japan’s new National Stadium in Tokyo on May 15 and 16 next year. The concerts will come before the stadium hosts the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympics.

Jiji Press