They were “born” in Hawaii; and celebrated the start of their eighth year in Taiwan. Arashi has had deep ties outside of Japan – what have they seen in their overseas tours till now; and what do they feel about their advance into the world?

Aiba Masaki

I am happy that the fans know who were are

Everyone was singing in Japanese and it seemed that they also watched Japanese programs. I am very happy that the fans knew everything about us. For the parts where they could not catch, I was happy to see that they could learn from the Japanese fans that attended the concert. But I was sad that no one could understand the words I remembered.

 I was worried if there would be people who knew about us.

Doing an overseas concert was something that I couldn’t imagine, so when I heard the news, I was really doubtful.  “You mean there are people outside of Japan who know all about us?” I said. (laughs). But since it has already been decided, I decided that it was like going for a festival. Because we didn’t make it to Thailand, if we can do it next time, and I think we will do it with a vengence.

Ambitions for the 8^th Year

We have reached the full seven years right?  I think the fact that we are able to do the Asian Tour is great motivation for us and we will show that we can put on a good quality show.

The Taiwanese fans, I can sense that they have a similar style of cheering to the Japanese fans.  In Korea, the craziness (of the fans) is amazing. But the similar thing about these two countries is they seriously study Japanese. It’s great. They are singing together with us. Therefore, we thought it would be good if we could send a message in the other country’s language.

That kind of "apologetic" feeling. What about Advancing into the world?

I find it strange that people from overseas know who I am. (laughs).  I have become known outside of Japan and I am happy, but I have no excuse… (that I don’t know about this). So this is overseas… I want to go to New Zealand in my own private time, but I didn’t get around to doing anything. I bought some food, cooked it myself, and spaced out.  I want to enjoy some time out by myself.

Ambitions for the 8^th Year

I don’t know what the future will bring – this feeling is what makes me nervous. Holding concerts overseas, new challenges at work, this nervous and exciting feeling is enjoyable, and I want it to continue on.

Nino

We are enthusiastic and excited but we have our reservations too

In both Taiwan and Korea, we were quite fidgety due to our nervousness. It’s a feeling that is akin to having to show something in 3D when all along you have only been working with two dimensional objects. It’s refreshing. And on top of that, I am very happy to meet the overseas fans. But of course, there are worries too. For example, how can we properly convey what we want to say? This time, for the Seoul concerts, we want to really convey our feelings even more.

No matter which country I go to, I want to take in the atmosphere of that country

For me, suddenly, there are many times where I have to travel. Like the pervious time to Hawaii and to Thailand in the past amongst others.   But, I want to be able to cross any barriers and meet the people who are waiting for us overseas. I intend to go to whatever country!  I want to be able to make time to really experience first hand what that country is about and yell out “ I’m here!!”

 Ambitions for the 8^th Year

Because there are people who are waiting for us, I don’t want them to be waiting for too long. And furthermore, I want to use Asia as a platform to launch into other parts of the world.  But let us succeed with Korea first, ne.

Jun

I think it’s amazing how Arashi is the cause of some things

I was very happy that we could kick off our eighth year with a concert overseas. It was stimulating and a good experience for us. But its really regrettable that we could not make it to Thailand. I have received quite a few letters from Thai fans saying that it is becos of arashi that they started learning Japanese. I think that is really fantastic. Thank you.

Showing our faces for the first time to the overseas fans

Its not so much about the feeling that we are advancing into the world,  but more than that, the feeling that I want to meet those fans who have been waiting for us is much stronger. Therefore, the Taiwan Concert subtitle is “Sorry to have kept you waiting”.  It’s the concert for those people who have been waiting for us.  Its like showing our face for the first time.

Ambitions for the 8^th Year

Realizing my 10 year dream of holding an overseas concert has made me very happy. Now, I see that Arashi can go onto a new stage. That is of great importance, and I want to take on this challenge with a great appetite.

Sho

Returning to our original purpose – it is a good stimulus

We caught a glimpse of the fan’s welcome when we did the one day tour of Thailand, Taiwan and Korea, but we were having doubts about where we could fill up the whole arena. Therefore, we totally forgot about the fact that there was a candid camera for MatsuJun. (laughs) We have not had that kind of nervousness since our debut.

Its amazing that our CDs are on display at the front of the shop overseas!

What made us really feel “global” was of course the concerts, but the fact that we could see that our CDs were on sale.  Due to the difference in the value of money, and it was by no means cheap in these countries, but there were people who still bought the CDs inspite of this, and I was very thankful of this. Therefore, I made a fresh resolve to  correspondingly put up a good show.

Ambitions for the 8^th Year

When I think about it, it takes seven years from the time you enter high school to when you graduate from University, this is great, isn’t it? Therefore, from the 8^th year, it is like time to find a job.  Up till now, of course I have been doing things with that feeling, but I want to be more professional going forward.