[Everyone agrees: If they were a girl, Sakurai is the No. 1 person they would want to date]

From their debut to the present…World Cup Volleyball, traveling the country together, appearing in a drama, events, music shows and regular TV shows….It’s been a very busy few months. They’ve been together for a long time now but….From the formation to now, we heard about the fondest memories of these 5 people. Without further ado, let’s get things started!

Is Matsujun good or bad at sports? The conclusion is that the other four are even better!?

Sakurai: It’s been three months since we formed. A lot has happened, but for me the most interesting thing was Matsumoto-san’s turtle incident.
Matsumoto: Where did the turtle incident begin?
Sakurai: At the opening ceremony of the World Cup, everyone was flying around. Then, Matsujun, who was the first to get caught, looked like a turtle lying on its shell (laughs). When the company president saw that, he said, “That’s a turtle,” and ever since then…
Matsumoto (embarrassed): Eh, but… I’d never done it before, so it can’t be helped.
Sakurai: But even though they hadn’t done it before either, the other three (Ninomiya, Aiba, Sakurai) were fine. Ohno-kun did flying stunts in Kyoto and has done it thousands of times, so if we leave that out, it was our first time too.
Matsumoto: Wait a minute, but I’m not particularly bad at sports. If it’s something I’m good at, I’m like, “Leave it to me!”
Ninomiya: No, Matsumoto is good at sports, but he’s even better at other things. For example, people say that Johnny’s members are skinny, but there may be some who are overweight. But they look skinny because they’re in Johnny’s. That’s the vibe.
Sakurai: That’s right. It’s not that it’s bad, but because you have a different physique from other people it can’t be helped. Your joints are extremely flexible which makes your movements superhuman (lol). Matsujun is the most flexible, right? And I’m the stiffest.
—By the way, when you travel around the country, you end up staying at a lot of hotels, right? A typical thing that gets left behind on a school trip is underwear… Have you ever forgotten something embarrassing like that?
Ohno: Ohno generally never forgets things (mumbling).
Ninomiya: But generally speaking, don’t you usually bring underwear that you don’t really wear anymore? The ones that are already stretched out, and make you think “Alright, you’ve worked hard” (lol). But even so, you still stubbornly wear it, kind of like Aiba-chan, right senpai?
Aiba: Ah, it did look like that from the side, it was bad.
Sakurai: But personally I bring decent ones.
Ninomiya: Oh, we forgot our keys. Aiba and I went back to our room after recording the radio show, but we didn’t have our keys… We had to ask the hotel staff to open it for us.
Matsumoto: When we stayed at hotels, we were usually split into two groups, the early morning group that would appear on Mezamashi TV, and the late group. That’s when it became clear that I talk in my sleep a lot. I had no idea. Because I’m asleep…..
Aiba: I’m the one who falls asleep the best. But I don’t go to sleep until I’m sleepy. When I start reading manga, I don’t want to fall asleep halfway through. I can’t fall asleep until I finish reading to the end.
Matsumoto: When I’m at a hotel, I often enjoy my time by reading manga or listening to music. We did have occasional discussions. We had surprisingly serious talks about our current situation and the future… After all, with five of us, our ways of thinking are completely different, and we’re not siblings… We grew up in different environments too. I thought there were a lot of things that wouldn’t be understood unless we spoke up.

With a head spinning at the speed of light, what is the story with Aiba’s “Japanese person’s block”?

Sakurai: Another thing that made me happy was that the foreign players remembered us and called us “Arashi, Arashi.”
Ninomiya: I felt the girls weren’t as tall as I thought they would be. Well, I guess they would be tall if you met them under normal circumstances… The boys were so tall I couldn’t talk to them.
Sakurai: Nishimura-san looks really small on TV, but he’s actually a lot bigger than us. It was also great to become friends with the Japanese players.
Ohno: That’s right. And I didn’t realize that volleyball was something so incredible.
Aiba: That’s true, I’ve always only seen it on TV. The impact and realism of it live is completely different.
Ohno: I went to watch practice, and I burst into tears.
Aiba: Really?
Ohno: The atmosphere before the women’s match against China was also pretty exciting. And in the end, Japan won. It’s really moving when you get a good result in a match like that when people think you might not win.
Aiba: Come to think of it, Ohno-kun, you were crying then too, weren’t you?
Ohno (bashful) I wasn’t crying~
Ninomiya: This is a completely different topic, but Aiba-chan saying “The Japanese person made a block” was so funny. I think he was trying to say that Eto made a block…
Aiba: I completely forgot his name, but I remembered that he was number 5, and I thought it would be rude to call him “the number 5 player”… At that time, my mind was racing, but nothing came to mind… and in the end, the phrase that came to mind was “Japanese person”.
Ninomiya: Of course. It was really funny.
Matsumoto: The World Cup was live, so there were small mistakes–there are so many things to keep track of. The more you think about it, the worse it gets… But, I think this experience helped me get used to speaking. It was a good experience.
Ohno: Speaking of memories, there’s the drama. It was busy but it was fun. It makes me feel a bit nostalgic and wistful.
Sakurai: I think the drama was huge. Everyone was completely disorganized and their thoughts were all scattered. There were some rough spots, but being together from morning until late at night made us closer….yeah, the drama is huge!
Ninomiya: After doing that, I felt like “I gotta do it.” At first I was just anxious, but then I thought, “I have no choice but to do it, right?”….
Matsumoto: What was funny during the recording was that the door to the rooftop was really hard to open, and the staff were having trouble with it. But we had an open window, so we went in through there, and then they came in, kicking the door open like anime heroes, yelling “Shhh!”… It was really funny.
Sakurai: The day after my first appearance on Music Station, all the staff from the drama were watching the broadcast on TV… I felt really blessed.

These 3 months have flown by! What’s next for Arashi, a positive group that always remembers the fun times?

Aiba: When you think about how many people worked with Arashi, it’s amazing.
Sakurai: Also, I was really moved at the handshake event.
Matsumoto: My dad drove me from a long distance. Even at a time when there aren’t any trains running, I was happy to see so many people come together like that.
Sakurai: It’s true, the five of us couldn’t do anything by ourselves, but I feel like we’re supported by a lot of staff and fans.
Everyone: We’re still learning, but I hope you’ll continue to support us.
The conversation continued endlessly as they munched on the grilled meat….

Arashi’s No. 1 soothing member, Aiba Masaki, is a positive boy who brings happiness
He’s a laid-back boy who exudes a calm demeanor and goes at his own pace. He doesn’t seem to get too worked up, but that doesn’t mean he’s cold either… His natural, carefree nature may somehow give people who see him a sense of comfort. Where does that charm come from? Is it in his relationship with his family? In any case, everyone in the Aiba family gets along well. His father in particular is quite unique, and even Nino praised him highly (?), saying he’s “interesting.” Apparently, his father has many hobbies and is a bold man who gets anything he wants. His doghouse is incredibly large, it’s even fully equipped with an air conditioner (a broken one, apparently?), he owns a boat… and he even owns a portable shrine, which is quite mysterious, isn’t it? Of course, it seems to be a small thing, like an extension of a plastic model… “I went to a ramen restaurant with my dad for the first time in a while yesterday, and, we talked. Just normal talk… (laughs).” I like how he’s honest and straightforward enough to be able to say “I love you” to his father. Boys who have a good relationship with their father seem like they’re going to grow up to be amazing adults in the future, don’t you think? His best memory to date is, “When I caught a bad cold during the filming of the drama and was in a daze, everyone supported me. I’ll never forget that feeling!” He said that in his current life, “I feel fulfilled when I’m working, but when I’m sleeping I’m just incredibly happy.” He says that these two times are the most comfortable for him. There’s always laughter on set, such as when traveling together. “There are so many funny things, so even if I laugh out loud, I forget about it straight away,” and just as he says, he enjoys the situation as it is… I think this attitude is his greatest weapon.

Ninomiya Kazunari, who is lonely and likes to be the center of attention, is like the youngest child in Arashi
Nino, who was given the title “most mischievous of the three boys” in Arashi. “Listen everyone, listen! Are you listening?” He made this remark several times during the interview, which made me think he’s a bit lonely, but also an incredibly talented character who always wants to be the center of attention. He still has that innocent, boyish side, but also has cool, cold eyes that seem to pierce something. It seems that the combination of these two extremes gives him a dangerous charm. “In the future, I’d like to try something that no one else has done. For example, a commercial that airs overseas… because no Japanese people have done that, right? I’d like something that will have such an impact that people will say, ‘When you think of XXX, you think of Ninomiya.'” And it doesn’t have to be a commercial, it could be anything that no one has done yet. It doesn’t have to be something specific, it could be something like a comedy skit. As for work, he has shown that he is an ambitious person. “But out of all the members, my casual clothes are the worst. I’m sure I’ll change clothes anyway, so I came here in my pajamas today,” he said, and while you might think he was wearing sweats or something, he was wearing a simple outfit of jeans and a sweatshirt. It doesn’t seem that bad, though… “I’m not really interested in fashion… it’s a pain. Comfortable clothes are the best! But I think I’m also the one who can stay excited for a long time even without sleep. On the other hand, when I can sleep, I sleep for about 20 hours…”..”For me, Arashi is a part of my body. It’s something I can’t live without. I wonder. Maybe it’s like a convenience store? It feels like it’s open 24 hours a day (lol).” Reflecting on his current situation, he says, “There are still many areas where I’m overwhelmed,” but he hopes Nino will keep going!

Matsujun, who loves Arashi with all his heart. A passionate and proud “Worker”
Matsujun says he likes himself the most when he’s working, rather than during any personal time. Even Sakurai has mentioned him as the most motivated man. He takes on any challenge positively, seeing it as something that benefits him… His earnest attitude is what makes him “the working man.” He is truly a professional. Among the members, he has recently become close with Sakurai. “Sho and I have similar tastes in food, and I thought we had the same way of thinking, but after we formed the group, I realized that we are completely different. Maybe it’s because we’re complete opposites that we’re attracted to each other? We’ve been loving each other lately (lol).” Look out~! “Also, I think Ohno is really funny. I’ve become an even bigger fan since he started appearing in dramas. He has different ways of thinking, and even his gestures and the way he moves are funny. I feel like Ohno is the one who makes people laugh, and I’m the one who gets laughed at,” he said, sounding quite enthusiastic. Since their debut, Arashi has had their own car. And now they can travel in green cars [luxury cars] on the Shinkansen. It’s a bit embarassing, but also enjoyable… in the end, it’s a good feeling! “I had a fight with Nino once, but I think it’s important to have a relationship where you can say anything to each other. I’m saying this because I want to have a better relationship. I think it’s okay to fight as long as it doesn’t cause trouble for others.” Face toward the future!

Arashi’s spiritual leader Sakurai Sho is “the No. 1 person I want to date”!?
Sakurai also values ​​his school life very much, and never forgets his true identity as a normal high school student. No matter how busy he is, he always puts on his uniform and goes to school the next morning. It may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s no easy feat to actually put it into practice. When asked if he gets tired of living with all those different faces, he replied, “Right now, they’re all so important to me that I can’t choose, and school is a lot of fun.” However, there’s no doubt that broadening his horizons in this way through various aspects of his life is a very important element in creating his character. He is a reliable person who always acts as a mediator and takes the lead. He is quick-witted, chooses his words very carefully, and is a leader who expresses everyone’s feelings accurately, earning him the trust of his teammates. He is always able to grasp the situation at hand. The way he holds himself and responds looks so mature that it’s hard to believe he’s only 18. When we asked them all, “If you were reborn as a girl and had to date one of these five guys…?”, they all answered “Sho-kun,” which is no surprise. If Arashi were like a family, he’d be the reliable father figure… But when it came to Arashi himself, he said, “To me, Arashi is like a blanket. When I cover myself with them, I feel calm and warm.” He also said, “I really felt grateful to everyone when, during the World Cup in Hokkaido, I had a school exam the next day, and they let me stay in my room by myself.” No matter how much people rely on him, he never gets arrogant and remains humble. He is also someone who never forgets to be considerate of others and to show gratitude.

Once you get hooked, you can’t escape. Satoshi World’s members are rapidly increasing.
He always keeps his head down and is quiet. Shy and never pushes himself forward, he always looks at the other members from a step back. You can catch a glimpse in his eyes of a kindness that seems to embrace everything. You might think he doesn’t care about anyone else and acts at his own pace, but he casually pays attention to everyone and quietly says funny things. If he were a friend, he would surely be the one you could trust the most. If you were to watch him on TV, he would be the one you can’t miss the most, with unpredictable behavior. Everyone said that his role among the members is that of “mother.” It takes a little time to get used to his conversation, in which he answers with a straight face, “For me, Arashi is work” (jokingly). Once you step into his world, which has a unique time and space, you will find yourself becoming addicted to his mysterious ways, unable to help but feel there’s something magical about it. Matsujun emphasizes “He’s very interesting”. “The biggest change for me since joining Arashi is time. I used to sleep a lot, but after starting the drama, I no longer have time to sleep. I’ve been reborn with a body that’s OK with not getting much sleep. It feels like everything has been turned around. I feel like I can be very positive about many things now,” he said. It seems certain that the formation of Arashi was a major turning point for him as well. He celebrated his birthday in Osaka during the World Cup, and said, “It’s a fond memory that everyone celebrated with a cake featuring the mascot, Babo-chan, and, because it was in Osaka, local food like okonomiyaki and 19 takoyaki.”