KAT-TUN to officially disband on 31 March
14 Feb - Japanese idol group KAT-TUN has announced disbandment, with the official end of the band set to end of March.
The news was announced by management agency STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, saying, "KAT-TUN signed a contract with our company in April 2024 and have continued their activities since then, but after discussing the matter with the members for approximately a year, we have come to the decision as a company that it would be best for the members to take down the KAT-TUN name and choose their own paths in the second year of their contract, starting 1 April 2025."
Regarding future plans, Kazuya Kamenashi will leave the agency when his contract expires on 31 March while Tatsuya Ueda and Yuichi Nakamaru will continue their contracts with STARTO as individuals.
"We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the fans and people involved who have supported KAT-TUN over the past 25 years since the group was formed. Although the group will disband, we are currently working on creating a place where the members can meet their fans in the near future, in accordance with their wishes. We will notify our fans as soon as the details are decided," the company added.
KAT-TUN began as a six-member group, with the name taken from the first letter of each member's family name: Kamenashi, Akanishi, Taguchi, Tanaka, Ueda and Nakamaru. Akanishi was the first to leave the group in 2013 to start a solo career, followed by Tanaka, whose contract was terminated for several violations. Taguchi later left the group in 2016.
