Um, I hope no one has translated this yet either. >>

This is the series of short interviews at the end of their latest photobook, with Aiba being the first up. I'll try to get them all out... soon-ish? In the meantime, enjoy the talks! Comments are always welcome. ♥

~*~

+ Aiba Masaki
+ Sakurai Sho
+ Ohno Satoshi
+ Ninomiya Kazunari
+ Matsumoto Jun
+ Section blurbs

~*~

ARASHI IS ALIVE!


"To those who come to watch, those who offer us their support,
I want to give them something even more exciting."

- Aiba Masaki



-- Your first 5 dome tour was a big success, wasn't it.

There really were a lot of happenings, like Sho-chan's injury. And the fact that touring the five domes was a first-time experience for us, so it was a tour that left a very deep impression. To us, holding concerts has always been something very important to us, but it left even more lasting memories this time. How should I say this. It's to the point where I can't even express it with words. Something like 'boundless emotions'? First off, the instant we first popped out during the opening, I was already moved. Besides that, I also liked the costumes. Up until now, there seems to be a feeling of openings needing to be elaborate no matter what, but this time we made an exception. I'm very glad we started off by appearing in all-black outfits.


-- After Sakurai-kun returned from the hospital, everyone's spirits never wavered; your very optimistic attitudes left an extremely deep impression on me.

We were thinking along the lines of "This isn't the time to be shaken!". Because it was frankly a situation where he couldn't even hold on to a microphone. It was a serious injury. But everyone only truly realized that fact after the tour was over.


-- Aiba-kun's knee was also injured during the tour?

Yeah. But even though it did hurt a bit, it didn't get to the point where it counted as an injury! Though you know, when we were at Sapporo, when we were saying our thank yous together with the staff, I had a lot of thoughts like "Just as I thought, this is the result of everyone's efforts" surfacing for some reason.


-- I've heard that the caterpillar that was the image character was Aiba-kun's idea.

Yes. It's an image of Arashi in the process of evolving. Well, though I actually think we will forever be in that process, if you take the caterpillar's five segments and have them represent each member, it's supposed to mean we will eventually morph into a butterfly.


-- What are your thoughts on the Arashi that has, in actuality, been steadily evolving?

In regards to the venues becoming bigger and bigger, I'm simply happy that it means more people can come and see us, even if it's only a single person. But even so, it also means the distance between the fans and the stage will grow as well. That was why figuring out how to shorten the distance became our number one priority. Like taking to the air by balloon, or doing a parade. And if we put in a pathway here we'd be able to walk over there, things like that. In order to become one with everyone, we really gave the formatting a lot of thought. Especially with the balloon, it was done so that we could be at eye level with those who had seats at the top. That was really great.


-- From here on, what does Aiba Masaki (as a part of Arashi) want to convey to everyone?

Though our concerts, television and radio shows are all the same, I think those who support us all carry their own, different thoughts. If we can give them something even more exciting in the things we do, I would be happy.


-- And then, the upcoming 2009 will be Arashi's 10th year!

Because of the many things that has happened, our 10th year anniversary feels like it will be especially profound, but it's still a little bit ahead. What's most important right now is to work hard at each and every thing that comes our way. First I want to head towards our Asia tour at a full sprint!