Japan's beloved boyband, Arashi, has announced the inception of separate fan clubs for each member amidst a buzzing social media sphere. Among the group, Sakurai Ohno has also made the move to launch his own social media profile, thereby increasing their visibility among fans and offering a more personalized way to engage with them. No further details on when and where these new platforms will be available have been disclosed yet.

In Japan, fan clubs play a major role in cultivating the fan culture around music artists and bands, and the formation of individual fan clubs demonstrates a shift from the group-centric model. It allows members to showcase their individual talents and connect more deeply with fans. For an artist to venture into social media, a platform often avoided due to privacy concerns, signifies a burgeoning desire to connect with fans on a larger and more personal scale.

In the US or EU, it’s common for band members to maintain individual social media profiles to update fans about their personal lives and careers, highlighting the democratisation of audience reach that global platforms offer. Opening individual fan clubs equates to common merchandising and branding efforts seen in Western bands.