It was announced today that King & Prince member Genki Iwahashi. will leave the group, as well as Johnny & Associates, on March 31.

Genki debuted with King & Prince in May 2018, but went on hiatus that November to seek treatment for his panic disorder. He partially returned to the group in February 2019, but never came back fully. According to the statement released today by Johnny & Associates, this was because Genki has experienced up and downs in regards to his panic disorder, despite treatment to overcome it.

During this time, Genki learned about how difficult it is to overcome panic disorder, and thought about the pressure of life as an entertainer. He thought about his future with these two opposing factors in his life, and came to the decision to leave King & Prince and Johnny & Associates.

As previously reported, “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN” is back for season two! The season premiere will debut on GYAO! on April 8. The season finale, which will see the selection of the new eleven member boyband, will be aired live on TBS on June 13 from 2 PM – 3:54 PM JST.

From April 14 – June 9, a special “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON2” recap series will air at midnight on TBS. The show will be hosted by Kumazaki Kazato, a TBS annoucer who was a big fan of the first season of “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN.”

Today, the performance video for “LET ME FLY ~Sono Mirai e~”, the theme song for “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON2” was released on YouTube. The 60 trainees who survived the online fan vote are featured in the video. Check it out below!

This week’s guests were Maeda Nobuteru, Hashimoto Ai, Kitamura Takumi, and JUJU.

Maeda Nobuteru – Saraba Koibito

Hashimoto Ai – Momen no Handkerchief

Kitamura Takumi (DISH//) – Mata Au Himade

JUJU – Dramatic Rain

This week’s guests were Sexy Zone, MONSTA X, BEYOOOOONDS, and Colonanamolemomo.

Sexy Zone – Sexy Zone / Sexy Summer ni Yuki ga Furu / NOT FOUND / RUN / LET’S MUSIC

MONSTA X – WANTED

BEYOOOOONDS – Gekikara LOVE

Colonanamolemomo – Bikini Sports Ponchin

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry has released “Global Music Report 2021”, this year’s edition of its annual report detailing what happened in the music industry worldwide last year.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the report says that the worldwide music industry saw revenue grow for the sixth consecutive year, by 7.4% in 2020, totalling $21.6 billion.

Streaming revenue grew by 19.9%, and now makes up 62.1% of global revenue, at $13.4 billion. This was driven by an 18.5% growth in paid subscription revenue. At the end of 2020, there were 443 million users of paid streaming services worldwide, accounting for 46% of global revenue. Ad-supported streaming services make up of the remaining 16.2% of global revenue that streaming accounts for.

This week’s guests were Kawasaki Takaya, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Kawakami Yoohei, SEXY ZONE, Akiyama Kiro, BLOOM VASE, and Aimyon.

Kawasaki Takaya – Sakura Usagi

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra feat. – Taju Roko feat. Kawakami Yoohei

Sexy Zone – LET’S MUSIC

Akiyama Kiro – Identity

BLOOM VASE – CHILDAYS

Aimyon – Sakura ga Furu Yoru wa

Hey, Arama Japan! It’s Friday, so it’s Open Post time! Feel free to chat with your fellow readers about whatever you like! Enjoy!

On March 24, mitsume will release their sixth album, “VI.” This is the band’s first album since April 2019’s “Ghosts.”

“VI” will come in a 2CD format, with the first CD featuring the album, while the second CD will feature the album’s instrumentals. The first CD will also contain a bonus track, “Basic”, a collaboration with STUTS. The music video for the song was recently released, and can be seen below, along with more information on mitsume’s new album!