To Ten Years of Spreading Japanese Joy to the World!

BANZAI JAPAN celebrated the high achievement of 10 years of activity last January 19th 2025, as they officially hit the decade mark in May 2024.

For the unique occasion, the members stood on the iconic stage of Tokyo's Hibiya Open-air Theater (commonly referred to as Hibiya Yaon), adding their own stone to over a hundred years of musical and entertainment shows legacy.

The concert's title, 石の上にも10年 (literally 10 years on top of the rock) is direct reference to an old Japanese saying, stating that "sitting for three years on a cold stone will make it eventually become warmer" (冷たい石の上でも3年も座りつづけていれば暖まってくる).

As the overall theme of the night symbolized hard work and patience, BANZAI JAPAN definitely reaped the rewards of their efforts after sitting on their own rock for a decade!

The event started in the late afternoon, as all members showed up on stage wearing super-hero costumes. They opened the show with their epic anthem of the day, Only One Hero, one of the new songs introduced for the occasion.

Other catchy songs such as Juunin Toiro, Omatsuri Sawagi or Afrodynamite kicked off the evening with high spirits and energy!

This one opening segment was one of the four parts of the entire show, each lasting around thirty minutes- tallying for a total duration of around three hours for the whole concert!

The second segment started as the night started to fall on Tokyo, and the members came back wearing their sporty-style group costumes. It was then another series of upbeat songs, with older titles such as Konya mo tottemo dance de zansu! and Coordinate to the Future, but also more recent songs like Cheerdance Time or Love from Far East.

The members' sharp dancing and energy were even complimented by stage fireworks, contributing to the overall hype!

The next segment's theme came back to BANZAI JAPAN's concept roots - a series of their most serious, traditional Japanese-style songs, with the members clad in beautiful crimson kimono-inspired costumes.

Waving folding fans and with choreographies reminiscent of ancient Japanese theater, BANZAI JAPAN showcased their ability to switch styles in the most spotless manner, complimented with dramatic stage lights to highlight their charm. Their great stage presence and expressive dance moves were in perfect unison with their impeccable live vocals, harmonies included.

They could not perform such a segment without live classics such as the impactful Negaiboshi or the metal-inspired high notes of Shingetsu saku yoru no kakurenbo, but also introducing new titles with AKATSUKI or SHIKI RAN MAN ～Nihon Shunkashuutou～.

The last official segment of the night highlighted BANZAI JAPAN's members' playful characters and group dynamics.

Changing to their colorful outfits with onigiri-shaped pouches, they kicked it off with a new song, Fly So High - with lyrics half in English, half in Japanese! More than a challenge for the members to sing, it is also a great love declaration to their overseas audience, building a strong following in France and Europe over the past few years.

Jumpin! Nap! JAPAN! or Let Me Cryyyyyyyyyyy were the theater for the members' crazy antics and silly expressions, being unapologetically themselves on stage with not a single care in what should conventionally be expected of idols - just their own, unique, colorful personalities!

The cold, cold night falling on Tokyo did not prevent BANZAI JAPAN from wrapping up the show with a final encore segment. Their stamina seemed to have no limits, as they came back on stage with another one of their kimono costumes to close this exceptional event!

Starting with Curtain Call, they then performed Only One Hero, the anthem of the concert, for a second time. They barely had time to breathe as the final send-off blasted the group's iconic introduction song, Banzai Japan!, under the sparkly stage fireworks blowing up towards the starry night sky.

BANZAI JAPAN is still an indie idol group, thus making the 10th anniversary achievement even more impressive as other acts their scale barely make it to a half. They demonstrate some exceptional energy, with engaging music, fun and extremely well-performed choreographies, all of this with incredibly high quality live vocals from their talented members. We were quite impressed with the quality of their overall showmanship, all transpiring through for this once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

Happy anniversary BANZAI JAPAN, and see you soon in France!