barbosa2007 | DUET December 2009 - Aiba Masaki Interview (Reply)

The people at DUET magazine sat down with the members of Arashi as they welcome their 10th year anniversary together. Here, the future and current activites of Arashi are discussed.

A portrait of Aiba Masaki- Now and 10 years later.

Myself, 5 years later:

I’ll be about 31? Physically speaking, I’ll still be able to burn the midnight oil (laughs). For me, I don’t really have ambitious goals… Well, I’ll still be pursuing my hobbies like golf and baseball, without change. I have a feeling that’s gonna happen. With regards to work, I think [I am] moving into a new era. Every little thing that I’ve done right up till now is preparing me for the stuff I’m going to do in the future. I can’t wish for anything more.

Myself, 10 years later:

I hope to still perform in concerts. The materialisation of our performances wouldn’t be possible if the audience weren’t here to support us. We get to hold our concerts every year, but you know, that’s just an amazing thing to have. I just want to perform in concerts ten years later, no matter what form [the concerts come in]. Personally, I don’t know if I’d be able to pull an all-nighter then. And I also hope to treat my juniors to yakiniku (barbeque meat). (laughs) I’d say, “Alright, eat anything you want!” Well, I do get to do that once in a while with the juniors who are closer to me. For example, people like Fuuma and Matsuzaki. It’ll be that way ten years later! (laughs)

Myself, 20 years later:

Well, I don’t know about that… (laughs) It’s so far ahead that I can’t imagine what will happen. The world is changing bit by bit as we speak, isn’t it? The world around us has become so digitalised in the past few years. And I’ll be 46. That’s so far away that I don’t know what can happen.

Arashi, 10 years later:

I think we’ll remain the same but… Hmm, I hope Matsujun doesn’t age! (laughs) I hope he stays the way he is right now. Although I think he probably won’t change. Work-wise, I think he’ll direct the performances for other groups. For Nino, he’s gonna stay the same. (laughs) I want him to continue gaming even on set. Don’t you think Sho-kun is going to be reading more newspapers than ever? Even though he’s already reading a lot of papers now. It seems like he’ll be looking into local newspapers and other reading material along the lines of English NEWSPAPERS too. You know, for Riida, don’t you think he’d be hosting a fishing program in a carefree manner? (laughs)

Recent stuff:

I rewatched Engimono – Kuruu ga Mama, in which I co-starred with Murakami (Shingo). And I’m collaborating with him again on My Girl, so I thought I would get my hands on the DVD. However, even when I asked the management company they couldn’t give me a reference copy of the DVD. I was searching for it using all the methods I could employ but I couldn’t get my hands on a copy. In the end, I bought it from an online shop. In that show, the storyline was really interesting and Murakami’s hair was so long that it was funny. (laughs) My hair was kinda blond, and I looked totally different from the way I look now. Even Momoka-chan (the girl who acts as his daughter, Koharu) said to me, “You looked kinda scary!” (laughs)