The Junior STAR to FESTIVAL 2026 live concert by STARTO ENTERTAINMENT juniors kicked off on January 29th at Yokohama Arena (Kohoku-ku, Yokohama) in Kanagawa Prefecture. A total of 77 performers took part, including ACEes, KEY TO LIT, and B&ZAI, all of which were formed in February last year, as well as 12 fresh members.
Right from the start, they performed popular songs by senior groups such as Arashi, TOKIO, Snow Man, and SixTONES. Key to Lit's Soya Igari greeted the audience, saying, "The festival is about to begin, and it's going to be so much fun. It's our resolve, or rather, what kind of thoughts we have as we stand on stage. As one group, we will do our best to entertain everyone who has come today."
B & ZAI performed original songs and songs by Arashi in a band style and dance. Kansai Junior performed popular songs by Naniwa Danshi and original songs, and Okazaki Hyotaro enthusiastically declared, "We're going to make this venue Osaka!"
KEY TO LIT raised the excitement in the venue with their popular original song KITERETSU FIRE, which has been played over 5 million times on YouTube. ACEes also appeared on a gondola in sparkling costumes.
The second half of the show began with a segment featuring members from the live show "Junior Showcase 2025 Shinsei -SHINSEI-" held last December. The "STARTO Medley" featured popular songs by Shonentai, SMAP, V6, KinKi Kids, and more.
In his closing remarks, B&ZAI's Hashimoto Ryo expressed his gratitude, saying, "We're able to perform at Yokohama Arena because our seniors put us in the position." He added, "We're working hard because we want to see this view (of shining penlights). This fact will give us decades to live on. Let's live long lives together!"
Iwasaki Daiki of KEY TO LIT declared, "We are comrades fighting together in the same agency, one family, connected by the same blood. From now on, we will fight fair and square, and KEY TO LIT will come out on top. Bring it on."
Ryusei Fukada of "ACEes" expressed his passion, saying, "We juniors still have a long way to go. We are currently struggling desperately towards our dreams. But we have no intention of letting our dreams remain just dreams. We will never waste your time or thoughts. Please believe in us and continue to follow us."
The live show will run for a total of seven shows at the same venue until February 1st.
◇ Cast members (titles omitted)
▽ACEes (Hidaka Ukisawa, Yuto Nasu, Ryuto Sakuma, Tatsuo Fukada, Ryuga Sato)▽KEY TO LIT (Daiki Iwasaki, Mizuki Inoue, Reia Nakamura, Soya Igari, Hiromitsu Sasaki)▽B&ZAI (Ryo Hashimoto, Rei Yabana, Daiki Konno, Linning Suda, Katsuki Mototaka, Yuujin Suzuki, Seiki Kawasaki, Michiharu Inaba)▽Souta Uchimura, Mitsuteru Kuroda, Mitsunari Hiyama, Yu Motoki, Hideo Ajima, Wataru Vasayega, Yusei Nagase▽Toa Shimazaki, Takuya Nishimura, Fuga Onishi, Hitaro Okazaki, Ren'o Nagaoka (AmBitious), Kazuki Yamanaka (AmBitious), Itta Inoue (AmBiti ous) ▽ Kei Adachi, Sorao Chiino, Jigo Takemura, Taisei Nabeta, Hikaru Suenaga, Taiga Watanabe, Yosei Tanaka, Hitoshi Hamura, Ginshi Matsuura, Daiai Miyaoka, So Yamagishi, Rai Zenyoji, Mitsuhiro Hirata, Sota Kishi, Toki Koyama, Eicho Suzuki, Shoma Seki, Soryu Takahashi, Shin Hayashida, Iyori Watanabe, Fuuji Iwasaki, Toma Sano, Fuuma Shingu, Rei Takahashi, Kairu Tashiro, Itaru Nishihara, Some Nishimaki, Ritsuki Baba, Taketoyo Mihara, Keita Miyabe, Sota Miyabe, Daito Yokota, Noga Asai ▽ Sora Izumo, Kouma Eguchi, Leon Kawazu. Yorian Komatsubara, Larimar Sekai Komori, Genta Takaya, Minato Takeda, Hiroaki Taguchi, Rui Tamamori, Ojo Torii, Ren Nashiki, Shiori Matsuura
