Johnny’s Entertainment has announced that NEWS member, Yamashita Tomohisa will be holding his solo live tour which will span across the continent of Asia starting on January 29th to May 10th. He will make have stops in 5 cities in Japan, and the tour also includes 5 cities outside of Japan in Asia including Hongkong, Taipei, Busan, Seoul, and Bangkok. For the entire tour, there will be 27 total stages. It was also announced that he will also be releasing his first solo album right before the tour. Although he has performed in Taiwan in 2007 as a member of NEWS, this will be his first time holding a solo tour overseas. Yamashita commented, “It will give me a huge responsibility, but it’s also a great chance. I hope it will make people in other Asian countries get to know more about Japanese idols.” Yamashita also gave comment to fans, “I will participate in NEWS activities as well, so you don’t have to worry!”
The first article I read regarding Yamapi's new tour surprised me. I wasn't sure how to feel since I'm happy he's making an around Asia tour (especially to HK where very little JE idols have gone), but at the same time I am a NEWS fan and can't help but think NEWS, as a group, is getting the short end of the stick again. I know JE loves to promote Yamapi, but this is practically like the start of/continuation of the divide in NEWS. And that article did not mention any comments from Yamapi or NEWS which made me sad to think that after how they kept saying they were coming back better and stronger as a group for fans, they end up all wandering apart again. But this article helped make it a bit better. Shows that Pi has not given up on the group, even if he has a solo gig and a group gig going at the same time. Best of luck to Yamapi!
