The COUNTDOWN CONCERT 2025-2026 STARTO to MOVE kicks off December 31 at 10:30 p.m. JST. This marks the first such event since 2022, continuing a tradition that dates back nearly every year to 1996.
For many fans, the return of the COUNTDOWN CONCERT 2025โ2026 STARTO to MOVE feels less like an announcement and more like a homecoming. Tokyo Dome will once again glow with the familiar warmth of a tradition that has carried generations of supporters from one year into the nextโa ritual paused not only by industry upheaval, but by the quiet ache of years shaped by a pandemic, restructuring, and collective uncertainty. To know that the show will go on on December 31, with voices weโve grown up alongside echoing into the first breaths of 2026, is to feel a long-missed rhythm settling back into place.
This concert has never been just about the performances. Since the late โ90s, the countdown has been a shared heartbeat for the agencyโs sprawling familyโan evening where boundaries between groups blur, where senpai and kouhai traditions shine, where inside jokes and unexpected pairing stages remind us that behind the polished sets and perfect harmonies are artists who have learned, laughed, fought, and grown together. Even for those who follow only one group, Countdown has always offered a rare glimpse into the full constellation of talent, each star illuminating the next.
The last time Tokyo Dome shook with this ritual was 2022. After that, silenceโnecessary, complicated, heavy. Fans held onto memories of midnight sing-alongs, of glitter scattering across the dome like stardust, of leaders counting down with voices cracking between laughter and sentiment. That loss lingered.
The title STARTO to MOVE carries that release forward. It gestures to resilience and renewal, yes, but also to continuityโa reminder that even in transformation, the threads of family remain. It’s a symbolic “move” forward for the agency, marking its first major year-end spectacle under the new STARTO banner.
This year brings together twelve acts, spanning generations and genres: NEWS, Hey! Say! JUMP, Kis-My-Ft2, A.B.C-Z, SixTONES, Snow Man, King & Prince, Naniwa Danshi, Travis Japan, and Ae! group. But also timelesz stepping into a new identity while honoring the one that shaped them, Kento Nakajima shining solo yet tethered to the history that raised him. WEST. is having their own New Year’s celebrationโWEST. SPECIAL LIVE ใWESTA!ใ 2025-2026โand while there’s been no word about it yet, it’s possible SUPER EIGHT will too, which would explain the absence of these two groups from the Tokyo Dome lineup.
Fans across fandoms breathe a collective sigh of reliefโan entire fandom exhaling after holding its breath for years. For so many, the return of the Countdown feels like time finally restarting. Fans speak of goosebumps, tears, and that unmistakable rush of seeing the agencyโs โbig familyโ gather again, even for just a few seconds of teaser footage.
This is the same stage where memories pile up like confetti: Marius suddenly falling right off the edge of the stage, ARASHI members sprinting from Kohaku to Tokyo Dome, fans quietly betting who will dare to take Yuri Chinenโs legendary high note in Hey! Say! JUMP’s debut song, and everyone joining together to shout a birthday wish to Koichi Domoto, on the second the new year begins.
The absence of these concerts during the pandemic years left an emotional gap; without Countdown, many felt they couldnโt fully step into the new year. And even if some favorite groups wonโt be present this time, the spirit of togethernessโthe mingling of senpai and kouhai, the cross-group chemistry that has shaped decades of traditionโremains the heart of the celebration. It’s this sense of unity, of artists growing up together and ushering in a new year shoulder to shoulder, that fans say theyโve missed the most.
Every group brings their own color, but what makes Countdown belovedโwhat makes it oursโis the way those colors blend. The whispered hope for an unexpected collaboration. The way senpai place reassuring hands on kouhai shoulders during the final minutes before midnight. The collective shout of โthree, two, oneโ that momentarily erases the distances between fandoms.
There is no confirmed live-streamed broadcast yet, which only heightens the intimacy of the moment: a night shared by those who gather inside the dome and those who wait outside, refreshing timelines and piecing together glimpses from the fans who attend.
But it’s the one wish that echoes louder than all the rest: a plea for streaming. Fans ask for anythingโFC-only access, paid tickets, YouTube Live, global options, even post-show archivesโso that those who canโt attend can still feel part of the ritual. International fans join in too, hoping STARTOโs global outreach extends to one of its most beloved traditions.
And with so many recent STARTO productions receiving livestreams or exclusive releases on platforms like Netflix, fans are quietly hopeful; it no longer feels impossible that Countdown, too, might find its way to viewers in some form.
Update 2025.12.11
And then, like a small miracle delivered right on cue, STARTO announced what fans around the world had been hoping for: Countdown will indeed be livestreamed globally through FAMILY CLUB online.
FAMILY CLUB members: 3,900 yen (tax included)
General: 4,400 yen (tax included)
Repeat Broadcast Period
January 7, 2026 (WED) 22:00 (JST) ใ January 11, 2026 (SUN) 23:59 (JST)
โปNo restrictions applied on frequency of viewing or schedule thereof during the repeat broadcast period.
After years of uncertainty, the tradition that once belonged only to the Dome will be able to ripple across time zones again, letting fans near and far step into the new year together. Over on Reddit (r/weare_starto), the community is already setting up its first-ever watch partyโa by-fans, for-fans gathering where penlights glow through laptop screens and the excitement becomes communal in its own way.
With official streams now available for both overseas viewers and Japanese residents, this yearโs Countdown isnโt just returning; itโs widening its circle, inviting the whole world to count down as one.
But whether witnessed in person or from afar, the essence remains the same. This tradition belongs to everyone who has ever counted down with these artists, laughed at their backstage chaos, or found comfort in the unspoken affection that threads them together.
Beneath the excitement sits a tender awareness that the lineup is not a perfect one, that the agency has weathered storms, and that gathering everyone again is never something to take for granted. If anything, these shifts only deepen fansโ appreciation for what Countdown represents: continuity, connection, and a family choosing to step into the future together.
As fans wait for word on whether this yearโs concert will be streamed, many are turning to what already existsโa patchwork of memories and modern reimaginings that keep the tradition alive in their hearts. The โThank you 2021 Hello 2022๏ฝโ digest, now available on YouTube, has become a comforting revisit point: a vivid reminder of how dazzling an all-agency gathering can be, and how deeply fans cherish seeing groups interact, joke, and celebrate side by side.
And for those craving something more recent, โWE ARE! Letโs Get the Party STARTO!!โ on Netflix offers a cinematic homage to that same spiritโan ensemble-style production that captures the agencyโs evolving identity while honoring the legacy of its past traditions. They arenโt quite the same as the electric midnight thrill of Countdown, but they echo the essence beautifully: artists coming together not just to perform, but to stand as one.
More than a concert, this yearโs countdown feels like a collective exhaleโan affirmation that despite everything, the family stands, evolves, and continues to welcome us back. As 2025 slips into 2026, thousands of voices will rise, not only to greet the new year but to reclaim a tradition that has shaped so many winter nights. After years of distance and change, we return to the dome with gratitude, nostalgia, and the quiet hope that some traditions, once reignited, never fade again.