Tokyo Dome finale caps 10 concerts across Japan
Stray Kids wrapped up the Japanese leg of their RUN IT world tour at Tokyo Dome on the 8th, completing 10 concerts that drew a combined 520,000 admissions. The eight members closed a run that began with a milestone appearance at MUFG Stadium, Japan's National Stadium, and continued through four major dome venues.
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The final three concerts, held at Tokyo Dome from the 6th to the 8th, attracted 150,000 admissions. Another 60,000 admissions were recorded at cinema screenings across Japan on the 7th and 8th, extending the experience beyond the stadium audience.
The finale brought together new music, songs from the group's early years and a surprise tribute from STAY, the name used by Stray Kids fans. Across roughly three and a half hours, the members performed 31 songs and promised to return together.
Bang Chan, the group's leader, described the Japanese concerts as a source of happiness. Speaking about the relationship between the performers and their audience, he said:
It was a tour where I felt happy to be loved by STAY.
For fans, the closing concerts also offered an early introduction to SUIATSU, the group's fourth Japanese mini album, scheduled for release on the 25th. Its title track and another song, Lonely Night, received their first performances during the Tokyo Dome engagement.
From the National Stadium to four domes
Sony Music Japan's official tour announcement initially listed seven Japanese concerts. It described Stray Kids as the first overseas male act to perform at MUFG Stadium, the National Stadium in Tokyo.
The completed Japanese itinerary reached 10 concerts after including the three Tokyo Dome performances. The route connected the opening stadium engagement with dome concerts in Nagoya, Osaka, Fukuoka and Tokyo.
The announced dates and the closing engagement trace the Japanese leg:
- August 29 and 30: Two concerts at MUFG Stadium in Tokyo.
- September 5 and 6: Two concerts at Vantelin Dome Nagoya.
- September 19 and 20: Two concerts at Kyocera Dome Osaka.
- October 24: One concert at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka.
- The 6th through the 8th: Three closing concerts at Tokyo Dome.
Seungmin described the journey from the National Stadium through Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka to Tokyo Dome as dreamlike. He also spoke about the pressure of preparing for three consecutive performances at the final venue.
The singer said he had worried privately about whether he could take the stage in his best condition, and expressed relief that the concerts had finished successfully. His comments gave a more personal view of a tour otherwise measured in large venues and attendance totals.
What the attendance figures show
Tokyo Dome accounted for about 29 percent of the Japanese concert attendance: 150,000 out of 520,000 admissions. Across its three dates, the venue averaged 50,000 admissions per concert, compared with 52,000 across the full run of 10 shows.
The remaining seven stadium and dome concerts therefore accounted for 370,000 admissions. Those figures describe attendance across performances, so a fan attending more than once would be counted at each concert.
Cinema screenings added a different way to participate. The broadcasts on the 7th and 8th drew 60,000 admissions across Japan, a total equal to 40 percent of the attendance at the three Tokyo Dome concerts.
The concert and cinema figures measure different experiences. Inside Tokyo Dome, fans watched the group perform in person; cinema audiences watched the concert broadcast on a large screen. Keeping those totals separate makes the scale of each part of the event easier to understand.
A show built around all eight members
RUN IT placed the full group at the centre of the performance. The concert programme focused on stages featuring all eight members, rather than the dedicated solo or smaller unit performances seen on previous tours.
The 31 songs included material from the group's early career alongside newer releases. Japanese versions of Chk Chk Boom and CASE 143 were among the selections, giving the Japanese audience familiar songs in the language used for much of the evening's conversation.
The members spoke largely in Japanese when addressing the crowd. Han acknowledged the roughly two years since their previous Tokyo Dome appearance, while Lee Know encouraged fans to shout and enjoy themselves freely.
Felix, a member of the group, described the affection between Stray Kids and their audience in simple terms:
STAY and we love each other.
The focus on eight members also carried into the farewell. Their repeated promise to return together echoed the way the show itself had been arranged, with the group sharing the stage throughout the main programme.
SUIATSU receives its first live performances
Tokyo Dome became the launch point for live performances of SUIATSU and Lonely Night ahead of the Japanese mini album's release on the 25th. A mini album is a release shorter than a typical full album, allowing artists to present a smaller collection of songs together.
SUIATSU is Stray Kids' fourth Japanese mini album and their first in that format in about a year and a half. Performing the new tracks before release gave the concerts a role beyond closing the Japanese tour: they also introduced the next stage of the group's Japanese music schedule.
Bang Chan said he expected listeners to hear further growth in the record. Han, who belongs to the group's songwriting and production team 3RACHA, also praised the album and urged fans to listen to it repeatedly.
The Japanese release follows the Korean mini album THIS & THAT, released on August 7. That album reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated August 22, giving the group its ninth consecutive debut at the top of the US album chart. The Billboard 200 ranks albums using sales and listening activity, rather than measuring the popularity of an individual song.
Fans turn the farewell into a tribute
Near the end of the concert, a surprise video carried messages from Japanese fans and looked back over the tour. Members became tearful as they watched, while the audience raised message boards in another coordinated gesture.
Fans also began singing Shukumei, a Japanese original song by the group. Their voices became part of the farewell as the members took in the messages and the crowd's response.
Seungmin connected the emotion onstage with the effort the members had put into performing. He said their tears reflected how sincerely they had approached the concerts, and expressed a wish for that same sincerity to be shared with STAY.
Bang Chan also described the strain involved in preparing new tours and albums. He said the worries and difficulties that accompanied those preparations faded when he saw the audience enjoying the results.
Lee Know thanked fans for making the concerts enjoyable for the performers as well. During his remarks, he briefly sang part of his solo song Limbo, prompting the crowd to respond with a loud declaration of affection using his name.
A second encore and a promise to return
The second encore paired Christmas Love (Party Version) with FAM, the group's song introducing its members. The selections brought a seasonal celebration and a familiar account of the group's personalities into the closing stretch.
Lee Know, a member of Stray Kids, made a direct promise as the farewell approached:
We'll come back as eight, I promise!
Bang Chan likewise pledged that the full group would return to Tokyo Dome. The members ended the roughly three and a half hour performance by calling out their affection for STAY without microphones.
No date was announced for another Tokyo Dome appearance. The RUN IT world tour continues beyond Japan, with Hong Kong among the stops in its remaining schedule.
For Japanese fans, the next scheduled release is SUIATSU on the 25th. The tour's closing concerts linked that forthcoming music with a farewell built around the same eight performers who had opened the Japanese run at the National Stadium.
Key Points
- Stray Kids completed 10 Japanese concerts on the RUN IT world tour, drawing 520,000 admissions.
- Three Tokyo Dome concerts attracted 150,000 admissions, while cinema screenings on two days drew another 60,000.
- The Japanese leg began with the group's milestone concerts at MUFG Stadium and continued through four dome venues.
- The Tokyo show featured 31 songs across roughly three and a half hours, with the programme centred on all eight members.
- SUIATSU and Lonely Night received their first performances ahead of the Japanese mini album's release on the 25th.
- The members promised to return together, while the world tour continues with further stops including Hong Kong.
