On the 17th, Arashi's Kazunari Ninomiya (41) attended a farewell party for Tomoaki Ogura, who passed away on December 9th last year at the age of 77, in Tokyo. In a press conference, he spoke cheerfully but with tears in his eyes.

He also recalled that when Arashi was formed in 1999, Ogura spoke of his enthusiasm on Fuji TV's "Tokudane!", where he served as MC. "We continued to do variety shows together after that, and it was the first time I realized just how great Ogura is, and I was amazed to hear about his routine, which has continued for years, and wondered when he even sleeps," he said, looking up to the sky.

He also respected his approach to work, recalling, "I sometimes wondered what we young people were doing and thought that we shouldn't keep saying we're sleepy."

He revealed that Ogura often attended Arashi's concerts, and expressed his gratitude, saying, "It meant a lot to us that you would take the time to watch Arashi's DVDs and dramas and movies that the members were in."

Regarding Ogura's presence, he said, "He was like a father to me, or rather, he was my father. He would say, 'I'm counting on you to take care of him,' and it is exactly he was my father." Finally, as a message to his father in heaven, he sent him off with a cheerful message: "I want him to enjoy himself, and although I don't know how he sees the entertainment industry today, I'll work hard so that Ogura doesn't get angry at me."