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Ohno: Maybe a year or so after Arashi was formed. The staff started telling us “You guys are close, aren’t you?”. But it was the norm for us, so I didn’t really understand why they would go out of their way to tell us that at first.
Ninomiya: I don’t think you’d be close if you’re doing it consciously to begin with. A group that knows the extent of closeness they need is a group that might not actually be friendly. I think it’s tough, when you think about that.
Sakurai: A big part of it is the fact that we’re a group with a very narrow age gap. There’s only three years of difference. We’ve been together since we were 12~13 years old so the childhood friendship-like element is also present, and we share common memories of hanging out at the time which we can talk about as well.
Aiba: It’s also a different relationship than that of a close friend too. I’m not putting this very well, but with Arashi we’re doing things that carry a sense of responsibility, aren’t we? That doesn’t happen with close friends. I know we’re heading into our 11th year, but I keep liking Arashi more and more.
