Ryosuke Yamada (山田涼介) of the idol group Hey! Say! JUMP opened the Tokyo leg of his solo dome tour, “Ryosuke Yamada DOME TOUR 2026 Are You Red.Y?,” at Tokyo Dome on July 25. The show marks the first time an artist from his talent agency has ever headlined a solo dome tour. Ahead of the concert, Yamada met with press at a media event held inside the venue.
The tour follows Yamada’s second solo album, “Are You Red.Y?,” released in May, and comes a year after his first solo arena tour in support of his debut solo album, “RED.” The current run includes two-night stops at both Kyocera Dome Osaka and Tokyo Dome.
Yamada made a memorable entrance at the press event, riding in on a moving stage. He explained that the idea came from staff, who he assumed would be turned down out of embarrassment, but he embraced it instead, saying he wanted to borrow “the greatness” of Arashi, a senior act at his agency credited with originating the moving-stage entrance. Still, he admitted feeling self-conscious being watched by reporters while not yet in performance costume.
Reflecting on performing solo on a dome stage for the first time, despite having experience playing domes with Hey! Say! JUMP, Yamada said he was moved to tears at points during rehearsals just from watching fans smile and dance. He said he personally oversaw every detail of the production, running through two full dress rehearsals — one performing on stage, and one watching from the audience seats — to leave nothing to chance.
Bandmates Daiki Arioka and Yuri Chinen attended the earlier Osaka shows. Yamada joked that he was too exhausted afterward to talk much with them, but said they told him the performance was excellent. He noted the physical toll of carrying a nearly 40-song solo setlist alone, compared to sharing a single song among seven members in group performances, joking that muscle soreness catches up with him more than it used to.
The tour also features 32 junior trainees from the agency supporting the stage. Asked what he would say to himself for achieving a solo dome tour, Yamada answered, “Don’t get satisfied.” He called the tour the highest point of his life so far, but said he sees it as just a waypoint, adding that he still wants to perform at dome venues Hey! Say! JUMP itself hasn’t played yet — together with the group, not ahead of it. He closed the press event by describing his ambition to show three sides of himself — as an idol, as a solo artist, and as a member of Hey! Say! JUMP — while preserving the balance the group has built over its 20-year history.
Who is Ryosuke Yamada?
Born May 9, 1993, in Tokyo, Ryosuke Yamada is a member of the eight-member idol group Hey! Say! JUMP, which debuted in 2007. He launched his solo music career in 2013 with the single “Mystery Virgin.” As an actor, he won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Newcomer for his lead role in the 2015 film “Assassination Classroom,” and has since appeared in films including “Grasshopper,” “The Miracles of the Namiya General Store,” “Fullmetal Alchemist,” the historical drama “Baragaki” (as Souji Okita), and the 2023 film “Bad Lands” alongside Sakura Ando.
