Stray Kids make history in Tokyo: first foreign male act with solo concerts at the National Stadium
Stray Kids are opening the Japanese leg of the RUN IT world tour this weekend on one of the country's most iconic stages. The eight-member South Korean group is performing on August 29 and 30, 2026, at Tokyo's National Stadium, which has carried the commercial name MUFG Stadium since the beginning of 2026. According to the official announcement by Sony Music and the group's Japanese team, this is the first solo concert by a male act from outside Japan at the stadium, giving Stray Kids another record in a string of major international achievements. The first Tokyo date was August 29 starting at 17:30, while the second concert on August 30 is scheduled for 17:00 local time, the stadium's official website confirms. The two Tokyo performances also mark the beginning of a series of seven Japanese concerts in four cities, for which JYP Entertainment estimates total attendance at around 370,000 people.
That figure represents the expected combined audience for the entire Japanese leg, rather than already-final confirmed attendance, because the final concert will not take place until October 24 in Fukuoka. Nevertheless, the scale of interest is already visible in ticket sales. Ticket Pia's consolidated page for the tour marked the planned allocations for all seven dates as sold out, while in the days before Tokyo the organizer also released additional, limited batches of seats after the final stage layout had been determined, including seats with partially restricted views. For that reason, the claim that the concerts are sold out most precisely refers to the planned primary ticket inventory, with the possibility that individual additional seats may subsequently become available when production conditions allow. Such sales dynamics are common with major stadium productions, but in this case they further demonstrate how strong demand is even before the tour moves on to Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.
A record at a stadium with an Olympic legacy
The significance of the Tokyo concerts goes beyond the size of the audience itself. Today's National Stadium was completed in November 2019 and served as the central stage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, including the opening and closing ceremonies and athletics competitions. According to current data from operator Japan National Stadium Entertainment, the stadium has 66,727 seats arranged across several tiers around the field. The venue is located in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, in the Kasumigaoka area, on a site that has held a special place in Japanese sporting history for decades. For major music acts, performing at this location is therefore not merely a matter of capacity, but also a symbolic entry into a very limited circle of performers capable of filling the national stadium.
Since January 1, 2026, the stadium has been referred to in commercial communications as MUFG Stadium following a partnership agreement with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The operator explicitly states, however, that the venue's official name remains National Stadium, so both names are used by the public and the media. It is precisely on this stage that Stray Kids are now achieving a record that JYP Entertainment announced back on June 23: they are becoming the first male act from outside Japan to hold a solo concert at the current National Stadium. Japanese media such as Oricon highlighted the same fact as a historic precedent for foreign male performers and, at the same time, as the first such performance by a male K-pop act.
The record is especially important because it comes after years of gradually expanding Stray Kids' presence in Japan, rather than as an isolated event. The group officially debuted in Japan in March 2020 with the compilation release SKZ2020, following earlier showcase performances and the development of a local fan base. In the group's official profile, Sony Music also emphasizes their strong creative component: the members participate in writing, composing and producing a large part of their repertoire, which has become one of the defining elements of their identity. That combination of their own musical signature, intense choreography and stadium production has gradually increased the scale of their performances. Tokyo's National Stadium is now the biggest symbol of that development in the Japanese market.
Seven concerts in four Japanese cities
The Japanese leg of the RUN IT tour includes Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka. After two nights at the National Stadium, the group moves to Vantelin Dome Nagoya, then to Kyocera Dome Osaka, while the final Japanese performance is scheduled at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka. The schedule published by Sony Music and the official tour website is as follows:
- August 29, 2026 - MUFG Stadium, National Stadium, Tokyo
- August 30, 2026 - MUFG Stadium, National Stadium, Tokyo
- September 5, 2026 - Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Nagoya
- September 6, 2026 - Vantelin Dome Nagoya, Nagoya
- September 19, 2026 - Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka
- September 20, 2026 - Kyocera Dome Osaka, Osaka
- October 24, 2026 - Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, Fukuoka
According to Yonhap, citing JYP Entertainment, those seven concerts are expected to attract around 370,000 spectators. This is a projection that clearly shows the Japanese leg is not merely a few additional dates on the world tour, but one of its largest territorial segments. When the tour was announced, JYP stated that RUN IT began with five concerts at KSPO Dome in Seoul between July 25 and August 2, after which Tokyo becomes the first major international stadium stop. The tour's further plans include Hong Kong and Taipei in December 2026, Bangkok in January 2027 and Singapore in March 2027, with additional cities to be announced.
Demand for the Japanese dates is also evident in the way ticket sales were organized. After several rounds of fan-club and presale applications, general sales opened on August 26, and Ticket Pia marked the planned allocations for all seven dates on the consolidated tour listing as completed. Sony Music then announced additional sales for the Tokyo concerts on August 27 after the stage plan had been finalized, including seats carrying a notice that parts of the stage or the members might be less visible. Such subsequent releases do not change the overall picture: the initially available capacity had been absorbed, and the organizer attempted to make use of technically freed-up areas of the stadium as well.
Tokyo concert available beyond the stadium as well
The reach of the second Tokyo night will not be limited only to the audience inside the stadium. Sony Music confirmed that the August 30 concert will be streamed live via Hulu in Japan, starting at 17:00 local time. No subsequent on-demand recording is planned for the stream, so it is intended as a one-time event following the concert in real time. The organizers also connected the same evening with screenings in cinemas across Japan, thereby extending the physical capacity of the stadium to an audience that was unable to obtain a ticket for Tokyo.
This model demonstrates how large K-pop concerts have become multi-channel events. The stadium audience remains at the center of the experience, but parallel broadcasts allow organizers to preserve a sense of a shared moment for viewers outside the venue as well. In the case of Stray Kids, this is particularly important because the Japanese fan base extends far beyond the four cities where the concerts are being held. Live viewing in cinemas and the online stream are therefore not merely an additional product alongside the tour, but a way of turning record-breaking interest into a broader national event.
From their first Japanese stadiums to the National Stadium in just one year
The pace of growth is best seen by comparing it with the previous tour. In May 2025, Stray Kids held their first stadium appearances in Japan through four concerts at Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium. Oricon reported at the time that the four nights, held on May 10, 11, 17 and 18, attracted a total of around 220,000 people. It was an important transition from halls and arenas to open-air stadiums and proof that the group could consistently fill venues with tens of thousands of seats in Japan. Just a little more than a year later, RUN IT raises the bar to the national stadium in Tokyo and a total of seven major concerts across four metropolitan areas.
The previous dominATE world tour further cemented their status as a stadium act outside Asia. According to Oricon and Yonhap, the tour ended with 56 performances in 35 cities around the world, including major stadium stops on several continents. That tour infrastructure is also important for understanding why a concert at the National Stadium is possible: this is a production that has already proven itself in working with large capacities, demanding logistics and audiences in different markets. Tokyo is therefore a historic step, but also a continuation of an already established global stadium model.
New album further amplified the moment
The Tokyo concerts come only a few weeks after a new recording success. The mini album THIS & THAT was released on August 7, 2026, immediately before the Japanese leg of the tour, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States. According to Yonhap, it was Stray Kids' ninth album to top the Billboard 200, continuing a streak in which all nine of their releases to enter that chart debuted at number one. The title track This & That also entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 38, which according to the same agency is their best placement on that U.S. singles chart.
In Japan, the same release also reached the top. Oricon reported on August 18 that THIS & THAT took first place on the weekly albums chart with 104,000 copies sold during the tracking week, giving the group its eighth number one on that chart. A few days earlier, the release had also debuted at number one on Oricon's weekly digital albums chart. These results show that interest in the tour is not separate from the current music cycle: Stray Kids arrive in Tokyo at a moment when new material is simultaneously achieving strong results in the United States and Japan.
It is precisely the combination of album sales, digital reach and physical concert demand that explains why the group today ranks among the most important global K-pop names. The National Stadium record is not merely a symbolic label in their biography, but a measurable indicator of the ability to turn a large international fan base into a stadium audience. In Japan, that development is particularly clear: from the official debut in 2020, through the first stadium concerts with 220,000 attendees in Shizuoka in 2025, to the RUN IT series with a projected audience of around 370,000 in 2026.
What the record means for Stray Kids and K-pop
For the group itself, the two Tokyo nights confirm that their position is no longer measured only by results on music charts, but also by access to venues reserved for performers with exceptionally large audience bases. The National Stadium is not a regular concert hall where dates are added to every major tour; it is a venue with strong sporting, Olympic and national symbolism. The fact that JYP Entertainment and its Japanese partners are opening RUN IT JAPAN there demonstrates how much confidence they have in local demand and the group's production strength.
For the broader K-pop industry, the record carries additional weight because it confirms the continued expansion of Korean performers onto the world's largest stadiums. Stray Kids had already been building that status in previous years through tours in North and South America, Europe and Asia, while the Japanese concerts are one of the clearest examples of the long-term development of an individual market. This is not a one-off festival performance or guest appearance, but seven solo concerts spread across nearly two months. The projection of 370,000 attendees therefore carries greater significance than the number alone: it demonstrates a level of demand that enables multiple stadium and dome performances within the same country.
Six more weeks remain after Tokyo until the end of the Japanese leg, so final attendance will not be known until after Fukuoka on October 24. What has already been confirmed is the historic status of the Tokyo performances, the schedule of seven concerts and JYP Entertainment's estimate of approximately 370,000 spectators. With a new album topping major charts and previous experience with dozens of stadium and arena dates around the world, Stray Kids arrive in Tokyo as an act whose global strength can also be measured beyond digital statistics. The National Stadium thus becomes the place where the group's years-long growth turns into one of the most important concert moments of their career to date.
Sources:
- Sony Music Japan - official announcement of the RUN IT JAPAN tour, the historic status of the National Stadium performances and the schedule of seven Japanese concerts (link)
- Sony Music Japan - information on general ticket sales and the schedule of Japanese concerts (link)
- Sony Music Japan - announcement of additional seats for the Tokyo concerts after finalization of the stage plan (link)
- Ticket Pia - status of planned ticket allocations for all seven dates of the RUN IT JAPAN tour (link)
- MUFG Stadium / Japan National Stadium Entertainment - official times of the Tokyo concerts and stadium information (link)
- Japan National Stadium Entertainment - capacity, completion date and official information about the National Stadium (link)
- Japan National Stadium Entertainment - introduction of the name MUFG Stadium from January 1, 2026, while retaining the official name National Stadium (link)
- Yonhap News Agency - JYP Entertainment data on the world tour, the first foreign male act at the stadium and the expected approximately 370,000 visitors in Japan (link)
- Yonhap News Agency - Billboard 200 and Hot 100 results for THIS & THAT (link)
- Oricon News - result of the album THIS & THAT on the Japanese weekly albums chart (link)
- Oricon News - report on Stray Kids' first Japanese stadium concerts in Shizuoka and a total of 220,000 attendees in 2025 (link)
- Sony Music Japan - official announcement of the August 30 concert stream via Hulu (link)
- Olympic Studies Centre / Olympic World Library - official information on the role of the National Stadium during the Tokyo 2020 Games (link)
- Sony Music Japan - official confirmation of the start of digital distribution of the mini album THIS & THAT on August 7, 2026 (link)
- Oricon News - first place for THIS & THAT on the weekly digital albums chart (link)
- Sony Music Japan - official group profile, Japanese debut and the members' songwriting and production role (link)