The founder and former director of WACK, a Japanese music firm, published a “Declaration of Defeat” via the website of Natalie Music, in which he built upon the disbandments of several J-pop groups. WACK founder Junnosuke Watanabe released the list of J-pop groups going to disband in the near future, which includes ExWHYZ, GANG PARADE, KiSS KiSS, ASP, and BiTE A SHOCK. He also referred to the music label’s journey so far as its first phase and reaffirmed that the company will restart its journey in 2027.
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WACK Founder Statement Drifting Chaos
Junnosuke Watanabe started WACK in August 2014 and introduced a bunch of groups over the years. However, with the end of an era, WACK will reboot itself in 2027 with new artists and have a more global focus. According to Watanabe, past WACK artists and even strangers were invited for auditions, and the first deadline for the WACK auditions will be January 31, 2026. In all this chaos and decisions, MAMESHIBA NO TAiGUN remained the only unit not to disband. Maybe because WACK created MAMESHIBA NO TAiGUN in partnership with Tower Records.
However, currently, all 6 WACK groups are indulging in a tour “Where the End Begins’ before the official end of an era by the WACK. The tour is expected to take place in various cities in Japan on January 10, 2026.
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ExWHYZ
The ExWHYZ was formed out of the disbanded J-pop group EMPiRE on June 22, 2022, with the same lineup of members. However, this time, members embraced more dance and an alternative idol vibe. The ExWHYZ members include Yu-Ki, Mayo, Maho, and Mikina, showing a shrikage over the years. Its past members included Midoriko, Now, Yuka Empire, and Yuina Empire.
With the debut in August 2022 with their first digital single, “Wanna Dance,” they established their new identity in the market. Later, they released albums like xYZ, xANADU, EP, including How High?, Sweet & Sour and much more. As of now, they are touring Japan under the ExWHYZ TOUR 2025 ‘Wide Open’ and released their new single “iD” in July 2025. However, they are now among the J-pop bands that are going to disband after the statement by the WACK founder Junnosuke Watanabe.
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KiSS KiSS
KiSS KiSS was formed on March 25, 2023, after the WACK audition camp. The Japanese group, currently, consists of 5 members, including Naruhaworld, Kila May, Ca Non, Changbaby, and Ainastar. Though some fans describe it as a subunit of Gang Prada, another J-pop group under the music label WACK. The group is leaning towards traditional music, totally different from the other groups under Junnosuke Watanabe’s music label.
KiSS KiSS released several songs and albums in a short span of time. The list starts with the debut single “Kisses” in April 2023, then the first album “First Album” in June 2023 and digital single “Cake” in December 2023. Overall, their songs try to highlight a cute, fun, and conventional idol vibe that makes them different from other J-pop groups under the music label. KiSS KiSS is still active, but is named under Junnosuke Watanabe’s disbandment list and sadly will face disbandment in the coming months.
GANG PRADA
GANG PRADE has gone through 3-4 cycles of rebranding before it got a permanent identity as GANG PRADA. Originally, the group was formed under the name Pla2me in 2014 and then rebranded as POP in 2015 before finally rebranding as GANG PRADA in 2016. GANG PRADA has 11 members, including Yamamachi Miki, Yumeno Yua, Can GP Maika, Yui Ga Dockson, Coco Partin Coco, Tsukino Usagi, Naruhaworld, Kila May, Ca Non, Changbaby, and Ainastar. The group faced major rebranding and spinoff as five of its members were extracted to create a subunit J-pop group KiSS KiSS.
Following their music journey, they released a new album, “OUR PARADE’ in 2023, and later their first EP “The Night Park.” All of a sudden, they are seen releasing many singles like Sparkling Moon and Good Luck My Future in December 2024. However, the group is now on the WACK disbandment list and will be disbanded next month or so.
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ASP
J-pop girl group ASP stands as ANTi SOCiETY PUNKS and matches their personality in the Japanese music industry. As of now, the group lineup has six members, including NAMELESS, MATiLDER TWiNS, WONKER TWiNS, CCCCCC, RiON TOWN, and iKO MUGENNOKANATA. ASP was formed in 2021 after WACK auditions and released their debut album “Masked.” As per their music, ASP mixes punk, metal, rap, electronic and hyperpop to showcase rebellious aesthetics.
ASP performed a solo show at Nippon Budokan in 2024, launched a nationwide tour, “the Acid Suspicious Parental Tour” in Japan in 2025. They even went overseas for their first-ever international tour in Europe, covering cities like Bristol, Manchester and London in September 2025. As a legacy step, the group broke the cute idol stereotype in the music industry and established themselves as baddies of the J-pop music.
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BiTE A SHOCK
BiTE A SHOCK is a co-ed Japanese music group under the music label WACK. BiTE A SHOCK was formed after the disbandment of BiSH in June 2023. The group consists of 6 members at present and includes Mahito, Rina, Hanano, Ryussei, Haruto, and Soari. They are the first J-pop group under WACK to have both male and female singers lineup. However, it is now going to disband after Junnosuke Watanabe mentioned the group in his list of disbandment recently.
