Billboard Japan‘s Women in Music interview series returns with ATARASHII GAKKO! The initiative launched in 2022 to celebrate artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to music and entertainment and inspired other women through their work, following the footsteps of Billboard’s annual Women in Music honors. This series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry is one of the highlights of Japan‘s WIM project.
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This new interview arrives ahead of the one-night-only special live event set for June 9, Women in Music – EQUAL STAGE presented by Billboard Japan and Spotify. Making their second appearance in this interview series, SUZUKA, MIZYU, RIN, and KANON of ATARASHII GAKKO! — now in their eleventh year together under the concept of “going beyond (hamidashi) through individuality and freedom” — chatted again with writer Rio Hirai about their philosophy of standing out, the bonds between them, and what they’re bringing to the June 9 show.
This is the group’s second time in this series. SUZUKA, what stuck with me from the previous WIM interview was what you said about wanting to live “one hell of a life.” Now that we’re almost halfway through 2026, how have things been so far?
SUZUKA: Coming off our tenth anniversary and stepping into year eleven, hitting double digits felt like the right moment for a fresh start. We’ve been doing all kinds of shows with the idea of going back to basics while also expressing a more forward-charging version of ourselves, one with an eye on the future. In July we’ll be playing Lollapalooza in Berlin, then celebrating our 11th anniversary in the Czech Republic and London. In September we head to Seattle, and in December we have a Latin America tour, making stops in Chile, Brazil, and Mexico.
KANON, last time you talked about how important it is to live fully in the present.
KANON: That hasn’t changed at all. We always say, “As long as the four of us are living fully in the present together, that’s our seishun (youth).” Every day, I’m giving everything I have to the here and now.
What are some of the most memorable moments of the first half of 2026?
RIN: After finishing our hall tour, we put on a solo show in April built around the theme of an entrance ceremony. It was a highly conceptual show — we used red-and-white curtains, set up a large lectern, welcomed in the audience with applause — a staging and setlist designed to bring back the feeling of those school entrance ceremonies that anyone who went to school in Japan has a deep connection to. It became a really meaningful show for us where we dug deeper into what ATARASHII GAKKO! is all about.
MIZYU: Every single day has been memorable. The shows, of course, but also the days of creation leading up to them, and the days after when we take in the audience’s reactions. We also heavily focused on producing new music in the first half of the year, so each day has felt truly precious.
SUZUKA: Exactly right!
You often perform abroad in front of audiences who don’t speak Japanese. What do you keep in mind when you’re on those stages?
RIN: Even if there’s a language barrier, we have performance as our weapon. So we use facial expressions and big movements to convey “this is what we’re saying right now” and “this is what joy looks like,” bringing the same energy we give in Japan, just with everything dialed up. Wearing sailor-type school uniforms is second nature to us by now, but overseas audiences see it as something iconic, so after that it’s just a matter of pouring in everything we’ve got. I always take the stage believing that if you give it everything, it will always come through.
SUZUKA: Like our “attention, bow!” routine, which is totally familiar in Japan. When we do it in other countries, just that one gesture gets a huge roar of applause. Japanese audiences will do it along with us like it’s nothing, but that cultural difference is what creates so many moments of surprise and delight overseas.
It feels like what ATARASHII GAKKO! stands for has really gotten through to people, in Japan and around the world. How does that feel from where you’re standing?
SUZUKA: I think we still have a long way to go. We do feel that there are people all over the world who love us for reasons we’d never imagined, and looking back at where we were ten years ago, we’re amazed by how many fans we have now. But just being satisfied with that would be a waste — we should be using that as fuel to keep growing. We always want to be on an adventure and want to discover sides of ourselves we haven’t seen yet. We’d like to show people that and get our energy out to more and more people. So no, we’re not there yet.
Eleven years in, do you still find new things to discover in each other?
SUZUKA: We’ve known each other since around the second year of junior high, so we really went through those formative adolescent years together. We have bigger bones now. [Laughs] When we’re making songs or choreography, we each draw inspiration from our daily lives and bring it to the group. There’s always some kind of new change happening, but at the same time there’s the complete opposite, a sense of comfort and stability. It’s an interesting balance.
MIZYU: The foundation doesn’t change, but everyone keeps sharpening the individuality they’ve built through their own adventures, and we find the shape that fits each new edge. It feels like each piece keeps updating and slotting together. Maybe things like curiosity, and the drive to keep evolving are actually growing stronger. I do think we’ve matured.
RIN: The reason the four of us can keep fitting with each other is because we all have a deep respect for that moment twelve years ago when we first met and burst out laughing together. Even as we change, we each hold the same feeling that being the four of us is something to cherish.
KANON: We’re together almost every day, and the conversations when all four of us get together keep evolving too. Even if the shape of someone’s feelings shifts, somehow it still fits, and there are no holes. It’s a remarkable kind of relationship.
Even as you all evolve, each of you seems to be living out the concept of “hamidashi” (going beyond the norm) in your own way. What’s the secret to accepting each other’s way of hamidashi and still finding that fit?
SUZUKA: The concept is hamidashi, not “marudashi” (anything goes). The latter means breaking rules, violating the school code. Hamidashi is about how much freedom and individuality you can find within the rules that exist. When you shift your perspective, you’ll find there’s plenty of room for adventure just by pushing to the limit of what the rules allow. It works because the four of us are intuitively tuned to each other.
KANON: When you step outside Japan, the rules are really completely different from country to country. Even with choreography, something totally fine in Japan can carry a slightly different meaning overseas. When that happens, we ask people locally and change the moves on the same day. There’s always been a spirit of wanting to respect the rules of each country in order to be accepted by people around the world.
What would you say to someone who finds going beyond the norm scary, or feels like it takes too much courage?
SUZUKA: I understand the fear. There are moments when even we feel uncertain about how far we can go. But you can’t see new scenery without breaking something open first. I think the anxiety comes from being scared of failure, but I think you should just treat failure as the starting point. Failure is normal. Learn from it, take it as material pointing you toward success, and just be like, “Oh, I failed” in a matter-of-fact way. As long as you’re not dead, you’ll be okay. Go on the adventure, crash and burn, and get back up. And if you need something to help you get back up, reach for music, look up at the sky — find whatever heals and replenishes you in your own way.
MIZYU: I think how you interpret “going beyond the norm” is completely up to you. Wanting to do something different is one form of it. Just living each day as yourself, that also counts. You don’t have to feel pressured to be like that, and you don’t have to do it alone. Finding people to do it with might be a form of going beyond the norm, too. No pressure, just do it in the direction you want to, when you feel ready. That’s the important thing.
KANON: Even something like being able to tell yourself “I like this” about something you’d hold back from saying out loud because you’re worried about what people think — that counts too. I want everyone to always honor their own feelings.
RIN: “Going beyond the norm” can sound a bit aggressive, or like you have to charge ahead on your own, but that’s not necessarily the case. You can have someone to do it with, and sometimes just asking someone, “I’m thinking of ‘going beyond the norm,’ what do you think?” is enough to feel more secure about it. You don’t have to do it right now, either. Everyone has their own pace in life, their own comfort zone. Do it when you want to, and if it’s not the right time, that’s fine too. I live with the belief that human beings are allowed to be far freer than they think.
You’ll be sharing the stage with Awich, Hitsujibungaku, and LANA on June 9 at Women in Music – EQUAL STAGE. What are you looking forward to, and what are you bringing to that night?
RIN: All women, all different generations, all completely different genres. We’ve performed with Awich a few times and she always empowers us. LANA is younger than us but carries such a powerful energy. And Hitsujibungaku are a duo now, and I imagine they have a whole different presence. I think it’ll be a day where even fans of one artist discover an entirely new genre. Someone who comes to see us might be struck by the strength of a female rapper or shaken by Hitsujibungaku’s crystalline voice. That kind of new discovery is what music is all about, so I’m really looking forward to seeing a wide range of people taking in the energy of Japanese female artists.
SUZUKA: The lineup has this quality of being both healing and provocative at the same time. If everyone in that room is open to all of it, the venue will absolutely come alive with a sense of unity. We’re just gonna be us, through and through.
MIZYU: We actually just did our own show at SGC Hall Ariake for its opening in April, so we know firsthand what a wonderful venue it is. I’m excited to go back and feel a completely different atmosphere in the same space.
SUZUKA: It might actually be the first time an all-women event has been held at SGC Hall. When I think about that, it feels even more significant.
KANON: Beyond the whole “women” framing, what I’m really excited about is being able to explode with energy as human beings, as ATARASHII GAKKO! This will be the first time these four acts perform together like this, and I can’t wait to see what kind of energy gets unleashed, and what kind of audience we’ll meet.
—This interview by Rio Hirai first appeared on Billboard Japan
AloJapan.com