Stray Kids Becomes First Overseas Male Act to Headline Japan National Stadium

The group will open the Japanese leg of its RUN IT world tour with two historic Tokyo concerts before meeting 370,000 fans across the country.

Stray Kids is about to reach one of the most prestigious stages in Japan.

Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin and I.N will perform at Tokyo’s Japan National Stadium, currently known as MUFG Stadium, on August 29 and 30.

According to the group’s official Japanese announcement, Stray Kids will become the first overseas male artist to hold a solo concert at the venue.

The two shows will also mark the first international stop of the group’s new RUN IT world tour, which opened with sold out concerts at Seoul’s KSPO Dome in July.

For STAY, the achievement represents another major step in a journey that has taken Stray Kids from a televised survival program to the biggest album chart and concert stages in the world.

Why Japan National Stadium Is So Significant

Japan National Stadium is not simply a larger version of Tokyo Dome.

The venue was constructed as the main stadium for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as major athletics events.

Designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, the stadium incorporates wood throughout its roof and exterior. Its five colored seating sections were created to resemble sunlight filtering through a forest.

The standard spectator capacity is approximately 68,000, although concert configurations can vary depending on the stage and field layout.

Despite its size, the stadium does not regularly operate as a concert venue. Its primary functions remain major sporting events and nationally significant gatherings, which makes approval for a solo music concert particularly meaningful.

Earlier in 2026, TWICE became the first overseas artist to headline the stadium. Stray Kids will now establish a separate record as the first overseas male act to hold a solo concert there.

Both achievements reflect the exceptional strength JYP Entertainment’s artists have developed in Japan, while Stray Kids’ record specifically marks a new breakthrough for an international boy group.

From Tokyo Dome to the National Stadium

Stray Kids’ rise in Japan has taken place through increasingly ambitious live performances.

The group first built its Japanese fanbase through local album releases, arena appearances and dome concerts. Its previous dominATE tour included its first Japanese stadium performances at Shizuoka’s Ecopa Stadium in May 2025.

The RUN IT tour now takes that growth into central Tokyo.

Performing at the National Stadium requires more than having a successful song or a temporarily popular album. An artist must demonstrate the ability to attract tens of thousands of people for multiple nights while supporting the enormous production demands of an outdoor stadium show.

Stray Kids will not perform there for a single symbolic appearance. The group is scheduled for two consecutive nights.

The August 29 concert begins at 5:30 p.m. local time, while the August 30 performance starts at 5 p.m. The second show will also be offered through live viewing screenings at cinemas throughout Japan.

RUN IT Japan Will Reach 370,000 Fans

The Tokyo concerts are only the beginning of Stray Kids’ new Japanese tour.

After completing the two National Stadium shows, the members will perform at Vantelin Dome Nagoya on September 5 and 6, followed by Kyocera Dome Osaka on September 19 and 20.

The Japanese leg will conclude at Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka on October 24.

Across seven performances in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka, the group is expected to meet approximately 370,000 fans.

That scale demonstrates why the National Stadium booking is not an isolated prestige event. Stray Kids has enough demand to continue filling major domes across the country after its two largest Tokyo concerts are over.

The Japanese schedule alone resembles a complete stadium and dome tour, yet it forms only one part of the wider RUN IT world tour.

A Record Built With STAY

Stray Kids’ concert growth has been inseparable from STAY.

The group did not begin with the immediate public recognition of a guaranteed stadium act. Its identity developed around self produced music, unconventional structures and lyrics about uncertainty, ambition and refusing to follow a predetermined path.

Members of the production unit 3RACHA, consisting of Bang Chan, Changbin and Han, have remained deeply involved in creating the group’s music.

That involvement gave Stray Kids a sound that listeners could recognize even as its audience expanded. Songs including “God’s Menu,” “Thunderous,” “MANIAC,” “S Class,” “LALALALA,” “Back Door” and “Chk Chk Boom” became increasingly suited to larger stages without losing the intensity that attracted the group’s early fans.

The relationship with STAY grew in parallel. Fans who supported the group through smaller showcases and its first arena tours are now watching the members enter venues once reserved for only the most commercially powerful performers.

Nine Consecutive No. 1 Albums in the United States

The stadium milestone arrives shortly after Stray Kids extended another historic record in the United States.

The group’s latest mini album, THIS & THAT, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 369,000 equivalent album units. It marked the biggest US sales week of Stray Kids’ career.

More remarkably, all nine of the group’s Billboard 200 entries have debuted at No. 1.

Stray Kids is the first act in the chart’s history to send its first nine charting albums directly to the top position.

The achievement also gave the group the most Billboard 200 No. 1 albums among groups during the 21st century. With nine chart toppers, Stray Kids tied The Rolling Stones for the second most No. 1 albums among groups across the chart’s entire history. Only The Beatles remain ahead.

These records show that Stray Kids’ success is not concentrated in one market. The group can produce blockbuster album sales in the United States while simultaneously supporting a stadium and dome tour in Japan.

A New Japanese Album Is Already Coming

Stray Kids will continue its Japanese activities after the RUN IT concerts.

The group is scheduled to release its fourth Japanese mini album, SUIATSU, on November 25.

Further details about its concept and tracklist are expected closer to the release date. The timing suggests that the National Stadium and dome concerts will help carry momentum into another major Japanese music era.

The group’s relationship with Japan has already produced songs such as “TOP,” “Scars,” “Social Path” featuring LiSA, “GIANT” and “Hollow.”

Rather than treating Japan only as a touring destination, Stray Kids has developed a separate local catalog that allows Japanese STAY to follow both its Korean and Japanese musical stories.

Stray Kids Takes Its Festival Power Worldwide

After the Tokyo concerts, Stray Kids will continue expanding its live presence beyond traditional tour venues.

The group is scheduled to headline Rock in Rio in Brazil in September, placing it before one of the world’s largest festival audiences.

It will also lead STRAYCITY, a new festival scheduled across three Latin American locations. The appearances reflect the enormous demand the group previously demonstrated throughout the region.

Festival headlining presents a different challenge from a solo concert. Not every audience member arrives as an established fan, so an artist must create impact through performance alone.

Stray Kids’ loud production, physical choreography and crowd focused songs make the group particularly suited to that environment.

Eight Artists, One Stadium Sized Journey

Stray Kids debuted in 2018 after fighting to secure its lineup and identity through the Mnet survival program bearing the group’s name.

Eight years later, the members are entering the stadium built to represent Japan on the world stage.

The achievement is measurable through records. They are the first overseas male artist to headline the venue, they are preparing to reach 370,000 fans across Japan and they have nine consecutive No. 1 albums in the United States.

But the emotional meaning is simpler.

A group whose name represented young people searching for their own path has reached one of the few stages that even globally successful artists may never experience.

When Stray Kids walks into Japan National Stadium on August 29, the members will not enter alone. Tens of thousands of STAY will be there to show exactly how far that path has taken them.