CHAI. Photo by Yoshio Nakaiso.
CHAI are breaking up after a decade-plus run. The all-women Japanese four-piece — consisting of identical twins Mana (vocals/keys) and Kana (guitar), plus Yuna (drums) and Yuuki (bass) — shared the news on Instagram in both Japanese and English early Thursday morning EST. According to their post, they’ll disband when their upcoming tour of Japan ends in March.
“We are sad to let you know that, following our upcoming Japan tour, CHAI will eternalize NEO KAWAII (=parting ways as a band),” the English portion of the post’s caption reads. “To continue our journey of self-love, as CHAI have always said, and to continue to fulfill our own personal visions, we have decided to go our separate ways. We are so sorry to surprise you with this news.”
Representatives of the band declined to comment further on the news when reached by The FADER.
CHAI formed in 2012 in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, where three of the group’s four members were in the same high school class. They released four studio LPs — one every two years following 2017’s Pink. Their most recent, self-titled album arrived in September.
