Next month marks the 30th anniversary of the popular band Southern All Stars, but their agency Amuse and record company Victor Entertainment made a surprising announcement to the group's fans on Sunday. Starting next year, the band will formally go on indefinite hiatus.

The group's five members, led by Keisuke Kuwata, began discussing the decision in January. In the past, they have had long periods of inactivity due to various members doing solo work, but this is the first time they have officially announced a suspension of activity. According to Kuwata, the members will continue their own individual development as musicians. He also mentioned his occasional lack of motivation towards work as one of the reasons behind the decision.

Although the group may resume activity in the future, no particular length of time has been decided for this hiatus, and it seems likely that it will last for at least a couple years. However, Kuwata said that they are definitely not disbanding.

In his statement, Kuwata also apologized to his fans for the band's previous unannounced breaks, saying that this time, he had wanted to announce the group's plans as early as possible.

Southern All Stars will remain active as a group for the rest of this year, with at least a new single scheduled for release on August 6 and four anniversary concerts at the Nissan Stadium in Yokohama on August 16-17, 23-24. None of the individual members have announced any definite plans for 2009 onward.