Yaen, a Japanese pop group formed in 1998, consist of Takaaki Ishibashi and Noritake Kinashi from The Tunnels comedy duo, along with nine staff members from their television variety show. The group was created by music producers Akimoto Yasushi and Tsugutoshi Gotō for a parody performance on the music variety show Utaban. Yaen made their debut as a legitimate pop group in April, 1998, with the single "Get Down". They signed with Avex Trax and released three studio albums: STAFF ROLL (March, 1999), evolution (March, 2000), and Tesshū (March, 2001). Notable singles include "Sakebi" (September, 1998), "Be cool!" (February, 1999), and "Fish Fight!" (February, 2001). Yaen achieved significant chart success, with all their releases reaching the top ten on the Oricon charts. The group performed at Kōhaku Uta Gassen in two consecutive years and sold three million albums. Several of their singles were choreographed by Sam, Etsu, and Chiharu from TRF. Yaen announced their disbandment on February 8, 2001, citing members' desires to return to their original jobs, and formally disbanded on May 13, 2001, following their final concert at Yoyogi National Gymnasium. In 2009, the group reunited for a one-off televised performance marking The Tunnels' 21st anniversary. On March 9, 2011, Yaen's songs were released on the digital streaming platform Recochoku to commemorate the tenth anniversary of their disbandment.