Pop star Namie Amuro stepped out of the spotlight Sept. 16, thank­ing her fans for their support over more than two decades.

The 40-year-old pop diva, who created a phenomenon in the mid-1990s with young girls and women copying her fashion style, stunned fans last September when she said she intended to retire.

She chose her home prefecture of Okinawa for her last live stage performance.

Debuting on Sept. 16, 1992, Amuro went on to dominate the charts as a solo artist with a string of megahits. She was a J-pop trailblazer famous across Asia.