is a Japanese former singer and actress. In 2000, Yoshizawa debuted as a 4th generation member of the

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles with an ...

and became their leader in 2005 until leaving the group in 2007. Following her departure, Yoshizawa continued to appear in several music projects, including

Hangry & Angry Hangry & Angry-f (stylized as HANGRY & ANGRY-f, previously known as hANGRY & ANGRY) was a Japanese female pop and rock duo created in 2008, consisting of former Morning Musume members Hitomi Yoshizawa ("Hangry") and Rika Ishikawa ("Angry"). Th ...

Abcho Abcho (typeset as ABCHO, meaning Abstract Chop), is a Japanese pop unit made up of two members from Japanese pop groups Morning Musume, their subgroup which includes Older/Graduated Members, Dream Morning Musume, and J-Pop Metal Group Hangry & A ...

, and

Dream Morning Musume is a Japanese female pop group, consisting of 10 former members of the Japanese girl group Morning Musume. It was created in 2011. As with Morning Musume, the group is managed by the Up-Front Agency and produced by Tsunku. During the announcem ...

. On September 28, 2018, Yoshizawa announced she was retiring from entertainment following public scrutiny of her involvement in a vehicle accident and subsequent arrest.

Career

2000-2007: Morning Musume

Yoshizawa became a member of the

Hello! Project is a Japanese musical collective consisting of all female recording artists and groups under Up-Front Promotion, a subsidiary of Up-Front Group. The name was initially used as Michiyo Heike and Morning Musume's fan club name in 1999, but has s ...

group

in 2000, as a member of the fourth generation along with

Rika Ishikawa , is a Japanese actress and model associated with Hello! Project and best known as a former member of the pop group Morning Musume. She was the leader of the Japanese pop idol trio v-u-den until June 2008. She has performed as a solo singer, as ...

Nozomi Tsuji , known professionally by her birth name (born June 17, 1987) is a Japanese media personality, singer, and blogger. In 2000, she began her career as a singer for Japanese girl band Morning Musume. Tsuji later found success with related groups ...

, and

Ai Kago is a Japanese actress and former singer. In 2000, Kago debuted as a 4th generation member of the idol girl group Morning Musume. During her time in the group, she was also part of Mini-Moni and other Hello! Project sub-groups. In 2004, Kago depa ...

, making her debut in the group's ninth single "

Happy Summer Wedding is the ninth single of the J-pop idol group Morning Musume, released on May 17, 2000. It sold a total of 990,950 copies, becoming a number-one hit in Japan. History This also marks the last single of Sayaka Ichii and the debut of the "Fourth Gen ...

". She was also featured in the group's theatrical release of ''Pinch Runner''. She also appeared with the group in the weekly television show ''

Hello! Morning was a weekly Japanese TV show featuring members of Morning Musume, and sometimes other Hello! Project members on TV Tokyo. It was also known by the shorter name of . On April 1, 2007, the show ended after seven years of broadcast. A new show f ...

'' in various segments including a survival match featuring the members of the 5th and 6th Generations where she played the role of the referee. In the past, she has often been perceived as the tomboyish member of the group, due to her voice, manners, and hobbies. Furthering this perception of her masculine side, Yoshizawa's first lead came in 2001 with the release of the single " Mr. Moonlight: Ai no Big Band", in which she played a dashing playboy character. Yoshizawa became the captain of the

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

team,

Gatas Brilhantes H.P. was a futsal team representing Hello! Project. The team was founded on September 9, 2003 and was later disbanded on March 7, 2015. History On April 23, 2007, nine new members from Mix Gatas were added to the team mainly from Berryz Kobo an ...

when it was formed in September 2003. The 5'5" (165 cm) midfielder has since managed to lead the team to victory on many occasions. Yoshizawa also convinced teammate

to remain as the team's goalkeeper, despite her graduation from Morning Musume in 2004. In April 2005, after

Mari Yaguchi is a Japanese singer, actress, and television personality. She joined the girl group Morning Musume in 1998 as a second generation member and was the leader of subgroups within Hello! Project, such as Mini-Moni, Morning Musume Sakuragumi, and ZY ...

left Morning Musume, Yoshizawa, the current sub-leader, became the group's new leader.

2007-2018: Hangry & Angry, Ab-cho, and retirement

Hangry & Angry 20091031 Chibi Japan Expo 004

On May 6, 2007, Yoshizawa graduated from Morning Musume after the band's last performance in the Sexy 8 Beat Spring Tour, which took place at

Saitama Super Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Chūō-ku, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. It opened preliminarily on May 5, 2000, and then was officially opened on September 1 of the same year. Its maximum spectator capacity is 36,500, making i ...

. According to several news sources, producer

Tsunku , known professionally as , is a Japanese singer, record producer, and songwriter. He is the lead singer of the rock band Sharam Q. As a songwriter, Tsunku is the primary producer for Morning Musume and other Hello! Project acts, such as Coconut ...

, and Yoshizawa herself, she would enter a solo career of her own. Yoshizawa then focused her time on Gatas Brilhantes H.P., along with being leader of a group formed with fellow members of the futsal team called

Ongaku Gatas was a Japanese girl group consisted of select members from Hello! Project's futsal club Gatas Brilhantes H.P. and Hello Pro Egg. History The group was formed in 2007. The group's name combines the Japanese word ''ongaku'' (music) with the Port ...

. On October 12, 2008, Yoshizawa paired up with fellow ex-Morning Musume member

in the new unit

in collaboration with the

Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refer ...

fashion store of the same name. With Yoshizawa performing under the character name "Hangry", the duo made their first US performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle in April 2009. Their first European performance was at "Chibi Japan Expo" in Montreuil on October 31, 2009. In February 2009, Yoshizawa performed with the rest of the Elder Club at their group graduation concert in Yokohama. Yoshizawa made her first post-Hello! Project at the Summer 2010 tour, acting as MC alongside

Sharam Q was a Japanese rock band composed of lead singer , on guitar, on drums and on keyboards. Biography They debuted with in 1992. They were not an instant hit initially, but their fourth single broke the top 50 of the Oricon charts. Even ...

member Makoto. In 2010, Yoshizawa joined

alongside other former-Morning Musume members. In May 2012, Yoshizawa and

formed a Japanese pop unit called

. On September 6th, 2018, Yoshizawa was involved in a hit-and-run caused by her drinking above the legal alcohol limit. Following backlash, on September 28, she issued a statement via her agency announcing that she was retiring from entertainment industry. Footage of her performances at

's 20th anniversary concert was removed from the DVD release.

Personal life

Family and relationships

On January 11, 2007, Yoshizawa's younger brother, 16-year-old Kōta Yoshizawa, was killed in a traffic accident. On November 22, 2015, Yoshizawa announced that she had married a non-celebrity man. In March 2016, Yoshizawa announced she was pregnant with her first child and that she would give birth to a son in the late summer of 2016. On July 29, she announced on her blog that she gave birth to a boy.

Legal troubles

On September 6, 2018, at 7:00 AM, Yoshizawa ran a red light in

Nakano, Tokyo is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City.chuhai; however, after further investigation, the police discovered that she had consumed more alcohol than from what she had originally stated. Following the incident, Yoshizawa's mother-in-law attempted suicide and was rushed to the hospital for emergency treatment. Yoshizawa was indicted on September 26, but was bailed out of Harajuku Police Station for . The

Tokyo District Court is a district court located at 1-1-4 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan.Supreme Court of Japan websit東京地方裁判所の紹介Retrieved on August 7, 2011 See also *Judicial system of Japan The judiciary (also known as the judicial sys ...

ruled to suspend Yoshizawa's driver's license for five years. Yoshizawa herself publicly vowed not to renew her driver's license again. As a result of the incident, Yoshizawa retired from the entertainment industry and voluntarily stepped down from her position as the public relations ambassador of her hometown,

Miyoshi, Saitama is a town located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 38,101 in 16,692 households and a population density of 2500 persons per km². The total area of the town is . Geography Miyoshi is located in south-centra ...

Filmography

Movies

* 2000 – * 2002 – * 2003 –

Dramas

* 2002 – * 2004 – * 2007 –

Photobooks

References

External links

Ameblo

Official Hello! Project profile

Official Hangry & Angry website

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yoshizawa, Hitomi 1985 births 11Water members Living people Morning Musume members Petitmoni members Japanese female models Japanese actresses Japanese female idols 21st-century Japanese women singers 21st-century Japanese singers Japanese women pop singers Japanese child singers Dream Morning Musume members Musicians from Saitama Prefecture