(born February 26, 1985), professionally known by her birth name of , and nicknamed Mikitty, is a Japanese actress and former
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
singer. After failing the audition to join
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 with the fourth generation members, Fujimoto debuted as a solo artist within
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 ...
in 2002 with the single "
Aenai Nagai Nichiyōbi
is a song by J-pop artist and 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 ...
". Fujimoto later joined Morning Musume in 2003 along with the sixth generation and eventually became the leader of the group in 2007.
Early life
Fujimoto was born and raised in the Takikawa area of Hokkaidō, Japan. She has an older brother, who won a defamation case alongside Fujimoto in 2009.
Career
Early work: 2002–2003
Fujimoto originally started out as a solo singer in 2002 under the idol family
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 ...
, becoming the first of six members to debut under Hello! Project after losing a Morning Musume audition. She is often called by fans as
Aya Matsuura
is a Japanese actress and pop singer, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
Career
2000–2009: Hello! Project
Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become a part ...
's rival, but in fact, they are the best of friends. After a successful performance on the music program on New Year's Eve, "
Kōhaku Uta Gassen
, more commonly known simply as ''Kōhaku'', is an annual New Year's Eve television special produced by Japanese public broadcaster NHK. It is broadcast live simultaneously on television and radio, nationally and internationally by the NHK ne ...
", producer Tsunku added her to Morning Musume as a sixth generation member in 2003. At the time, she was the 3rd oldest person to join the group, as she was nearly 18 years old, although with the addition of Chinese member,
Junjun
Junjun may refer to:
* JunJun, a character from the ''Sailor Moon'' franchise
*Junjun (singer) (born 1988), former member of the all-girl J-pop group Morning Musume
*Hilario Davide III (born 1964), Filipino politician
*Jejomar Binay Jr. (born 1977 ...
, she is now the 4th oldest. She is also one of five members to debut as a part of the Hello! Project before joining Morning Musume (the others being Eighth Generation member Linlin, Ninth Generation member Mizuki Fukumura, Tenth Generation member Haruka Kudo, and Eleventh Generation member Sakura Oda, who were all part of Hello! Pro Egg prior to joining Morning Musume).
She sang many of the lead lines in Morning Musume songs, especially after Natsumi Abe's graduation. She and fellow Morning Musume member Asami Konno were also lent to Country Musume, a group that features "Country Girls from Hokkaidō", such as Miki and Asami (the group has been known, however, to include members not from the rural island—such as former featured singers Rika Ishikawa and
Miuna Saito
was a Japanese female idol music group that is a part of Hello! Project.
On November 5, 2014, Country Musume was renamed .Gomattou with two other prominent pop soloists under
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 ...
Aya Matsuura
is a Japanese actress and pop singer, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
Career
2000–2009: Hello! Project
Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become a part ...
. She was also in Hello! Project Shuffle groups Odoru 11,
11Water
was a Japanese idol project group formed by Up-Front Promotion in 2000 and associated with Hello! Project. Beginning in 2000, the Shuffle Unit project was a yearly collaboration among existing Hello! Project acts, where members were recombined i ...
,
H.P. All Stars
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 ...
On June 15, 2006, it was announced that Fujimoto and
Aya Matsuura
is a Japanese actress and pop singer, from Himeji, Hyogo, Japan.
Career
2000–2009: Hello! Project
Aya auditioned in 2000 for the fourth Morning Musume & Heike Michiyo Protegee Audition and was selected along with Sheki-Dol to become a part ...
would join in a new Hello! Project duo called GAM. Their debut single was released on September 13, 2006, and after two other singles, their debut LP was released on May 23, 2007.
On May 6, 2007, after the graduation of then-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa, Fujimoto took her place as the fifth leader of Morning Musume.
On April 23, 2008, Fujimoto released a collaboration single, , featuring Takao Horiuchi. In fall of 2008, Fujimoto played the part of Rizzo in the fall musical, '' Grease''.
Personal life
In March 2009, Fujimoto announced her engagement to Tomoharu Shōji from the comedy duo Shinagawa Shoji and graduated from Hello! Project. Fujimoto and Shoji married on July 3, 2009, in
Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...
. On March 27, 2012, Fujimoto gave birth to the couple's first child, a son.
Outside of her career as a performer, Miki has opened a chain of yakiniku restaurants in Japan. The first Yakinuku Mikitei opened on her 26th birthday, February 26, 2011, to much success. Three more restaurants were opened. The restaurant chain was short-lived, and closed on June 29, 2012, following various incidents.
On August 1, 2015, Fujimoto gave birth to the couple's second child, a daughter.
Their third child was born in 2020.
Controversy
On May 24, 2007, Fujimoto was featured in the Japanese gossip magazine ''Friday'' pictured walking with Tomoharu Shōji, a member of the comedy duo
Shinagawa Shōji
is a Japanese comedy duo ''( kombi)'' consisting of Hiroshi Shingawa (品川祐) and Tomoharu Shōji (庄司智春) who have featured in a number of television shows. They are employed by Yoshimoto Kogyo, and are mainly active in Tokyo. They gra ...
. ''Friday'' explained that they had a two-hour dinner together, drove to Fujimoto's apartment, then went to the sauna, returning to Shōji's apartment just after midnight. It soon became apparent that she was to be involved in a scandal that would jeopardize her position in Morning Musume. After seeing the article, Up-Front Agency had no intention to deal with the situation since there was no proof of them dating. On the May 26, 2007 edition of ''Young Town Doyōbi'' (a radio show with Ai Takahashi, Fujimoto and
Sanma Akashiya
is a Japanese comedian, TV presenter, radio personality and actor most commonly known as Sanma-san. His real name is . His talent agency is Yoshimoto Kogyo and his shishô (master) back when he studied '' rakugo'' is Shōfukutei Matsunosuke.
...
), she confirmed that the pictures were of her, and that she had been going out with Tomoharu Shōji. She also mentioned that she spoke to the head of Up-Front Agency,
Naoki Yamazaki
is a Japanese holding company for various entertainment companies. Its subsidiaries include the talent agency Up-Front Promotion and Up-Front Works, a music production and sales company that manages such record labels as Zetima, Piccolo Town, ...
, about the situation. On June 1, 2007, Fujimoto resigned from her position in Morning Musume. She continued with GAM and remained contracted with Hello! Project and Up-Front Agency.