, born March 10, 1972) is a Japanese entertainment personality who has performed as comedian, actor, singer, presenter, and music producer affiliated with the Japanese entertainment conglomerate

Yoshimoto Kogyo is a major Japanese entertainment conglomerate. It was founded in 1912, Osaka, as a traditional theatre, and has since grown to be one of the most influential companies in Japan, employing most of Japan's popular owarai (comedy) talent, produci ...

and was the popular host of '' Matthew's Best Hit TV'' (as the character , and various other related shows on

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...

. He was born in

Toyonaka, Osaka is a city in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on October 15, 1936. Geography Climate Toyonaka has a Humid subtropical climate (Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The averag ...

. On May 7, 2005, he officially announced his intention to marry , a

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...

, and they were married on July 30, 2005, at the

Grand Hyatt Hyatt Hotels Corporation, commonly known as Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, is an American multinational hospitality company headquartered in the Riverside Plaza area of Chicago that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacat ...

in Tokyo, with an audience of 340 guests including many famous Japanese personalities and celebrities. They have one daughter. In 2022, he was the co-host of Love Is Blind: Japan, and host of the

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or rush ...

podcast ''Matthew's Matthew: Matthew in Matthew's Room''.

Acting career

Takashi Fujii is most active as an actor and a comedic host. In the western world, and particularly the United States, he is perhaps best known for his appearance as Matthew Minami, hosting his own show, with

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

's character Bob Harris in the 2003 movie '' Lost in Translation''. As Matthew, his trademark blonde wig and garish suits complement his effeminate but wacky personality. Although Bill Murray has never been a guest, Fujii (as Matthew Minami) actually hosted such a program, now called Matthew's Best Hit UV, largely consisting of

musicians A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

and popular Japanese

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

, the show's guests are often subject to fierce competition by Matthew Minami himself. The character Matthew Minami also appears in a handful of programs and shorts related to ''Best Hit TV''. Takashi Fujii is also a popular talent himself and appears frequently on many Japanese variety shows. He is considerably less

flamboyant Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

while appearing as himself, but his frequent seemingly random comments and odd gestures are all part of his signature performances. He has even made appearances in the US and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

showing off both his comedy and music. Takashi Fujii is currently featured on the following programs (titles are loose translations): * 発見!仰天!!プレミアもん!!! 土曜はダメよ! (''Hakken! Gyōten!! Puremia mon!!! Doyō wa Dame yo!'') on YTV * 新婚さんいらっしゃい！(Shikonsan Irasshai!) on Asahi TV

Past appearances

* 1999 (Drama) * 2001 (Drama) * 2001 (Movie) * 2001 Beauty 7) (Drama) * 2002 Manten (Drama) * 2006 ''

The School of Water Business is a manga series created by Shinobu Inokuma, the author of ''Salad Days''. It is based on a novel by Hikaru Murozumi, and is set in a fictional trade-school—that focuses on the mizu shōbai—located in the Kabukichō district of Shinj ...

'' (Drama) * 2016 ''

Sanada Maru The was a small fortification attached to Osaka castle. It is famous for being impregnable and playing a key role in defending the castle in the winter of 1615. Later, it was forcefully destroyed despite being exempt from the reconciliation con ...

'' (Drama) – Sasuke * 2016 ''

Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu is a Japanese romance ''josei'' manga series written and illustrated by Tsunami Umino. The original title is from a Hungarian proverb: "Running away is shameful, but useful" (, ). It was published by Kodansha, with serialization in ''Kiss'' ...

'' (Drama) * 2017 ''

Warotenka is a Japanese historical drama television series and the 97th ''asadora'' series, following ''Hiyokko''. It premiered on October 2, 2017 and ended on March 31, 2018. The main character is based on Sei Yoshimoto, the co-founder of Yoshimoto Kogyo ...

'' (Drama) * 2018 '' Kamen Rider Build: The Movie – Be the One'' (Movie) – Mitsuomi Gohara/Zebra Lost Smash * 2020 '' Mio's Cookbook'' (Movie) * 2021 ''Will I Be Single Forever?'' (Movie) * 2022 '' My Small Land'' (Movie) * 2022 '' Love Is Blind: Japan'' (Reality show) Takashi Fujii has also made numerous other minor appearances, as well as contributing his voice talent on various animated movies, including 2004's ''

Mind Game Playing mind games (also power games or head games) is the largely conscious struggle for psychological one-upmanship, often employing passive–aggressive behavior to specifically demoralize or dis-empower the thinking subject, making the ag ...

'' and has been in the Japanese dub versions of 2017's

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

remake and 2021's '' Thomas & Friends: All Engines Go - Race for the Sodor Cup.''

Music career

Fujii is also active as an artist and producer focusing on dance music and

J-pop J-pop ( ja, ジェイポップ, ''jeipoppu''; often stylized as J-POP; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively also known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1 ...

. His single, "Oh My Juliet!", was produced by popular J-pop artist Tommy february⁶. The song was subsequently featured in the soundtrack to the film ''Babel''. Along with Tomoko Kawase, he has also worked with well-known artists such as

Daisuke Asakura is a Japanese musician, songwriter and producer who is known for his compositional work and skill at the keyboards. Early life and career Asakura's childhood consisted of piano and electronic organ lessons, though he was expected to follow the ...

Tetsuya Komuro is a Japanese musician, songwriter and record producer. He is recognized as the most successful producer in Japanese music history and introduced contemporary electronic dance music to the Japanese mainstream. He was also a former owner of the ...

Seiko Matsuda , known professionally as , is a Japanese pop singer and songwriter, known for being one of the most popular Japanese idols of the 1980s. Since then, she is still actively releasing new singles and albums, doing annual summer concert tours, win ...

, and

Fayray , (born April 18 1976) stylized as FAYRAY, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. She made her debut in July 1998 with the single "Taiyō no Gravity". She grew up in the United States and speaks English. Biography Fayray is the middle child of a fam ...

. In 2004, he did a "World Tour" with concerts in Los Angeles, U.S. and Shanghai, China. In 2014, he started his own record label: Slenderie Record.

Discography

Singles

* ''SIGN'' by

Pasocom Music Club is a Japanese synth-pop duo, formed in 2015 by Aoi Shibata and Masato Nishiyama. The group started by posting songs to Soundcloud, before making their debut with the EP ''Park City'', released on Maltine Records in 2017. They have composed song ...

feat. Takashi Fujii (November 4, 2022) * ''Memory Flora'' with Moe Shop (September 7, 2022) * ''We Should be Dancing'' (Produced by Night Tempo) by KAKKO and TAKASHI (July 8, 2022) * ''Headphone Girl-Tsubasa ga Nakutemo'' (March 9, 2022) * ''Dramatic Pink Bikini'' by sooogood! feat. Takashi Fujii (October 10, 2018) * ''Mammottemitai'' (January 4, 2017) * ''Plastic Star'' (December 14, 2016) * ''Dining Tarot'' under Like a Record round! round! round! (November 26, 2014) * ''kappo!'' under Like a Record round! round! round! (November 26, 2014) * ''Now Romantic'' under Like a Record round! round! round! (September 18, 2014) * '' Disco no Kamisama'' by

tofubeats , known professionally as Tofubeats, is a Japanese singer, record producer, and DJ. Kawai began producing music at the age of 14, under the name "DJ Newtown". He initially distributed his music online through websites such as 2channel and YouTub ...

feat. Takashi Fujii (April 30, 2014) * ''Selfish Girl'' by SMALL BOYS feat. Takashi Fujii (December 25, 2013) * ''She is my new town/I just want to hold you'' (June 5, 2013) * ''Yabe~ Nabe~na Atsuryoku'' by THE PosshuBō with Oto no Moto (Takashi Fujii and Oniyakko Tsubaki) (2010) * ''Manatsu no Yo no Yume'' (August 1, 2007) * ''Watashi no Aoi Sora'' (July 7, 2004) * ''Mikakunin Hikoutai'' (February 14, 2002) * ''Zetsubō Good Bye'' (December 12, 2001) * ''Ai mo Kawarazu'' (November 1, 2000) * ''Nanda Kanda'' (March 8, 2000) EPs * ''RE:WIND'' (July 14, 2017) * ''DJ MIX "Delicacy" mixed by DJ DC BRAND'S'' (July 13, 2016) * ''Daisougen no Chiisana Matthew'' as Matthew Minami (September 13, 2006) * ''OH MY JULIET!'' (October 19, 2005)

Albums

* ''Music Restaurant Royal Host'' (September 9, 2022) * ''Light Showers'' (September 13, 2017) * ''Coffee Bar Cowboy'' (June 17, 2015) * ''Shanghai Taiwan II'' (May 23, 2007) * ''Shanghai Taiwan'' (April 26, 2006) * ''All by Myself'' (July 28, 2004) * ''Romeo Michiyuki'' (February 14, 2002) As Producer and/or Songwriter * ''Makarova'' (EP) by Terumoto Gōto (May 11, 2022) * ''Slenderie Ideal'' (Album) by Various Artists (October 28, 2020) * ''IVKI'' (EP) by Oniyakko Tsubaki (September 12, 2018) * ''Delicacy of Love'' (EP) by Yu Hayami (August 24, 2016) Tour DVDs * ''Takashi Fujii World Tour Watashi no Aoi Sora 2004'' (October 9, 2005) * ''Takashi Fujii World Tour 2005'' (April 26, 2005) * ''Takashi Fujii Romeo no Michiyuki 2002'' (December 18, 2002) ** Re-released in 2020

References

External links

Takashi Fujii Official Fan Club

Official website for ''Matthew's Best Hit UV'' on TV Asahi
*

Sony Music official page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fujii, Takashi 1972 births Living people Sony Music Entertainment Japan artists Singers from Toyonaka, Osaka Japanese male comedians 21st-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese singers