is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instr ...

and

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. He plays keyboard for

Tokio Tokio may refer to: * , the capital of Japan, used primarily in non-English-speaking countries may also refer to: Music * Tokio (band), a Japanese pop/rock band ** ''Tokio'' (album), their debut album * Tokio Hotel, a German rock band * Toki ...

, a

Johnny & Associates is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rente ...

musical group.

Early life

Taichi Kokubun was born in

Higashikurume, Tokyo is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 117,020, and a population density of 9100 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography Higashikurume is in the north ...

Career

As an artist

Before debuting with

, Kokubun, like other Tokio members, was a backup-dancer for

Johnny's Entertainment is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency rent ...

boy bands, including

Hikaru Genji is the protagonist of Murasaki Shikibu's important Heian-era Japanese novel '' The Tale of Genji''. The story describes him as a superbly handsome man and a genius. Genji is the second son of a Japanese emperor, but he is relegated to civilia ...

. In 1990 he became the keyboardist of Tokio, but it was not until 1994 that the band debuted. In 2004, Kokubun took a break from Tokio to form a temporary group with

KinKi Kids is a Japanese duo consisting of Koichi Domoto and Tsuyoshi Domoto under the talent agency Johnny & Associates. KinKi Kids was formed in 1993 and officially debuted on July 21, 1997. With more than 30 million physical copies sold, they are one of ...

member

Tsuyoshi Domoto is a Japanese idol, singer, songwriter, actor, and television personality. Along with Koichi Domoto (with whom he has no blood-relation), he is a member of KinKi Kids, which is a Japanese duo under the management of Johnny & Associates and the r ...

. Together they released the theme song to ''

Fantastipo is a 2005 Japanese film starring Tsuyoshi Domoto ( Kinki Kids) and Taichi Kokubun ( TOKIO). The theme song " Fantastipo" is sung by the special unit of the 2 lead actors Toraji Haiji. Story The film mainly revolves around two siblings; the most ...

'', a movie in which they starred.

As an actor

Kokubun began his acting career with a role in ''Abunai Shōnen III'', a 1989 Japanese drama. Since 1993, he has played parts in drama shows and movies such as ''Fantistipo'' and ''Shaberedomo Shaberedomo''. He has hosted ''Gachinko!'' with other

members. Currently Kokubun hosts ''Kaitai Shin Show'' and ''Shonen Club Premium'' on

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

, ''Tetsuwan Dash'' and ''Guruguru Ninety-Nine'' on

NTV NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Television) ...

, ''R30'' and ''Sekai Kurabete Mitara'' on TBS, ''Mentore G'' on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...

, and ''Aura no Izumi'' 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 ...

. In April 2009, Kokubun became a sportscaster for the

show ''Sports!''.

Filmography

References

External links

*
Tokio Official Website on Johnnys-Net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kokubun, Taichi 1974 births Living people People from Higashikurume, Tokyo Japanese male actors Japanese keyboardists Tokio (band) members