, born March 10, 1972 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 ...

, Japan) is a Japanese comedian and singer who belongs to 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 is 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 Comp ...

, a major television network in Japan. In 2022, he was the co-host of Love Is Blind: Japan. 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 ...

, 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. On May 7, 2007, he and his wife Otoha announced that they are expecting a child.

Acting career

An established celebrity among Japanese television, 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 Nig ...

'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 w ...

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 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 * ベリーベリーサタデー (''Very Very Saturday'', ''Berī Berī Saturday'') on KTV * 上海大腕 (''Shanghai Daiwan'') on TX as a travelling host * ''Matthew's Best Hit TV+'' on

as Matthew Minami * サルヂエ ("Monkey Wisdom", ''Sarujie'') on CTV as a monkey (host) * 藤井隆のスカパー110BANG! ("Takashi Fujii's SkyPerfect 110BANG!") on

SkyPerfecTV is a direct broadcast satellite Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via ...

Past appearances

* 1999 (Drama) * 2001 (Drama) * 2001 (Movie) * 2001 Beauty 7) (Drama) * 2002 Manten (Drama) * 2006 '' The School of Water Business'' (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'' (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 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 ...

''.

Music career

Although Fujii is less active as a musician, his style has transferred successfully into the world of

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 ...

. 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 is a Japanese singer, songwriter, producer, actress, and model from Kyoto. She is the lead singer of the alternative rock band The Brilliant Green. She also has a solo career under the alter-ego pseudonyms Tommy february6 and Tommy heavenly6. ...

, 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 fa ...

. In 2004, he did a "World Tour" concert in Los Angeles, U.S. and Shanghai, China.

Discography

Singles

* ''She is my new town/I just want to hold you'' (June 5, 2013) # She is my new town # I just want to hold you * ''Manatsu no Yo no Yume'' (August 1, 2007) # Manatsu no Yo no Yume Duet with

# Futari Naraba * ''Oh My Juliet!'' (October 19, 2005) # Oh My Juliet! # Star Bright Love # Rain Rain Rain… # I Hold You Tight * ''Watashi no Aoi Sora'' (July 7, 2004) # Watashi no Aoi Sora # Aru Yoru, Boku wa Nigedashitanda * ''Mikakunin Hikoutai'' (February 14, 2002) # Mikakunin Hikoutai * ''Zetsubō Good Bye'' (December 12, 2001) # Zetsubō Good Bye # Zetsubō Good Bye (Karaoke) * ''Ai mo Kawarazu'' (November 1, 2000) # Ai mo Kawarazu # Ai mo Kawarazu ~ deep Autumn extended mix * ''Nanda Kanda'' (March 8, 2000) # Nanda Kanda # Nanda Kanda nta Nanda Tsugi no Ban wa

Albums

* ''Light Showers'' (September 13, 2017) * ''Coffee Bar Cowboy'' (June 17, 2015) * ''Shanghai Ta-wan'' (April 26, 2006) (CD+DVD set) # Amai Kaori # *: Asterisk # Vestige # Me ga Kirai # No More Cry # Rirura Riruha # T&T # Oh My Juliet! # Get Down # T&T Remix Version * ''All by My Self'' (July 28, 2004) # Watashi no Aoi Sora # Aru Yoru Boku wa Nige Dashitanda # Aka to Kuro # Sa Ra Sa # Ka-ra-su # Socket # TAMEIKI # Mirai: Sex # Utsukushii Wakare # Tsuki no Sabaku to # ½ no Kodoku * ''Romeo Michiyuki'' (February 14, 2002) # Mikakunin Hikōtai # Kyūkyoku Cute # Chikyū ni Dakarete # Suhada ni Sweater # Koufuku Interview # Zetsubō Good Bye # Taikanyama Elegy # Moscow no Yoru # Ranhansha # Relax # Nanda Kanda

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 People from Toyonaka, Osaka Japanese male comedians Musicians from Osaka Prefecture 21st-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese singers