Ryutaro Morimoto

Ryutaro Morimoto (森本 龍太郞, Morimoto Ryūtarō, born April 6, 1995 in Kanagawa Prefecture) was a Japanese singer and is a former member of Hey! Say! JUMP. He was under the management of Johnny & Associates. In June 2011, his activities with the group were suspended following an underage smoking scandal. Shortly after he left Johnny's and Associates.

Career

On August 12, 2004, when he was 9 years old, Morimoto appeared on the variety show Ya-ya-yah, where his audition for Johnny and Associates was aired along with Ryosuke Yamada. He entered Johnny & Associates as a trainee on October 12 and was later put in Johnny's Jr group JJ Express alongside Daiki Arioka, Yuya Takaki, Yuto Nakajima, and Kei Inoo, all of who would be future bandmates in Hey! Say! JUMP.

Hey! Say! JUMP debuted on September 21, 2007 and was met with critical success. However, Morimoto's involvement came to an abrupt halt when on June 28, 2011, Japanese entertainment magazine Shunkan Josei published a story revealing that Morimoto smoking underage. Images from the issue shows him smoking at 14 in January 2010 and at 15 in May 2010. Johnny's Entertainment quickly issued a public apology and planned to suspend all of Morimoto's activities indefinitely.^[1]

Hey!Say!JUMP's group photo was updated in November on their 4 year anniversary without Ryutaro's photo. His profile photo and information were removed from the official Hey!Say!JUMP profile on Johnny's-net.

Morimoto also has a younger brother Shintaro Morimoto who belongs to another Johnny's Entertainment group as a Johnny's Jr. called Snow Prince Gasshoudan, created for the movie of the same name.

Stalking & robbery incident

On June 16, 2009, Morimoto was robbed by a 17-year old fan who had been stalking him since the previous December. Morimoto was accosted on the way home from work at the train station, and threatened with a knife, Morimoto tried to contact his parents, leading to his phone being snatched and the suspect fleeing. The suspect was arrested the next morning by Kanagawa police after the stolen phone was traced.^[2] The issue received widespread press coverage as it is one of the more serious incidents of stalkings of idols known in Japan's recent history, in that it involved a weapon.

Discography

Concerts

For Hey! Say! JUMP-related concert, please see Hey! Say! JUMP.

Filmography

Dramas

• Juken no Kamisama (NTV, 2007)

Variety shows

• The Shōnen Club
• Hyakushiki
• Bakushō Hyappun Terebi Heisei Families (爆笑100分テレビ!平成ファミリーズ) (14 October 2007 - 2008)
• Jikuukan Sedai Batoru Shōwa x Heisei Sho wa Hey! Say! (時空間☆世代バトル 昭和×平成 SHOWはHey! Say!) (2008 - March 2009)
• Yan Yan Jump

TV appearances

For Hey! Say! JUMP-related appearances, please see Hey! Say! JUMP.

Music videos

• Seishun Amigo (Shuji to Akira) (2005)
• Fever to Future (GYM) (2005)

References

External links

• Johnny's Net
• Hey! Say! JUMP official website