Ryutaro Morimoto

Ryutaro Morimoto
Born (1995-04-06) April 6, 1995
Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Years active 2004–2012, 2016-present
Associated acts Zero, Hey! Say! JUMP
Website Ryutaro Morimoto Official Blog

Ryutaro Morimoto (森本 龍太郞, Morimoto Ryūtarō, born April 6, 1995 in Kanagawa Prefecture)[1] is a Japanese singer and a member of the idol group Zero.

Early on in his career, Morimoto was a trainee under Johnny & Associates and debuted in 2007. He was part of the group Hey! Say! JUMP, but he was suspended from the group in June 2011 following scandal and departed in 2012. In 2016, he returned to the entertainment industry as the singer and producer of the five-member group Zero.

Career

2004-2007: Early career

Morimoto auditioned for Johnny & Associates and his audition tape was aired on the variety show Ya-Ya-yah on August 12, 2004, along with future ex-bandmate Ryosuke Yamada. He was accepted into the company as a trainee.[2]

2007-2012: Hey! Say! JUMP and suspension

Morimoto became a member of the finalized line-up for Hey! Say! JUMP, which debuted on September 21, 2007. He also became part of the subgroup Hey! Say! 7, which consisted of the five youngest members of the group.[3]

On June 28, 2011, Japanese entertainment magazine Shunkan Josei published a story revealing Morimoto smoking underage. Images from the issue showed him smoking at the age of 14 in January 2010 and at the age of 15 in May 2010. Johnny's Entertainment quickly issued a public apology and suspended all of Morimoto's activities indefinitely.[4] Following the removal of Morimoto's profile from the official Johnny & Associates website in 2012, Johnny Kitagawa himself stated that Morimoto now has ambitions to focus on studying and denied any possibility of him returning.[5]

2016-present: Zero

In 2016, Morimoto opened a blog on Line announcing that he was returning to the entertainment industry as the singer and producer of the group Zero.[6][7]

Personal life

Morimoto's younger brother is Shintaro Morimoto (森本 慎太郎, Morimoto Shintarō), a member of Johnny's Jr.[8]

On June 16, 2009, 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.[9]

Filmography

Dramas

Music videos

References

  1. ↑ "森本龍太郎 ORICON STYLE" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 2017-06-16.
  2. ↑ Ya-Ya-yah (in Japanese). 2004-08-12. TV Tokyo.
  3. ↑ "New Johnny’s group: Hey! Say! JUMP". Tokyograph. 2007-09-24. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
  4. ↑ "Hey! Say! JUMP's Morimoto Ryutaro activities supsended due to underage smoking". Tokyohive. 2011-06-27.
  5. ↑ "ＪＵＭＰ無期限停止16歳の年内復帰「ない」" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 2012-01-03. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
  6. ↑ Ryutaro Morimoto (2016-04-21). "はじめまして！！" (in Japanese). Line Corporation.
  7. ↑ "Morimoto Ryutaro is coming back to show biz!". SBS PopAsia. 2016-04-24.
  8. ↑ "ジャニーズＪｒ．森本慎太郎が始球式" (in Japanese). Nikkan Sports. 2009-09-26. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
  9. ↑ "「Ｈｅｙ！Ｓａｙ！ＪＵＭＰ」森本の携帯ひったくり１７歳少年を逮捕" (in Japanese). Sports Hochi. 2009-06-17. Archived from the original on 2009-06-21. Retrieved 2017-06-15.
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