Our favorite ex-Morning Musume member MIKI FUJIMOTO aka Mikitty made an appearance earlier this week to help launch a new line of casual clothing.  The cute J-pop singer and former Japanese super idol group leader was on hand to promote G.U.’s new casual sportswear.  Mikitty showed up on stage wearing a pink jacket and black shorts looking like she’s ready to enter a marathon.  It’s hard for me to face the fact that once perceived as my goddess, Miki Fujimoto (藤本美貴) has turned 25 and is now a housewife…a sexy one at that!

G.U. is one of the umbrella groups under Fast Retailing, parent company of the popular UNIQLO brand.  The new jogging outfits will hit stores in Japan this June priced at just under $20.  I can’t believe the day has come when Mikitty can actually appeal to the housewife crowd!

Go here to see more of Mikitty’s cuteness: JAPANESE J-POP SINGER IDOL MIKI FUJIMOTO ON SLEEPYJOHN.COM

Japanese singer and former J-pop super idol group Morning Musume member Miki Fujimoto (藤本美貴) aka Mikitty appeared at a press event at the end of last month to promote new year postcards produced by Japanese social networking site Mixi.  Mikitty, as her fans affectionately call her, showed up in an elegant black and silver kimono.  It’s hard to believe the cute and sexy 24 year old Hokkaido Prefecture native is already married.

The former Morning Musume leader Miki Fujimoto and her comedian husband Tomoharu Shoji have already registered their marriage but have yet to hold a wedding ceremony in Japan.  Although their banquet is set to be on the 27th later this month, Miki revealed that the details haven’t been decided at all.  She is getting quite anxious but her hubby hasn’t said much.  I was never a big fan of Shoji and for neglecting such a talented and beautiful girl on her special day he deserves to be kicked in the groin!

Former Morning Musume Miki Fujimoto Looking Fabulous in a Kimono

Haha this should be categorized as a “prequel”.  But since we’re on the hot news trail of marriage announcement from the sexy and talented Miki Fujimoto (藤本美貴), I thought I’d write up this piece too.

Former Hello!Project and Morning Musume Japanese super idol Miki Fujimoto appeared alongside with ex-colleague Mai Satoda (里田まい) at the end of May at a publicity event put on by McDonald’s Japan and Coca Cola Japan.  It was the Hokkaido Prefecture native’s first appearance since the announcement of her engagement to Japanese comedian Tomoharu Shoji of Shinagawa Shoji duo.

Still super kawaii and sexy, Miki Fujimoto pitching for the new Coke glass

At the promotional event Mikitty frankly told the reporters that she’s happy she met her man and he’s the perfect partner.  Upon hearing such candid words, Mai said, “I’m so envious.  I also want to say I’m getting married.  I’d like to have a partner”

At the campaign for Coke glass the two girls also played a mini futsal match with ex Japanese national team players.  Playing off the soccer theme, after the exhibition match Mikitty was peppered with questions such as “When’s the kick-off for your marriage” and “What do you consider as a red card in a relationship”.  To which the 24 year old former Morning Musume replied, “I’d like to have a decision about the wedding by July.  To me cheating constitutes as a red card.”

Mikitty Is Happy After Engagement

Mai Satoda (L) and Miki Fujimoto (R)

The day countless Mikitty fanboys around the world fear the most has come.  Former leader of the Japanese super idol group Morning Musume Miki Fujimoto (藤本美貴) announced on Sunday Japan time that she and fiance Tomoharu Shoji (庄司智春) have tied the knot.

Wedding photos taken in Hawaii released to the public

Miki caused quite an uproar back in 2007 when she was caught dating the second rate monkey-looking Japanese comedian as the leader of the most popular J-pop idol group.  The couple was dubbed “Beauty and the Beast” by the Japanese media.  Nobody thought they’d last but this past March their engagement was announced to the public.

At the press conference the 24 year old Hokkaido Prefecture native appeared in an elegant white dress with black dots looking as cute as ever.  The 6th generation Morning Musume member and former Hello!Project artist told the media that she and Tomoharu, one half of Japanese comedy duo Shinagawa Shoji have already held a wedding ceremony in Hawaii on the 3rd.  To quell Miki’s fanboys any last shred of hope, Mr. Shoji announced that they officially registered their marriage the day before.

Former Morning Musume Super Idol Miki Fujimoto Got Hitched

It was revealed that Tomoharu actually first proposed to Miki last summer.  However Miki did not accept it because it didn’t include include a ring and wasn’t up to her expectation so she made the Yoshimoto Kogyo comedian try again.  Affectionately known to her fans as “Mikitty” (because of her love for Sanrio character Hello Kitty), she commented that she was moved when she realized that she has changed her last name.

When the subject came to children, Mikitty said, “We don’t have any plans to have kids right now.  But I want us to enjoy each other’s company first then have kids.”  The porcelain skinned songstress added that she’ll start moving her stuff over to her new hubby’s place.

While I’m not too thrilled to hear the news (yes, I too, am a Mikitty fan), I had a feeling this day would come.  Such is the harsh reality of life!  Fellas, we’ve lost another pretty young one.

Mikitty was all smile at Tokyo FM’s Spain Zaka Studio

The lovely former Morning Musume leader Miki Fujimoto made an appearance on Monday on the Tokyo FM radio show “Wonderful World” in Shibuya to promote her upcoming single “Oki Tegami” (置き手紙). This is her first release since scandal broke out last summer that led to her stepping down from the popular Japanese idol group (please see blog from 2/15 & 1/9) and also her first solo single in 5 years.

Oki Tegami (Letter Left Behind) will be Miki Fujimoto’s comback single

Mikitty (as she is affectionately called) said she worked hard on this piece because the folk song style which “Oki Tegami” is based on is something she’s previously not familiar with. But she’s not nervous and is enjoying her solo activity. While on the subject of her b-side track “Far Away Lover” (遠い恋人) the radio show host playfully teased by asking, “Is your lover close by?” Slightly embarrassed Mikitty replied, “Yes, he’s close.”

Oki Tegami will hit the shelf next Wednesday alongside with a different version from veteran Japanese singer Takao Horiuchi.

Miki Fujimoto with Takao Horiuchi (L) at the press conference for Oki Tegami last month

Today’s portion was rather short and here’s what the former idol and Hello!Project artist Ai Kago shared in the interview with Ura Channel and OhmyNews:

Click here for original video

Veteran Japanese entertainment reporter Masaru Nashimoto asked about her plans for the future. she replied that she doesn’t know exactly what’ll happen but because she has experienced a lot by being in Japanese showbiz since she was 12 years old (which she’s quite proud of), she feels that with her ability to convey different emotions she’d like to give acting a try.

Aibon has been doing some writing on a daily basis. Someday she hopes to get a book published and would be happy if in some way her book can be of help to someone.

She also revealed that she has kept in touch with some Morning Musume and Hello!Project members and they provided her with encouragement. She was touched when some of them asked her, “Hey Aibon how are you doing?” since only her ex fellow members call her by that nickname (calm down you fanboys…I’m sure she meant in her “real” life). To Aibon the Hello!Project girls are her source of inner peace.

When she received text messages from them she felt she wanted to rejoin the group. But she knew it wasn’t possible, so she decided to work hard on her own.

When Masaru brought up Aibon’s former partner in crime Nozomi Tsuji, she responded that she was really surprised to hear about her sudden pregnancy and marriage and she’s seen Taiyo Sugiura’s (Nozomi’s hubby) blog before. But from the sound of her voice I suspect Nozomi isn’t one of the people she is in constant contact with. She was also surprised to hear about the “Mikitty incident” (please check out my blog on 1/9 and 2/15) but believes Miss Miki Fujimoto will make a strong comeback since that is in line with Miki’s personality.

Finally the conversation moved onto Maki Goto, who’s currently on a secret mission in LA. Aibon said she was in touch with her until right before she departed for the States. She explained that she has always liked Maki and feels they share many similarities. She thinks Maki is a strong person so she will surely succeed, and hence she must strive for success herself too.

Both Aibon and GoMaki choose LA as their preferred destination to get away

It looks like Japanese idol and former Morning Musume leader Miki Fujimoto aka Mikitty is set to return to the spotlight with the release of a new single as a solo artist on April 23rd. This time Miss Fujimoto will attempt to shed her idol past and do a 180 degree turnaround, debuting as a bona fide adult singer.

We’ll get to hear the beautiful voice of Mikitty again soon!

Mikitty got herself into lots of trouble in the beginning of summer last year when she was caught dating Tomoharu Shoji of the Japanese comedian duo “Shinagawa Shoji” then refused to leave him. This pretty much earned her banishment from Japanese showbiz and career suicide. For more information please check out my blog on 1-9-08.

Miki Fujimoto aka Mikitty is known for being strong-willed

But being the crown jewel of Up Front Agency, Mikitty’s handler knows they can’t let a super cute talent with a beautiful voice go to waste no matter how much she messes up. Since Miki stepped down as the leader of the most popular Japanese all girl group and ceased all activities as a Hello!Project member she’s been relegated to only playing futsal occasionally for the Gatas Brilliantes, an Up Front Agency backed all girl team.

Mikitty in action playing for the Gatas Brilliantes

Miki Fujimoto’s new single is titled “Oki Tegami”. It is composed by Masato Sugimoto (who shot to fame with the single “Waremoko” last year, and got the honor to perform at NHK’s Kohaku Utagassen year-end extravaganza) and lyrics written by Haku Ide. Instead of the typical pop sound, Miki’s new single has a folk song flavor to it.

Miki Fujimoto (L), Masato Sugimoto (C) and Takao Horiuchi (R)

Japanese singer Takao Horiuchi who also belongs to Up Front Agency first received the offer to sing the song last fall as Masato Sugimoto suggested that he should do it in a “chanson” (French cabaret style) fashion. Around the same time Mikitty was looking for the right music to revive her career as a singer. Her manager heard the demo tape and thought the song was perfect for her smooth mezzo-soprano voice. In the end it was decided that both Miki and Takao would release their own version of the single on the same date…how’s that for some inter-agency rivalry?!
The recording was done in the beginning of this month with songwriter Masato Sugimoto present. He remarked that Mikitty had a great voice, better than he imagined for a female in her 20s singing a song about distressed love, and that she carried good aura for the song. Mikitty commented that the song was rather challenging. It was nothing like she’s ever sung before, but Masato gave her some really helpful pointers. For an accomplished singer (Mikitty is not only a pretty face) to humble herself and say something like that, I really look forward to hearing the single!

The soon to be 23 year old Hokkaido native says, “This is a completely different style of singing but I’d like you to support the new Miki Fujimoto.”

I bet Mikitty is still as uber cute as ever

A major Japanese tabloid has exposed a romantic link between the beautiful Japanese model turned actress Ryoko Yonekura and popular Japanese comedian Atsushi Tamura of London Boots. The couple was spotted dating in the posh Tokyo district of Roppongi in early December. Reportedly Atsushi gleefully told his co-workers that “spring has arrived for me”, which in Japanese means he’s fallen in love.

Ryoko Yonekura

The sexy Ryoko Yonekura is no stranger to the tabloids. She has dated A+ guys in the past including Japanese soccer star Hidetoshi Nakata and kabuki performer Ebizo Ichikawa. Atsushi Tamura himself is often in the headlines too. He had a long term relationship with idol / talent Nanako Fujisaki. He’s also famous for arranging mixer parties for Japanese celebrities and entertainers, one of them resulted in the infamous meeting between ex- Morning Musume leader Miki Fujimoto and Tomoharu Shoji of the comedy duo Shinagawa Shoji.

London Boots: (L) Atsushi Tamura, (R) Ryo Tamura

On a recent episode of Fuji TV’s “Mecha Iketeru” variety show they even made fun of Atsushi by sticking a photo of him and Ryoko together on his forehead with the caption that read “I’m the dude who beat out Ebizo!” (note: top kabuki performers in Japan are treated like rock stars) It is believed that the couple first got to work together in the beginning of last year on London Boot’s show “London Hearts” airing on TV Asahi and that’s when sparks flew.

Atsushi Tamura, the monkey boy that’s dating the leggy Ryoko Yonekura

The second rate comedian Tomoharu Shoji of the Japanese comedy duo Shinagawa Shoji announced on a New Year TV special of his intention to marry his girlfriend Japanese super idol and former Morning Musume member Miki Fujimoto, affectionately known as “Mikitty” to the public.

The uber cute Miki Fujimoto…enough said!

In one corner of Fuji TV’s popular show “Mecha x 2 Iketeru” the 32 year old Tomoharu proclaimed that he’d like to get married this year, thus crushing the dream and fantasy of millions of die-hard Mikitty fanboys not only in Japan but all over the world.  The topic of that corner was “entertainers who got caught in ’07″.

Shinagawa Shoji – (L) Hiroshi Shinagawa, (R) Tomoharu Shoji

Miki Fujimoto aka Mikitty and Tomoharu Shoji caused an uproar in Japan back in May of last year when she broke the huge Japanese idol code by having a boyfriend, or at least being seen in public with one.  Unlike the West, dating for idols in Japan is an absolute no-no (don’t bother arguing about this, it’s the reality) and career breaker.  Her status as the recently promoted leader of the Japanese all girl idol group Morning Musume made the situation even worse.  She had to step down and ended up being the shortest lived leader in Morning Musume history, lasting roughly only a month and a half.

And instead of quickly coming up with some damage control tactics Mikitty defiantly admitted their courtship, quit her position as the leader of the most popular Japanese idol group and apparently has continued on with the relationship.  Understandably this not only broke the heart of countless Mikitty fans, it also made the loose lipped Tomoharu Shoji public enemy number one!

Is Mikitty trying to buck the old fashioned Japanese entertainment world?

When Tomoharu stated that he wanted to get married the other guests on the show said “you’re the man” and egged him on to propose right there on TV.  But his partner Hiroshi Shinagawa saved him by chiming in, “you guys pressured him too much that he farted!”

“What are your plans with her?”  “Can I be frank?”  “I wanna tie the knot.”

We can only wait and see whether his plan and foolish outburst pan out or not.