[JO1] Nikkei Entertainment 200304

JO1 member profile
The 11 members who passed the audition and gasped their debut, when these 11 individuals, who all have different strengths and experiences, become one, an unique JO1 energy is born.
Q&A
① What do you always buy in a conbini?
② How do people call you? How do you want to be called?
③ Is there someone you want to appear together in some program?
④ Which JO1 member would you like to date?

01 Mamehara Issei
The youngest member and center of the debut song
A high schooler who won the center spot of the debut song. He grabbed the hearts of the viewers with his simple appearance of riding a bike to school through the fields and his serious attitude to tackle his tasks. His true face is quite active. He is like a younger brother who comfortably and freely behaves among his elder brothers.
Profile | born 2002.5.30 (17 years old)
from Okayama / 173 cm / O type
① Recently, I like eclairs and often buy those. I often eat them in the morning.
② It’s ‘Mame’. I want to be called ‘Mame-chan’ by everyone.
③ Hm…
④ Junki-kun (direct answer). He is funny but actually thinks of a lot of things and while he respects my opinion he tells me when I am wrong.

02 Kawashiri Ren
The dancer leader who is like a father
His highly skilled and eye-catching dancing is a huge weapon of JO1. On the one hand as someone serious and dependable he is called ‘JO1’s father’, but he loves to have fun. Also there is the side of him loving ‘HARIBO’.
Profile | born 1997.3.2 (23 years old)
from Fukuoka / 173 cm / O type
① I buy the mango salad drink from Kagome’s ‘Yasai Seikatsu’ everyday. I started to drink it for my health, but I also love the taste.
② ‘Ren-kun’. Back in high school I was also called ‘Ren-chan’ and it is nostalgic and makes me happy.
③ The people with whom I worked during my time as dancer, I would like to appear along them as JO1 once more.
④ Takumi! (direct answer) Because all his actions are cute!

03 Kawanishi Takumi
A Cinderella boy with unparalleled visuals
Regardless of him being inexperienced in both singing and dancing, he always had a spot in the upper ranking thanks to his natural sense and ‘unparalleled visuals’. He seems cool but is actually mischievous. According to the members he got the ‘Chopper position’ if you compared them to ‘ONE PIECE’. He loves junk food.
Profile | born 1999.6.23 (20 years old)
from Hyogo / 170 cm / B type
① I buy sweet bread with chocolate in it every day.
② It is ‘Takumi’ or ‘Takumi-kun’. There is not anything in particular I want to be called.
③ Some comedians because I like comedy. I am a huge fan of Kamaitachi-san and I went to watch one of their shows.
④ Kono Junki-kun. It is fun when we are together and I think I would laugh the whole time. That’s great (laughs).

04 Ohira Shosei
The No.1 member who cannot be left alone
His tears, earnest hard work and soft smile that have been aired in the audition let him soar towards the 4th place in the final ranking. The members also see him as ‘cute’, ‘like a younger brother’, ‘a worrier’ and someone who ‘tells me it’s okay’ and they cannot leave him alone. His speciality is dancing.
Profile | born 2000.4.14 (19 years old)
from Kyoto / 176 cm / A type
① As I am in the middle of a diet, I just buy salad late at night. I lost 3 kilos in one month.
② ‘Shosei’ or ‘Shose’. Also, ‘Sean’.
③ I want to meet Pompom Purin. Even though I am on a diet I ended up buying Pompom Purin bread.
④ It would be Takumi-kun. He is kind but funny. Because he is just too cool, I want to look at his side profile while being next to him.

05 Tsurubo Shion
A purehearted ‘alien’ displaying diverse charms
He was criticised for his bad attitude at the very start of the audition making him the main character all of sudden. In reality he gets along well with everyone and is someone with a pure heart who is unexpectedly serious and even a little shy. However, his true self is wrapped up in a mystery even among the members as they call him ‘mysterious’ and ‘an alien’.
Profile | born 2000.12.11 (19 years old)
from Shiga / 178 cm / A type
① ‘Lifeguard’ from CHEERIO. I like it so much that I drank 3 cans a day in high school.
② Shion.
③ It is often said that I am resembling a certain celebrity, so I would like to meet this person once.
④ Kono Junki-kun. I like that he has no hidden side and that he tells you what he thinks. I am sure everyone will answer Junki-kun!

06 Shiroiwa Ruki
The ‘comedy prince’ with orthodox visuals
While everyone recognises his looks as ‘cool’, his reputation among the members is out-and-out ‘he is really funny’. This gap and the chivalry that glimpses through every word he says are his charm. Since he got experience as an idol, he received high appreciation for his fanservice.
Profile | 1997.11.19 (22 years old)
from Tokyo / 175 cm / O type
① 500ml of Coca Cola.
② ‘Ruki-kun’ or ‘Ruki’.
③ Right now, I want to appear along Kamaitachi-san the most.
④ Keigo and Mame-chan. Because Keigo would drag me, who prefers to stay indoors, out and he is influential (laughs). Mame is simply funny and seems not to know much about love yet, so I hope to be able to experience an pure feeling (laughs).

07 Sato Keigo
The fashion leader who is ahead of the trends
He has an outstanding style and often wears luxury brands. He even says ‘One day I want to handle JO1’s costumes’. However, in the group he is a teasing character. He is an airhead and some might even say ‘his words are the ones of a problem child’. If he gets the chance, he will try to touch the butts of the members.
Profile | 1998.7.29 (21 years old)
from Aichi | 181 cm / A type
① Fruits jelly or cut fruits. I like pineapples and tangerines.
② ‘Keigo’. I am told I look like a giraffe, so I want to be called ‘Gira’ because of the English word for it.
③ With Downtown-san! I want to be teased by them.
④ It’s that guy (Tsurubo Shion). His teasing is fun and his teasing side is girlish.

08 Kimata Syoya
Once you notice his ‘appeal’ there is no way out of his swamp anymore
Attended a famous dance school and went to a fashion vocational school because of his love for clothes. His true face is loving to be mischievous, but the members know him as someone ‘who stood talking once the camera is on him’. He humbly calls himself ‘the type of person who does not stand out’ but once you notice his charms, he got the deepest swamp to fall into.
Profile | 2000.4.5 (19 years old)
from Aichi | 171 cm | A type
① ‘Kireeto Lemon’ and salad chicken. I also buy a lot of snacks such as seasoned octopus with wasabi, soused fish or raw ham.
② ‘Syoya’
④ It is Junki-kun. He is older than me, but he is easy to talk to from the same standpoint. When I say something cheeky he makes sure to pick it and make it funny. In short, he spoils me and is patient.

09 Kono Junki
An absolutely positive mood maker
He is a mood maker who is recognised as the pivot of JO1’s vocals by both others and himself. During the shooting, he clapped his hands and bursted in a sports kind of mood saying ‘Let’s get hyped up!’. He got 1st place in ‘Which member do you want to have as your boyfriend?’ chosen by the members and he was also not displeased by this.
Profile | 1998.1.20 (22 years old)
from Nara | 174 cm | O type
① ‘Meiji probiotic yogurt R-1’ and ‘C1000 vitamin lemon’.
② As I want to feel close others, I hope to be called just by my first name.
③ I would like to appear on programs like ‘Shabekuri 007’ and be teased. I want to learn more about comedy.
④ Shion. His face is really my type. He is cute as well as kind without being flirtatious with his surroundings.

10 Kinjo Sukai
The highest growth rate in singing and dancing
On the first glance he looks fierce and cool. Yet the members see him as ‘a moody person and cute’. He was inexperienced in singing and dancing but he showcased a huge growth during the audition and the trainers also often mentioned that he ‘is very obedient and passionate’. His further growth is infinite.
Profile | 2000.5.6 (19 years old)
from Osaka | 178 cm | A type
① I end up buying Coca Cola. Also, dried mangoes. I like the time when I am chewing those (laughs).
② ‘Sukai’
③ Someone like (Akashiya) Sanma-san who I watched on TV since I was a child.
④ Junki-kun. But there are times when he is kind and indecisive… I prefer to be talked to more sternly. I guess my answer is ‘myself’ (laughs).

11 Yonashiro Sho
‘The mother’ who wraps up the members
The oldest member and leader and another pivot of the vocals. He is a mother-like existence who brings the many free spirits in the group together with his natural patience and caring side. He was inexperienced in dancing during the audition, but his pride is his muscles. He tends to wear costumes that show his biceps.
Profile | 1995.10.25 (24 years old)
from Okinawa | 180 cm | O type
① I always buy coffee. I prefer black coffee.
② Since I am the oldest one, it is ‘Sho-kun’. I would like to be called by my first name because in Okinawa you rarely call people by their last names.
④ Ah, it’s Ruki! (Direct answer) He is cool and honest and his professional consciousness and seriousness in regard to performances are strong. I think if I was a woman, I would be drawn to him.

TN: Both Syoya and Sho did not answer the third question.

Kawashiri Ren
Even if I am normally a small existence I want to be ‘a king’ on stage.

Kawashiri Ren’s career as a back dancer is brilliant. Thanks to his high level pro awareness of “I am aware that I am constantly seen by other people” he had since then and his outstanding dancing skills that are both powerful and elegant, as well as his charisma, he became the center of 101 people for the theme song of ‘PRODUCE 101 JAPAN’, ‘Tsukame ~ It’s Coming~’.

That day (11th December, the day the final ranking had been announced) had been the turning point in making me a pro or rather I prepared myself to enter a world where ‘I can’t do it’ is not accepted. Since I was in 5th or 6th year of elementary school I dreamed of becoming a dancer in the future and I moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo before turning 20 years old. But when I finally worked as a dancer, I saw that the artists in front of me seemed to have more fun and the feeling of wanting to stand in their place gradually grew bigger.

During the audition it was hard when the eliminated trainees left. Especially when Sano Fumiya-kun, with whom I was in a friendly rivalry, left… It was the hardest. In other words, there were people whose path to debut was erased this time. But, believing that outside of the 11 of us a lot of more lives changed by participating, might be what kept me going.

There was some cruelty in the amounts of votes being announced, but it also made me actually feel that I am supported. When you think that JO1 was born from the support of so many people, there is a sense of responsibility, but I see it as a further expectation of us. I believe it is more fun to think like this. I hope all 11 members will not forget this as we keep on being active.

Nonetheless, that I was in second place in the final voting had been really frustrating. After all, being first is something cool. I feel that all chosen members were aiming for the first place. But from now on the battleground changes and 11 members become one team and aim for the world. In order to achieve this, we work hard on becoming the top of Japan first.

I put my state of mind into my signature. Outside of the stage I am a really small existence, I still need a lot of training and I have to be always humble. Yet, once I step on stage I am a king, have absolute confidence and want to give happiness to the people watching me. I hope to value the transition between the stage and other places. The dot on the bottom right symbolises the small me offstage and the crown on the upper left is the king I am on stage.