Tomohisa Yamashita

Yamashita was born in Funabashi, Chiba. His parents separated when he was a child and both Yamashita and his younger sister were raised mainly by his mother.[3][4]

He became motivated to send in his application to the talent agency Johnny & Associates after watching one of Takizawa Hideaki's dramas and aspiring to appear on television like him.[5][6] He sent in applications to many agencies but only Johnny & Associates called him for an audition.[6]

Yamashita graduated from Horikoshi Gakuen's performing arts course for high school students in 2004. At Horikoshi, he shared a classroom with celebrities such as Koki Tanaka, Koike Teppei, and Yu Shirota. After graduating from high school, Yamashita was accepted into Meiji University's School of Commerce. He graduated with a Commerce degree (major in marketing) in autumn 2008.[7]

• Yamashita joined Johnny's and Association in 1996 at age 11. He started as trainee in a group called "Johnny's Junior". Johnny's Juniors appeared on music shows as their senior's backup dancers, in addition to appearing on NHK TV's "Shounen Club". Several years after entering the agency, Yamashita became one of the most popular junior members. After Takizawa Hideaki debuted as duo group Tackey & Tsubasa in 2003, Yamashita was appointed as Johnny's Junior leader.
• Yamashita made his acting debut in NHK's Shonentachi in 1998. He gained more attention after appearing in Ikebukuro West Gate Park in 2000.
• In September 2003, 7 years after joining the agency, Yamashita was one of the Johnny's Juniors chosen to be part of the idol group NEWS and he subsequently formally debuted on May 12, 2004.[8] Yamashita was often referred to as the leader of NEWS in media[9] but members of the group, including Yamashita himself, have stated at times that he was not the de facto leader.[10][11]
• He released the single Seishun Amigo with Kazuya Kamenashi in November 2005. The single was the soundtrack for the drama Nobuta wo Produce, starring Kamenashi and Yamashita, and it topped the Oricon yearly charts in 2005.[12] Seishun Amigo eventually sold over 1.5 million copies and is Yamashita's best-selling single to date.[13]
• His biggest break as an actor came in 2006 when he landed the titular role in the television drama Kurosagi. He subsequently made his widescreen debut with the Kurosagi film sequel Eiga: Kurosagi in 2008.[8][14][15] Yamashita also made his debut as a solo artist with the Kurosagi soundtrack Daite Senorita which went on to sell over 800,000 copies.[8][16][17] He followed that up in 2007 and 2008 with roles as time-traveler Iwase Ken in the award-winning romantic comedy Proposal Daisakusen and flight doctor-in-training Aizawa Kousaku in the medical drama Code Blue.[18] Proposal Daisakusen remains one of his most notable works, and in 2013, his character Ken's trademark line "Hallelujah chance! (ハレルヤチャンス!)" was selected by Oricon Monitor Research members as one of the most memorable signature phrases in Japanese drama history.[19] Industry watchdog Nikkei Entertainment placed him at the top of their annual ranking of under-30 Japanese celebrities in 2008 due to his achievements in multiple entertainment fields that year.[20] Following his work in the 2009 romance serial Buzzer Beat, Nikkei christened him the 'twenty-something ratings man', singling him out as one of the few young actors who could successfully lead romance dramas and possessed a stable ratings record despite the declining drama industry.[21] The year 2009 also marked Yamashita's return to solo music activities with the release of his second solo single, "Loveless", and his first solo concert, ~Short But Sweet~[8][16]
• Yamashita reprised his role as Aizawa Kousaku in the winter 2010 TV series Code Blue 2. Days after Code Blue 2 wrapped, Yamashita began filming for the live-action film adaptation of Ashita no Joe. Code Blue 2 and Buzzer Beat aired in Fuji TV's prestigious getsuku (Monday 9 p.m.) time-slot in Japan, making Yamashita the first person to have starred in two getsukus with only a single drama season in between.[22] That same year, he released his third solo single One in a Million which debuted atop the Oricon charts.[23] This was followed by the releases of the single Hadakanbo and his first solo album, Supergood, Superbad, in January 2011.[8] His first solo tour, "Supergood, Superbad: Asia Tour 2011" kicked off on January 29, 2011, in Hong Kong.[24]
• On October 7, 2011, Johnny & Associates announced that Yamashita and Ryo Nishikido were no longer members of NEWS, and Yamashita would henceforth be concentrating on his solo projects.[25] Yamashita later published a message through the Johnny's web (Jweb) subscription service stating that this was a decision taken after much consideration on his part.[26]
• From January to March 2012, NTV aired Yamashita Tomohisa Route 66: Tatta Hitori no America (山下智久・ルート６６～たったひとりのアメリカ), a travel documentary chronicling Yamashita's cross-country trip across the historic Route 66.[27]
• After a two-year absence, Yamashita returned to the small screen with the 2012 winter drama Saikō no Jinsei no Owarikata: Ending Planner where he portrayed the role of Ihara Masato, the reluctant heir to a funeral parlor.[28] He also co-starred with Shingo Katori for autumn 2012 detective series Monsters.[29] A chance meeting at a Lady Gaga concert before production began for Monsters led Katori and Yamashita to co-author the drama theme song and formed a temporary unit named "The Monsters" to release the theme song as a single that would later top the Oricon weekly ranking.[30][31] The Monsters came together again in 2013 to co-author the track PAri-PArA for Yamashita's 3rd album A NUDE.[32]
• As of 2013, all three studio albums released by Yamashita received the RIAJ (Recording Industry Association of Japan)'s Gold certification, indicating a shipment of 100,000 copies.
• Yamashita co-hosted Fuji TV's primetime Japanese variety show Shogeki! Sansedai Hikaku TV: Generation Tengoku (衝撃!3世代比較TV ジェネレーション天国) from January 28, 2013, until its last episode on March 10, 2014.[2] From April 20, 2014, Yamashita started hosting a new late-night variety show titled Otona no Kiss Eigo. Later in 2015 the staffs put his name on the title show and changed to YamaPi no Kiss Eigo, with new timeslot and new format games involving speaking English.[33]
• Yamashita was cast as the male lead in the live action film adaption of the manga Kinkyori Ren'ai (近キョリ恋愛, "Close-range Love"), in which he played a new English teacher at a high school who becomes the object of affection of his student Kururugi Uni, played by Komatsu Nana.[34][35] "近キョリ恋愛" topped the Japanese box office for three consecutive weeks, earning a total 1.17 billion yen. It was the only movie with less than 200 screens (179 screens) which managed to earn over 1 billion yen in 2014.[36]
• Yamashita released two original albums in 2014: his fourth studio album, titled "YOU", and, later, a limited release of the dance mini-album titled "Asobi".[37]
• In 2015, Yamashita starred in two drama series. The first was the TBS spring 2015 drama, "アルジャーノンに花束を" Algernon ni Hanataba wo (2015), an adaptation of the Daniel Keyes novel, Flowers for Algernon.,[38] in which he played the lead character. In fall, he starred in the romance-comedy drama 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made: Watashi ni Koi Shita Obōsan alongside actress Satomi Ishihara.
• Yamashita started a new regular radio program titled “SOUND TRIPPER“ after his old radio program "CROSS SPACE" (2012-2015) ended few weeks before. In line with the new show's title, the interFM show presented chart-topping songs from US and UK charts of that year and was broadcast five days a week, from 8:05-8:10 in the morning. The radio program was aired from 2015 to early 2017[39]
• In January 2016, Yamashita returned to music after a two-year hiatus. He released his first best-of album YAMA-P including previously released songs and the original song "Dreamer". The album reached #1 on the Oricon chart that week.[40]
• May 2016, Yamashita starred in Takashi Miike's TerraFormars, an adaptation of the popular manga with same title, Terra Formars.[41]
• In early 2016, it was also announced that Yamashita would participate in a Chinese movie production. The movie title "ReBorn" (China title) or "Cyber Mission" (Japan title) which he played his first villain character. He costarred alongside Chinese actor Hangeng and Taiwanese actor Rydian Vaughan. The movie was released August 3, 2018 in China and January 25, 2019 in Japan [42]
• From June to August 2016, Yamashita returned with a nationwide concert tour entitled "Yamashita Tomohisa~The Best Live Tour 2016 Future Fantasy", his first concert tour since 2013's "A NUDE". Due to high demand from his fans, he added additional shows for Future Fantasy Yoyogi Arena in December, 2016[43]
• In April 2017, Yamapi reunited with Kamenashi Kazuya to star in the spring drama "Boku, Unmei no Hito desu ~ I'm your Destiny" . Yamapi played the role of a mysterious man who referred to himself as "God". Yamapi and Kamenashi also reunited again as sub-unit after 12 years, naming their 2017 unit "Kame to Yamapi" and releasing "Senaka Goshi No Chance". This single topped the Oricon weekly charts and sold more than 160,000 copies. They were back to back performed on music shows and participated in yearly music festivals. Similar with Shuji to Akira's Seishun Amigo, Senaka Goshi No Chance proved popular for its dance.
• After 9 years, Yamapi reunited with the main cast of Code Blue – Yui Aragaki, Erika Toda, Asari Yusuke, Higa manami for Code Blue season 3. Code Blue Season 3 back with the same main cast and new doctor heli in trainee for summer drama aired July to September 2017. Repeating the success of season 1 and season 2, Code Blue Season 3 ended successfully as the highest-rated drama in summer, dominating Nikkan Sport Drama Awards, Academy Drama awards and some magazine drama awards. "Code Blue The movie" was announced.
• Code Blue the movie, released July 27, 2018, topped summer box office and live action movie rankings, and at the end of the year, took the crown as the highest-grossing movie in 2018 with more than 7.17 million tickets sold and 9.23 billion yen at the box office. Code Blue is the fifth domestic live-action movie to achieve this as well as the first in fifteen years to do so; the previous film to accomplish this was Bayside Shakedown 2 in 2003.
• In mid-2018, Johnny & Associates announced Sony Music Japan ( SME Japan) as Yamashita's new music label and his comeback to music career after 4 years without any major release. His first SME release, "UNLEASHED", was released November 28, 2018, containing songs mostly written and produced by himself; he wrote 11 of the album's 12 tracks. He also conducted nationwide concert tours from September through December 2018.
• Although Sony Music Japan will serve as Yamashita's new music label, his other management remains under Johnny & Associates until October 31st 2020.
• Yamashita was chosen to sing the opening song for the popular anime series "Ace Attorney, season 2". The song, called "Never Lose", is scheduled to be released February 13, 2019.
• Yamashita starred in 2019's spring drama series "IN HAND" as genius and essectric Parasitologist Himokura Tetsu, the drama involving science research and its mystery. He also composed/wrote a song title "Change" for drama opening song. "Change" will be released as his new single June 19, 2019
• On November.11 2020, Johnny & Associates announced that Tomohisa Yamashita has left Johnny & Associates on October.31. He wants to chase his childhood dreams. He is now having some big project with Hollywood movie, and oversea drama in the future.

For releases as NEWS, Shuuji to Akira, and Kitty GYM, see NEWS' Discography, Shuuji to Akira's Single, and Kitty GYM

• 94th Television Drama Academy Awards (Jul-Sep 2017) : Best Actor for Code Blue 3
• 21st Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Jul-Sep 2017): Best Actor for Code Blue 3
• 21st Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Apr-Jun 2017): Best Supporting Actor for Boku, Unmei no Hito desu
• 19th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Annual): Best Actor for Algernon ni Hanataba wo
• 19th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Annual): Best Supporting Actor for 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made
• 19th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Oct-Dec 2015): Best Supporting Actor for 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made
• 19th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Apr-Jun 2015): Best Actor for Algernon ni Hanataba wo
• 15th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Jan-Mar 2012): Best Actor for Saikou no Jinsei no Owarikata~Ending Planner~
• 13th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Summer 2009): Best Actor for Buzzer Beat
• 11th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (Spring 2007): Best Actor for Proposal Daisakusen
• 9th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (2005–06): Best Actor for Nobuta wo Produce
• 4th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (2000–01): Best Newcomer for Ikebukuro West Gate Park
• Annual Junior Awards: 'Best Boyfriend', 'Most Beautiful', etc. (2000)

• Johnny's Net
• Johnny's Net (English)
• SME Japan
• Yamashita Tomohisa Cross Space
• Generation Tengoku
• Official Instagram