Ryutaro Morimoto
| Ryutaro Morimoto | |
|---|---|
| Born |
April 6, 1995 Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Years active | 2004–2011 |
Ryutaro Morimoto (森本 龍太郞 Morimoto Ryūtarō, born April 6, 1995 in Kanagawa Prefecture) is a former employee from J Storm. He was under the management of Johnny & Associates. In June 2011, his activities with the agency were suspended following an underage smoking scandal.
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 Yuya Takaki, Kei Inoo, Daiki Arioka, and Yuto Nakajima, all of who would be future ex-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. When he was asked about the photos, he said "it was alright," that is was, "no big deal." Johnny's Entertainment quickly issued a public apology and suspended all of Morimoto's activities indefinitely.[1]
Hey! Say! JUMP's group photo was updated in November on their 4-year anniversary without Morimoto'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.
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
Music videos
- Seishun Amigo (Shuji to Akira) (2005)
- Fever to Future (GYM) (2005)