Jun Matsumoto

Early life

Matsumoto was born in Toshima, Tokyo, as the youngest child in his family. When he was born, the kanji candidate for his name was '純', but his grandmother said '潤' was better. He has an older sister whose support of KinKi Kids influenced his decision to join Johnny & Associates in 1996. Thinking it might bode good luck, he sent his application to the agency on his elementary school graduation day and received a phone call weeks later from president Johnny Kitagawa himself, inviting him to attend a rehearsal instead of being auditioned. Due to this, Matsumoto is frequently referred to as one of the elite within the agency.

Matsumoto graduated from Horikoshi Gakuen, a renowned high school known for its many performing arts alumnae such as Kyoko Fukada and Ai Kato, in March 2002 at the age of 18.

Career

Matsumoto announced in October 2023 on a fan club video the release of a photo book to celebrate his turning 40. The book included the account of his experience portraying Ieyasu Tokugawa. The book was released in December 2023. On May 31, 2024, the "Oricon First Half 'Book' Ranking" was announced. In the "Men's Photo Books" genre, Matsumoto's book ranked 2nd, after accumulating 66000 units sold in the period.

As with fellow member Kazunari Ninomiya, Matsumoto announced on May 16, 2024, that he would become independent from Starto in relation to individual activities, but would remain as part of Arashi. Matsumoto left on May 30.

On June 1, Matsumoto updated his Instagram account, posting information about his new company, MJC Inc., and giving its website. On the opening page of the website, Matsumoto states the plans of the company: "We focus on creativity and bonding to generate new value,

aiming to lead Japan and the world to a brighter future through entertainment." He is named as "Chief Entertainment Officer". On December 3, 2024, Matsumoto announced through MJC that he had signed an agent contract with Eternal Moments Inc. for his individual activities, keeping the original site for contracts related to planning, producing and directing.

Early career

Still part of the Johnny and Associates trainees, Matsumoto was paired with future co–members Masaki Aiba and Kazunari Ninomiya, and Toma Ikuta as the unit "MAIN", the name made with the inicials of each one of the members. As part of MAIN, Matsumoto appeared in the stageplay "Stand By Me", based on the movie of the same name.

Even as part of the "elite" of the agency, Matsumoto was teased as a youngster for his hetare (へたれ) (weakling) appearance. As part of Arashi, on their 2001 program Mayonaka no Arashi in a corner named

"Weakling Matsumoto gets hit by a waterfall (ヘタレ松本 滝に打たれる, Hetare Matsumoto taki ni utareru)", Matsumoto underwent training for takigyô, a social–religious ritual originally practiced by Buddhist monks and Shinto priests, which consists in a sort of guided meditation taken under a waterfall with the purpose of strengthening the body and mind.

Music career

Although the majority of Matsumoto's solos for albums and concerts are written by Arashi's staff, he has contributed lyrics for some of his solos: "La Familia" for the 2004 Arashi! Iza, Now Tour!!, "Naked" in 2008 for the album Dream "A" Live (under the pen name "Jun"), and "Stay Gold" in 2014 for the album The Digitalian. He also supervised the song "DRIVE" in 2016 for the album Are You Happy? and took part in writing lyrics with other Arashi members as Arashi for their songs "Fight Song", "Energy Song - Zekkōchō Chō!!!!", "5×10", and "5×20".

Concert production

Matsumoto began to be involved in concert production in 2000. Although he primarily focused on Arashi concerts, he also gave advice on concert production to younger Johnny & Associates groups, such as for Hey! Say! JUMP in 2014 and King & Prince in 2018; and in 2021 he was director for the Year-End Johnny's Festival Thank you 2021 Hello 2022 concert, featuring many different groups from Johnny & Associates.

He is officially credited as the director in the closing credits for the concerts Arashi Anniversary Tour 5×20 and Arafes 2020, as well as on the official website of Johnny's Festival Thank you 2021 Hello 2022 for the concert of the same name. He was named director of Starto Entertainment's April 2024 all-agency live. The concert series, named "We Are!! Let's get the party STARTO!!", was co-directed by Matsumoto and Super Eight's Tadayoshi Okura, and would become the last event produced by Matsumoto before his independence from Starto.

As a concert producer, Matsumoto had also been conceptualizing new ideas. In 2005, he, along with the concert staff team, implemented the usage of the moving stage, which has been subsequently used by several Asian musical acts. 3 years prior to Arashi Live Tour 2014 The Digitalian, Matsumoto had been putting efforts into the idea of utilizing light color changes via bluetooth onto penlights, and the concept was successfully implemented in the previously mentioned concert.

Acting career

In 1997, Matsumoto was cast in his first stage play, which was based on the American coming of age film Stand by Me with future bandmates Masaki Aiba and Kazunari Ninomiya. He did not return to do any major stage productions for nearly seven years after Stand by Me, instead focusing on dramas and movies. However, in 2004, Matsumoto appeared in the stage play West Side Story with bandmates Satoshi Ohno and Sho Sakurai.

In 2005 and 2006, Matsumoto was given his first lead stage play roles in Eden no Higashi (エデンの東, East of Eden) and Byakuya no Onna Kishi (白夜の女騎士, Valkyrie of the White Night) respectively.

It was announced on July 21, 2011, that Matsumoto would star in Yukio Ninagawa's production play, Aa, Kōya (あゝ, 荒野, Ah, Wilderness), his first stage play in five years.

On April 16, 2024, it was reported that Matsumoto would appear in Hideki Noda's Noda Map's new play, held from July to November. Noda was not open to appointing talent from the former Johnny's office, the reason being their schedule. "With so many activities, like concerts, variety shows and tv. appearances, I thought they couldn't do the job.", he said in a press conference in 2023. In Matsumoto's case, the opportunity was given thanks to Arashi's hiatus. According to the report, he attended Noda's workshop and prepared for the stage since February. Performances were expected not only in Japan but also in London, England. The play, called Sei sankaku kankei (正三角関係, Trilateral connection) and Love in Action in English, is loosely based on Fyodor Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. Matsumoto, who shared the stage with Masami Nagasawa, and Eita Nagayama, plays the eldest of the Karamatsu brothers, a pyrotechnic artist, in a suspense story that deals with the "incident" of the murder of their father. The play had performances in Tokyo, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre, in Kitakyushu and Osaka, as well as Sadler's Wells Theatre in London, running from July 11 until November 2.

Like bandmate Sho Sakurai, Matsumoto made his acting debut as a television actor. He appeared in the April 1997 TBS drama special Hoken Chousain (保険調査員, Insurance Investigator). A few months later, he co-starred with the members of KinKi Kids and future bandmate Masaki Aiba in the mystery-thriller series Bokura no Yūki: Miman Toshi (ぼくらの勇気, Our Courage: Miman City). In 2003, his Gokusen character Shin Sawada made a cameo in Sakurai's series Yoiko no Mikata (よい子の味方, Ally of Good Children). He made a guest appearance on the final episode of bandmate Satoshi Ohno's drama Kaibutsu-kun (怪物くん, Little Monster) in 2010, drama based on Fujiko Fujio's manga and anime series Kaibutsu-kun.

Other ventures

TV host

From 2005 to 2007, Matsumoto along with Akiko Wada, Aya Matsuura, KAT-TUN, Tomochika, and Hinoi Team hosted Minna no Terebi/Utawara Hot Hit 10.

Radio

Matsumoto had his own radio show, Jun Style, on Nack5 from October 5, 2002, to September 2011.

Exhibition

On November 4, 2023, through a video for members of Arashi's FC, Matsumoto announced the year–end opening of an exhibition in Roppongi Museum, named Jun Matsumoto Exhibition 'Perspective ~ Toki o tsunagu manazashi ~' (JUN MATSUMOTO EXHIBITION「PERSPECTIVE ‐時をつなぐ眼差し‐」), given after Matsumoto's experience playing Tokugawa Ieyasu, according to the official Twitter and the event's official site. It was a 6-person collaboration, with photographers Kazumi Kurigami, Jiro Konami and Yoshiharu Ota, actor Junichi Okada, painter/contemporary artist Yukimasa Ida, and architect Tsuyoshi Tane, where his view and words captured by the guest artists could be experienced by the visitors. Exhibition ran from December 8, 2023, to January 18, 2024.

Other

Photobook

Jun Matsumoto 20220830-20231026 The records of days of living as Ieyasu (release 19 December 2023)

Social media

Matsumoto opened an Instagram account in December 2022 to promote his upcoming taiga "Dou suru Ieyasu", activities related to it, as well as some personal posts via Instagram Stories. On May 12, 2024, he changed the account's name and icon, to reflect his current activities, and via an Instagram Stories post, he warned fans and followers that he does not have any other account except for the Instagram one, as there are several fake accounts appearing in X (formerly Twitter) claiming to be him.

Private life

Matsumoto has been shipped with Mao Inoue since their Hana Yori Dango series appearances. There have been reports of meetings, sightings and dates, all covered by all kinds of sites, both in the mainstream as well as gossip sites. However, Inoue herself denied any kind of rumors of marriage in a TV appearance in 2024. However rumors of their marriage arose again after Arashi's end of activities in May 2026.

Multiple nicknames

According to former classmate and fellow actor Ryuhei Matsuda, in High School, Matsumoto was called Darth Vader by his classmates. On the September 14, 2017 Arashi program "Arashi ni Shiyagare" episode, where this was revealed, fellow member Kazunari Ninomiya commented that then fellow Johnny Tomohisa Yamashita, who was their junior, often called him "King", nickname that was affirmed by Matsumoto's portrayal of Domyouji on Hana Yori Dango

The public nickname MJ, with widespread use since the 'Arashi ni Shiyagare" section "This is MJ" started on April 11, 2015, has its probable origin in the 2007 Arashi concert "Time", where Matsumoto, for his solo song "Yabai, yabai, yabai", performed the so–called "MJ Walk", where he walked upside down while suspended by wires.

Ninomiya has called him "MatsuJun", "Massan", "Jun–kun", "MJ" and "J", this last one as mentioned by Ninomiya on the February 7, 2015 Arashi ni Shiyagare episode, was inspired while reading Sakigake!! Otokojuku. The character J, who had thick eyebrows, reminded him of Matsumoto (Matsumoto also has thick eyebrows). Regarding the use of "J" as his first nickname, Ninomiya stated that, since he and Matsumoto are basically the same age (difference of 2 months) and their start in the agency was close, he didn't know what to call him, so he called Matsumoto "J" while everyone else called him "MatsuJun". On the December 11, 2016, episode of his radio program "Bay Storm", Ninomiya confessed that he loved being the only one calling Matsumoto "J", but as this was no longer the case (at this time), he chose to call him "Jun kun" and "Massan". But those are not the only nicknames he has called him. Ninomiya also started calling him "Emperor" on Arashi's program "Himitsu no Arashi chan" corner's "Mannequin Five Spring Break Special Episode" aired March 31, 2011, as well as jokingly calling him by nicknames based on activities or situations Matsumoto was going through at the moment of the filming of their programs, such as "AtsuJun" (as Matsumoto was grilling some meat, he constantly was saying "atsu" (hot)), nickname that was "revived" by Masaki Aiba on a Mitsuya Cider commercial in 2020,

Commercials

(CM)

Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd.

Asahi Soft Drinks "Mitsuya Cider" (2020) with Arashi

Au by KDDI

Au by KDDI (2011)

Android Au (2011) - co-star with all Arashi members

Au Box (2008)

Bandai

たまごっち オスっちメスっち (Tamagotchi Osutchi Mesutchi) (1999)

Daiichi Sankyo

Lulu Attack cold medicine (2018 - 2019, 2022)

Daio Paper

Elleair + Water (2010 - 2017)

Hitachi

Home appliances (2010 - 2019) (By himself, and co-starring Arashi members, both as individuals and as a whole team)

House Foods

さわやか吐息 スーパーカテキン (Sawayaka toiki sūpākatekin) (2004)

Japan Airlines (2021 - 2023) With fellow Arashi member Sho Sakurai

Japan Post

New Year's postcard campaign (2015–2020, as part of Arashi), (2019–2020, individual)

special set of stamps for sale in Aichi, Shizuoka, Gifu, Mie, Ibaraki, and Tochigi prefectures (for drama "What to do, Ieyasu") (for Tokai Post, 2023)

Filmography

Discography

Musical contributions

Are You Happy? song

"Drive" (recording under Matsumoto's supervision)