Hitomi Yoshizawa

**Hitomi Yoshizawa** is a Japanese pop singer. She is a former member of Morning Musume as well as a former leader of the group. She is currently a member of the duo Hangry & Angry as Hangry. She is also the current leader of the Hello! Project futsal team Gatas Brilhantes H.P. and the idol group derived from its lineup, Ongaku Gatas. She's a part of Dream Morning Musume.

In 2018, she retired from the entertainment industry due to legal troubles.

## History

### Early Life

Hitomi Yoshizawa was born on April 12th, 1985 in Saitama, Japan. She was almost called 'Sayaka', but due to her large eyes, she was called 'Hitomi' instead.

### 2000-2002

Yoshizawa became a member of the Hello! Project group Morning Musume in 2000, as a member of the fourth generation along with Rika Ishikawa, Nozomi Tsuji, and Ai Kago, making her debut in the group's ninth single "Happy Summer Wedding". She was also featured in the group's theatrical release of Pinch Runner.

In the past, she has often been perceived as the tomboyish member of the group, due to her voice, manners, and hobbies. Furthering this perception of her masculine side, Yoshizawa's first lead came in 2001 with the release of the single Mr.Moonlight ~Ai no Big Band~, in which she played a dashing playboy character. She also has the most lines for the same song. She has since managed to mostly overcome this, as many view her as having matured out of her formerly tomboyish character once having assumed leadership of Morning Musume in 2005.

### 2003-2005

Yoshizawa became the Captain of the Hello! Project futsal team, Gatas Brilhantes H.P. when it was formed in September. The 5'5" (165cm) midfielder has since managed to lead the team to victory on many occasions. Yoshizawa also convinced fellow teammate Nozomi Tsuji to remain as the team's goalkeeper, despite her graduation from Morning Musume in 2004.

In April, after the sudden and unexpected departure of Morning Musume's then-leader Mari Yaguchi, Yoshizawa, the sub-leader at that time, became the group's new leader. After Rika Ishikawa's graduation in May, Yoshizawa became the last remaining member of her generation.

### Leadership years (2005-2007)

On January 11, Yoshizawa's younger brother, Yoshizawa Kota (age 16), was killed in a traffic accident.

On May 6, Yoshizawa graduated from Morning Musume after the band's last performance in the ~Sexy 8 Beat~ Spring Tour, which took place at Saitama Super Arena in Hitomi's hometown. According to several news sources, producer Tsunku, and Yoshizawa herself, she would begin a solo career of her own. At the time of her graduation, she had the second longest tenure of any Morning Musume member of 7 years and 21 days (although she was surpassed by Ai Takahashi and Risa Niigaki in September 2008, later surpassed by Sayumi Michishige in 2014). She was also considered by some fans to be the last trace of the "Golden era" of Morning Musume. She is also one of only six members to have been a member of Morning Musume for over 7 years (the other being 1st Generation member Kaori Iida, 5th generation members Ai Takahashi and Risa Niigaki, and 6th generation members Sayumi Michishige and Reina Tanaka).

### After Morning Musume

On October 12, it was revealed that she is currently paired up with fellow ex-Morning Musume member Rika Ishikawa as Hangry in the new unit Hangry & Angry in collaboration with a Harajuku fashion store of the same name.

In April, She would be making her first US performance at Sakura-Con in Seattle, along with Ishkawa Rika, in their duo HANGRY & ANGRY. Their first European performance was at "Chibi Japan expo" in Montreuil (a Parisian suburb) on October 31.

In February, Yoshizawa performed and graduated with the rest of the Elder Club at their group graduation concert in Yokohama.

Yoshizawa made her first appearance with Hello! Project since the Elder Club's graduation at the Summer 2010 tour, acting as MC alongside Sharam Q member Makoto.

In August, it had been announced that Rika Ishikawa and Hitomi Yoshizawa would be having an FC exclusive event titled Ishikawa Rika & Yoshizawa Hitomi FC Event. The event would take place at Yokohama BLITZ from October 25 throught the 27th.

On January 28, it was announced that Yoshizawa is a part of the OG member group Dream Morning Musume and that they will be releasing the groups first album, called Dorimusu ①, on April 20th.

In February, Yoshizawa announced that she will be holding a solo FC event. Her FC event will be on April 2nd.

On March 2nd and 3rd, Yoshizawa participated in SATOYAMA e Yukou ~Forest For Rest~ along with other Hello! Project and UP-FRONT PROMOTION members. She will also be an MC for Music Festa Vol.0 on March 2nd.

November 30, Yoshizawa will hold a live dinner titled Yoshizawa Hitomi casual dinner show 2013 ~Soon X’mas〜

Sometime in late 2013, Yoshizawa was transferred to J.P. Room.

In May, Yoshizawa attended to Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2014 ~Haru no Koukai Jitsuryoku Shindan Test~ as a judge.

On September 5 2015, Yoshizawa announced her engagement.

Yoshizawa was focusing her time on Gatas Brilhantes H.P., along with being leader of a group formed with fellow members of the futsal team called Ongaku Gatas.

On October 26, Yoshizawa was invited to play at the *Takano Yuri CUP 38th Hirao Masaaki Charity Golf* with Morning Musume '15 member Ikuta Erina.

On March 14 2016, Yoshizawa announced she was pregnant with her first child and was due to give birth in the late summer.

On March 25 2016, Yoshizawa and her husband held their wedding party. Members of Morning Musume OG, Morning Musume '16, and ℃-ute were guests, and Yoshizawa sang "Happy Summer Wedding" together with the OG members.

On July 29 2016, she gave birth to a son.

On September 29 2017, it was reported that Yoshizawa had caused a car accident at an intersection in Itabushi when she turned right and hit an oncoming minivan that was driving straight through. Yoshizawa did not get injured, but the male driver of the other vehicle received a minor foot injury. Yoshizawa made an apology on her blog on October 5, in which she also noted that she remained at the scene of the accident and was fully cooperating with the police investigation.

On September 6 2018, Yoshizawa Hitomi was arrested by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department for a hit-and-run while driving under the influence of alcohol. According to reports, at around 7:00 AM JST in Nakano, Yoshizawa was behind the wheel of her Toyota Alphard enroute to a scheduled 9:00 AM McDonald's promotional event when she ran a red light and crashed into a cyclist, whose bicycle flew "several meters" and hit a pedestrian nearby, leaving two people with minor injuries. She fled the scene for 15 minutes before calling the police and ultimately failed a breathalyzer test, with a breath alcohol concentration of 0.58 milligrams, four times the legal limit of 0.15 milligrams. Yoshizawa's agency, J.P ROOM, issued an apology that evening and announced that they would strictly deal with the matter once they confirm all of the facts from what is currently being reported.

Yoshizawa claimed to have been drinking with her husband the night before the accident (roughly 7 hours prior), and only had 3 cans of Chuhai. The director of a medical facility in Shinjuku has since come out to cast doubt on Yoshizawa's claims, stating that between the alleged time and amount she drank, her alcohol level shouldn't have been as high as it was at 7:00 AM. She later confessed to drinking more than previously stated.

In the midst of her arrest, all of her scheduled appearances were cancelled and she resigned from her position as a public relations ambassador for her hometown Miyoshi. Several current and former Hello! Project members have expressed their shock, disappointment and remorse over the incident.

On September 12, it was reported that her mother-in-law had survived a suicide attempt after she swallowed a "near lethal dose" of sleeping pills and was rushed to hospital. The suicide attempt was made after a direct interview with a reporter from a weekly magazine which is suspected to be the tabloid Shukan Bunshun who published the interview with details about Yoshizawa's married life on September 13.

On September 26, the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted Yoshizawa with charges of violating the Road Traffic Act. The indictment also revealed new information that she was driving 86km/h in a 60km/h zone. At 5:30 PM the next day, she was released from the Harajuku Police Station on a three million yen bail. She gave a deep bow to reporters outside of the station and made an apology to the victims. That evening she checked into a hospital in Saitama Prefecture.

On September 28, J.P ROOM issued a joint statement with Yoshizawa, announcing they have come to a mutual agreement on terminating her contract and that she has decided to retire from the entertainment industry. Yoshizawa said she came to realize her weakness and immaturity over the past 21 days and called her own actions inexcusable. More than anything, she is deeply sorry to those she injured and hopes they can make a quick recovery and return to their normal lives. She will take one step at a time to atone for her crime and to be able to live without shame as a mother and a member of society. Last of all, Yoshizawa apologized for the inconvenience she caused staff and colleagues and for betraying the expectations of fans who have supported her for the past 18 years.

Following the termination of her contract, all J.P ROOM talent, Hello! Project OG members under UP-FRONT CREATE, and active Hello! Project members under UP-FRONT PROMOTION refrained from updating their blogs and other SNS accounts for the last three days of September in order to sort out their lingering feelings on the incident and were allowed to resume at the start of October.

She is summoned by the Tokyo District Court for her first trial on November 29. She faces up to 2 years in prison and is due back in court November 30 for sentencing. O n November 30, she was sentenced to 2 years in prison under a 5 year suspended sentence.

On November 14 2019, Women's magazine Josei Jishin posted an article to their website containing photos and an interview with Yoshizawa. The article stated that Yoshizawa was working as a staff trainer at a Tokyo stretching centre, having started work their earlier in the year. She also stated she had no current desire to return to the entertainment industry.

On May 12 2022, Josei Jishin published a follow up to their 2019 article about Yoshizawa. The update began by stating that she had left her job at a Tokyo stretching centre and had instead decided to become a full-time housewife. It was also stated that Yoshizawa had expressed her desire to return to the entertainment industry at the end of her probationary period in 2023, according to an unnamed entertainment production company. They went on to say that Yoshizawa was considering holding a press conference to apologise and gauge public reactions to her return, before potentially beginning her own Youtube channel. Though, the claims have yet to be verified by a reputable source.

## Appearance

Hitomi wears a green shirt with a white undershirt, green shorts and green shoes. She has a gold ponytail.

## Trivia

* Her official YouTube username is BigEyes Comedian.
	+ This is due to her having big eyes at birth.