Miki Fujimoto

***Miki** redirects here, if you are looking for the 12th generation member of Morning Musume with the same name, head to Miki Nonaka and if you are looking for the IdolMaster character with the same name, head to Miki Hoshii*

**Miki Fujimoto**, now **Miki Shoji**, is a Japanese singer, idol and talent signed under J.P. ROOM. She is best known as a former member of Morning Musume. She originally joined Hello! Project as a solo artist, discovered during the fourth generation auditions for Morning Musume in 2000, and debuted as a solo artist in 2002. She was later added to the group along with the new sixth generation audition winners in 2003.

## History

### Early Life

Fujimoto Miki was born on February 26, 1985 in Hokkaido, Japan. As a child, she wanted to become an enka singer due to the influence of her grandmother.

She auditioned for avex dream 2000 in 1999, singing "Depend on you" by Hamazaki Ayumi, but did not passed. The following year, in 2000, Fujimoto participated in the 3rd Morning Musume Auditions hoping to become a 4th generation member. Even though she didn't make it to the finals, Hello! Project offered her training lessons for a shot to debut one day. During her training period, she also worked as a receptionist at Up-Front Agency.

### 2001-2003

Fujimoto began her activities as an official Hello! Project member on October 1, 2001, with the premier of Shin Bishoujo Nikki. Sometime that same month, it was announced during the program that Fujimoto would officially debut as a soloist.

Fujimoto originally started out as a solo singer in 2002 in Hello! Project, becoming the first of six members to debut under Hello! Project after losing the fourth generation auditions Morning Musume audition in 2000.

In October 2002, she was placed in the one-shot unit, Gomattou, with two other prominent pop soloists under Hello! Project, Maki Goto (a former Morning Musume member), and Matsuura Aya. She was also in the Hello! Project Shuffle group Odoru 11.

On February 5th, she released her single, Boogie Train ‘03.

### 2003-2005

On February 26, on her 18th birthday, she released her first album, MIKI1. This was the end of her solo career because after a successful performance on the music program on New Year's Eve, "Kōhaku Uta Gassen," producer Tsunku added her to Morning Musume as a sixth generation member. With five solo singles, plus an album and solo concert tour, Miki was a surprise addition into Morning Musume. Her first single within the band is 'Shabondama'.

She sang many of the lead lines in Morning Musume songs, especially after Natsumi Abe's graduation.

She and fellow Morning Musume member Asami Konno were also loaned to Country Musume, a group that features "Country Girls from Hokkaido," such as Miki and Asami.

In 2003, when Morning Musume was split into two groups, she was placed in Morning Musume Otome Gumi and was also placed in the shuffle group 11WATER.

In April, When Mari Yaguchi abruptly resigned from the group, Fujimoto became the sub-leader of Morning Musume, supporting Hitomi Yoshizawa as the new leader. She also joined the shuffle unit Sexy Otonajan.

### 2005-2007

On June 15, it was announced that Fujimoto and Matsuura Aya would join together in a new Hello! Project duo called GAM. Their debut single was released on September 13, and after two other singles, their debut LP was released on May 23, 2007.

On May 6, after the graduation of then-leader Hitomi Yoshizawa, Fujimoto took her place as the fifth leader of Morning Musume.

On May 24, Fujimoto was rumored to be in the latest edition of the Japanese gossip magazine Friday —the same magazine responsible for the cancellation of Ai Kago's contract— pictured walking with Tomoharu Shōji, a member of the comedy duo Shinagawa Shōji. Friday explained that they had a two-hour dinner together, drove to Fujimoto's apartment, then went to the sauna, returning to Shōji's apartment just after midnight. It soon became apparent that she was to be involved in a scandal that would jeopardize her position in Morning Musume. After seeing the article, Up-Front Agency had no intention to deal with the situation since there was no proof of them dating.

On the May 26 edition of Young Town Doyōbi (a radio show with Takahashi Ai, Fujimoto and Sanma Akashiya), she confirmed that the pictures were of her, and that she had been going out with Tomoharu Shōji. She also mentioned that she was going to talk to the head of Up-Front Agency, Naoki Yamazaki, about the situation.

On June 1, Fujimoto resigned from her position in Morning Musume. She would continue with GAM and remain contracted with Hello! Project and Up-Front Agency.

### After Morning Musume

In October, Fujimoto did not participate in the Hello! Project 2008 Winter Concert. There are claims that she was still under punishment from the scandal early that year.

On February 11, after over six months away from the public, it was announced that Fujimoto would release a single entitled "Okitegami." The single, a collaboration with fellow Up-Front singer Takao Horiuchi, was released on April 23. Through extensive promotion it eventually sold over 24,000 copies.

In June, it was announced that Fujimoto would play the part of Rizzo in the fall musical, Grease.

On March 24, it was announced that Fujimoto Miki and comedian Shoji Tomoharu from comedy duo Shinagawa Shouji will complete their 2-year-long relationship with a wedding in July.

On July 3, Miki and Shoji officially married, the wedding took place in Hawaii

On August, Fujimoto was set to perform in Japan Festa in Bangkok.

On June 2, Miki had a traffic accident, where she rear-ended a taxi at a stop light, there were no injuries. She posted an apology to everyone on her blog.

In September, She joined the unit Afternoon Musume with 7 of her fellow OG members.

On January 28, it was announced that Fujimoto was part of the OG member group Dream Morning Musume and that they would be releasing the groups first album, "Dorimusu ①," on April 20th.

On February 24, it was announced that Fujimoto Miki opened up a Yakiniku restaurant in Yokohama. According to Miki all of the menu items would be 99% off as a special discount on opening day. The restaurant opened on February 26.

On June 1, Fujimoto Miki went attended event to help promote Scalp-D Shampoo.

On June 6, Miki modeled for “a.g. plus,” a clothing company. They put up a photo gallery with about 10 photos for fans to enjoy on the site.

On September 9, It was announced that Fujimoto Miki was pregnant with her first child.

On January 2nd, Fujimoto announced that she would be having a baby boy.

On March 27, at 7:03 AM, Fujimoto Miki gave birth to her first child. After the birth both of them were perfectly healthy. The baby boy has around 3065 grams, and was named Toranosuke.

On January 13, Fujimoto Miki returned from maternity leave and performed her single, Romantic Ukare Mode, at Hello! Project Tanjou 15 Shuunen Kinen Live 2013 Fuyu ~Bravo!~.

On March 2nd and 3rd, Fujimoto participated in SATOYAMA e Yukou ~Forest For Rest~ along with other Hello! Project and UP-FRONT PROMOTION members.

On November 26, Fujimoto Miki went to the 6th Annual Parenting Award, in which she received an award in the Mama Category.

On November 8th, Fujimoto and her son, Toranosuke, went to watch Juice=Juice's Performance at Ajinomoto Stadium.

On January 30, Fujimoto updated her official blog and announced that she was 4 months pregnant with her second child. In the blog entry titled "To everyone," Fujimoto announced, "Some people may already know from some media reports, but at this time, I've been blessed with a second child. I've currently entered my fourth month." She expressed, "I'm in good physical condition, and I'm also filled with happy feelings." She continued, "I'm sure there will be different difficulties with my second child, but right now, I want to cherish my time with Toranosuke. I hope everyone who reads my blog will teach me many things again."

On August 1st, at 1:32 AM, Fujimoto gave birth to her second child, a girl named Tsubasa.

On January 17, it was announced Fujimoto would be leaving the M-line club, along with Abe Natsumi, as of March.
On September 7, Fujimoto appeared on a tribute album for former twin idol group, The Peanuts, alongside several other famous singers.
On December 31, Fujimoto made a surprise appearance in the first part of the Hello! Project COUNTDOWN PARTY 2016 ~GOOD BYE & HELLO!~, performing "Romantic Ukare Mode."

On July 26, it was announced that Fujimoto would be appearing in the latest Kamen Rider film, Gekijouban Kamen Rider Ex-Aid: True Ending, which would be released in theaters on August 5.

On August 5, Fujimoto announced that she was pregnant with her third child.

On October 19, she opened up an official YouTube channel, named "Hello! Mikitty".

On January 24, she gave birth to a second daughter.

On August 15, she revealed that her husband had tested positive for COVID-19. She and her three children have not had any symptoms, but her entire family is following public health advice and testing guidelines as issued by the government. As of August 22, she and her three children have tested negative for the virus, but her husband remains in the hospital for treatment.

On March 9, Fujimoto revealed in a YouTube video that after failing the 4ki audition, she was ready to go to high school when she got a call to come back and train for a solo career; being a middle school graduate, not finishing high school, to gain real-world experience, she was employed in UP-FRONT AGENCY’s office.
For her debut she had Inaba Atsuko as her dance teacher, who also worked with Matsuura Aya. When she appeared on Music Station and HEY!x3, she doesn’t remember much of it besides being amazed that she was talking with Tamori and Downtown.
When she was told she was going to join Morning Musume and end her solo career, she wasn't happy at all. It was a shock after working for the last 2-3 years having failed the first audition and going solo, only to be told that after Kouhaku her path is changing. Soon after joining the group, she said there was a point when she decided she won’t smile at all, even on camera. This is how "Miki-sama" became a thing. (Japanese fans called her this due to her "strong," brusque image). Before being in Morning Musume Otome Gumi, she was only thinking about when she'd be able to graduate. But after being in that sub-group (and Gatas Brilhantes H.P. Futsal) it helped her get out of her funk.
After the reports in gossip magazines about having a boyfriend, she was told maybe she could go the kayoukyoku route for a couple years until suddenly the same people asked, “so what are you gonna do now?” Then she realized they were talking as grown adults, and that they were implying either breaking up or getting married.

On September 23, Fujimoto appeared as a special guest during Goto Maki Live Tour 2022 Utattemita ~Songs of You and Me!~.
On October 8, Fujimoto celebrated her 20th anniversary with the fanclub event Fujimoto Miki 20 Shuunen Kinen! Dai Kansha Live ~Mikitty Idol Yarimasu! Aki no Dai Shuukai! ~AGAIN!!!!! Mata Kite ne~.

On January 1, she was transferred from J.P ROOM to UP-FR0NT CREATE alongside Kei Yasuda, Rika Ishikawa, Maasa Sudo, Yurina Kumai, Erina Mano, Maimi Yajima, Saki Nakajima, Haruka Kudo, Haruna Iikubo and Rina Katsuta.

On March 12, Fujimoto continued her anniversary celebration with the fanclub event, Fujimoto Miki 20 Shuunen Kinen! Dai Kansha Live! ~Mikitty Idol Yarimasu! Haru no Dai Shuukai! ~Ashita kara 21 Shuunen~.

## Appearance

Miki wears a yellow shirt with a green cardigan over it, yellow joggers and green shoes. She wears glasses and has brown hair.

## Trivia

* Miki shares the same name as current Morning Musume member Miki Nonaka and IdolM@ster character Miki Hoshii.
* Her official YouTube username is Miki Fujimoto.
	+ She is one of few characters to just name their channels after themselves. The others are Julie Jones, Haruna Ogata, Kaori Iida, Slider Petrolski, Risa Niigaki and Lee Revkins