Himeka Nakamoto
Career. In 2006, Nakamoto enrolled in Actor's School Hiroshima as part of the sixteenth batch, joining her sister Suzuka who enrolled in the previous batch the same year. As students, they performed in a duet called Tween. She was also a member of the idol group SPL∞ASH, which was founded by the school. Nakamoto passed the auditions for Nogizaka46 on August 21, 2011, and joined as a first generation member. Her audition song was "Aitakatta" by AKB48. In the group, she was known for her special pose called the , with which she supposedly transferred energy to their  fans. She was also the lead vocalist of Nogidan, the rock subunit of Nogizaka46. In the sixth season of "NogiBingo!", she served as assistant MC. She was also an assistant MC on the NHK Radio 1 program "Radirer! Sunday." In 2017, Nakamoto went on hiatus from January to early April, citing poor health (later revealed to be a form of adjustment disorder, which she began to experience a few days after joining Nogizaka46). On August 6, she announced in a live broadcast of "Radirer! Sunday" that she would graduate from Nogizaka46. Her final performance as a Nogizaka46 member took place  at the Tokyo Dome on November 7–8, 2017. On November 8, "Last Number", a collaboration single between her and Radio Fish, the boy band formed by "Radirer! Sunday" hosts Oriental Radio, was released. Her final blog post on the official Nogizaka46 blog was published on December 22, 2017. Post-Nogizaka46. Nakamoto became interested in pursuing a mental health care career after she attended psychological counseling sessions while in Nogizaka46. In April 2018, she enrolled into the Faculty of Human Sciences e-School of Waseda University. As of May 17, she has also completed training as a hand reflexology counselor at  the Heartful Life Couselor Academy in Shinjuku, Tokyo. On November 20, Nakamoto's official website was launched. She has obtained mental health counselor certification from the Japan Promotion Counselor Association and works as a counselor and trainer while continuing her studies. She provides counseling through her own Skype-based service, the , to accommodate those who cannot leave their homes or are concerned about the stigma around mental health issues. Like several other former Nogizaka46 members, she is still signed to the Nogizaka46 management and has made public appearances related to her current occupation. In March 2021, it was announced  that Nakamoto would host her own consultation segment in the NHK Hiroshima radio program "." In April, she announced that her autobiography, titled , would be released on June 22. Personal life. Nakamoto is the older sister of Babymetal lead singer and former Sakura Gakuin member Suzuka Nakamoto and the middle child of three sisters. She owns a Yorkshire Terrier named .