Koyama Keiichiro's long interview [Translation]
Koyama Keiichiro
10000 characters long interview
-My uncovered age, my Jrs time-
⊙ When you were little you were most often laughing or crying?
I overwhelmingly cried (lol). I was a scaredy-cat crying baby. When we went to the beach I was scared of the waves so I just played on the sand without entering the water, when we traveled I was scared of the plane and hugged my plush toy all the time. The time I cried the most was when I entered the nursery school. I cried every single day because I didn't want to stay apart from my mom. The situation was impossible to bear so they let me quit on the 3rd day.
⊙ Were you shy?
I was prone to stand out. Every year I took part to the festival of my home country wearing the happi (traditional festival vest), usually I was also allowed to ride on the mikoshi (portable shrine). I wasn't shy at all. I guess it's because my parents have a ramen restaurant and I was used to stay with customers.
⊙ You didn't go to nursery school, what did you do then?
In few time I entered the kindergarten, it seems I stopped crying by then (lol).
⊙ Were you popolar in kindergarten?
I guess I received a good quantity of Valentine's chocolate.
⊙ You met there your first love?
Yes. It was a girl who lived near my house, we always rode the school bus together sitting close. One day she suddenly kissed me, I was like: "Eh!?". It was a shock. Then, I fell for that girl (lol).
⊙ Did you started to play baseball at that age too?
Right. It was with the team Red Jaguars, we were so weak. When the other teams were drawn to play against us they could say: "Lucky!" (lol). We were happy if we could win once in a year. There were few players, when I was at my 3rd year I became the captain.
⊙ So you were well devoted to baseball?
When I became captain it was just the opening of the J-league. I soon started to want to play soccer. Even though I was the captain I wanted to quit baseball to play soccer (lol). Anyway in the end I went on with baseball.
⊙ Besides baseball, tell us another memory of your primary school time.
When I was at my 2nd year, if I'm not wrong, there was a girl I liked very much. My best friend liked her too. Thinking about this now I think it's a very cute episode: the girl was waiting at the stop to cross the road, me and my friend were on the opposite side and we yelled together: "I like you!!", we confessed and then we escaped.
⊙ Indeed this is very cute (lol).
I know, right? (lol). After that I was in the cheering team and since I was a fast runner I've been a relay athlete during the sport festivals. It was cool to be a relay athlete, it was really popular (lol).
⊙ Did you have any interest in the show business world?
Not at all, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. During middle school girls told me: "Why don't you try for Johnny's?", but I always replied: "Stupid, how can I enter there!?". My older sister was a big fan of Katori-kun of SMAP. With her I learned the choreography of the song "Let it be".
⊙ How was the relationship with your sister?
It was good. When I was at the 5th year of primary school our parents divorced, my mom was always working at the restaurant until late so I used to stay alone with my sister at nights. If I look at it from my sister's point of view I realize that it must have been a great bother to her to take care of a younger brother. She was strict with me, we often fought.
⊙ Why did you fight?
She always did her best to cook for me but I used to say: "It sucks! It sucks!" (lol). Then, for example, when she entered my room as she pleased. She didn't use to knock and I always got so mad. We argued a lot for those little things. Anyway we were used to be always alone so we got along too. We shared all the chores at home. Now too I can stand to do every chore, because when we were kids doing them was normal.
⊙ A memory from middle school?
I was the class representative. During middle school guys start to be kinda naughty, right? I was bad with them. Well, I said "bad" but actually it was only when we were eating during the break (lol). I miss middle school~ It was funny. So much that I failed the entrance exam for high school (lol).
⊙ That was your first disappointment, right?
Exactly. Moreover, lots of students of my middle school took the exam for that high school and I was the only one to fail. I thought: "This is the worst. My life is over". In the end I went to a school a little far away from home, I couldn't do a debut in the high school as the one I always pictured. It was a complete turning point of my life.
⊙ Well, so you entered high school...
I really, really, hated it. The guys who entered the school where I wanted to go could dye their hair and they went to school on bicycles carrying their bags. I was so jealous. I had to go with the train and use a designated bag. It was a bag that everybody considered so lousy (lol). I cried at home every day. I was like: "I'm going to quit high school!" and my mom told me: "It's ok if you want, but what will you do next?" and I: "I don't know but I'll quit!", it was like this every day.
⊙ You were in an abyss, it seems.
Yes, every day was nothing but cries and complaints. Then, one night suddenly my sister came and told me: "Set your hair! Wear your favourite clothes!". Once I was ready she took pictures of me. I thought: "What's wrong with her?", those were the pictures for the auditions.
⊙ You didn't know she applied for you.
Right. After that, a miracle occurred.
⊙ A miracle?
After the application I didn't get a reply for more than 3 months. Maybe I was already out of examination. Then it was the winter of my 1st year of high school, I played a snowballs battle with my friends for the whole night and I came back home in the morning. I will never forget it, the 21 January 2001. I used to enter the house always from the rear door but that morning somehow I used the front one. Doing that I took a look without knowing why to the mail box that I never even noticed before. I saw that we received an envelope. It said: "You passed the 1st examination. Please come at the NHK studios here and at this time for the 2nd examination". When I saw the date, the day of the 2nd examination was exactly that day! It was there in the mail box since who knows when, if I didn't check it maybe we would have noticed too late... I was super lucky.
⊙ It was a miracle indeed!
Yup! I went to the audition without sleeping, my image of Johnny's was of blond hair and earrings. That's why I immediately went to a convenience store and bought the blond hair dye and since I hadn't the piercing I borrowed an earring from my mom and used it.
⊙ Did you think you passed?
Absolutely not. There were around 300 people, I immediately thought: "Are you for real!? There's no way I can pass!". Everybody looked so cool.
⊙ What did you do during the audition?
Firstly the dance teacher taught us the choreography of V6's "Ai no Melody", we were parted in groups from A to F. The best ones were in the A group, I was in the F. I thought: "Damn!" and my willingness went away but I asked to the teacher: "I don't understand those steps" and he gave me some advices. After that he told me: "You're good, you can pass to the group A". Then, the boss arrived and it started the question and answer session.
⊙ What did he ask to you?
He said: "Who played baseball there?". There were only 5 of us who raised their hands. In the end those 5 guys all passed the audition (lol). Between them there was Yokoo-chan (Wataru) for example. Then the boss suddenly told me: "YOU, go to play baseball alone now". I wasn't sure I understood but I started to pretend I hit the ball and run saying: "Save!". He praised me: "Good". Briefly the examination was over.
⊙ You had no idea of the result?
Right. When I went out of the hall Johnny-san told me: "YOU, those hair are awful! Blond doesn't suit you at all. Then, what is that earring?" (lol). Then he said: "Dye your hair back to black and come to the studios next week". The next week they took pictures of me, I thought it was a photos examination but when I was introduces to a magazine as "Fresh Jr." I thought "I passed!". The guys who passed weren't only the ones in the dance group A and blond hair and earrings were a wrong guess too. My aims were all off but I guess that probably I passed because I stood out (lol). I was at the 1st year of high school, I was barely inside the right age range to pass. There were a lot of kids of primary school. It really was my last chance.
⊙ Was it a complete life change?
Yes, before I was always crying then suddenly everything was fun.
⊙ Did you asked then to your sister why she sent the application?
She said: "Because you were so boring". It seems that she also had times in which she wanted to quit high school, anyway she went on and she also had fun there. So she thought that the audition could be a good push for me. She's a good girl (lol). I can say that thanks to her sending that application I could finally see the light of hope. Because I could see only failure in me. I had a new objective in life. It was the push to start doing my best.
⊙ What is the first thing you thought when you became a Jr.?
"Ah! It's Tackey! Uwah! Yamapi!" (lol). I met many people that I've always seen only in TV.
⊙ From where did the lessons start?
To learn about symmetry we were divided in couples. Since the very moment we entered. I was coupled with Shige. He looked like a young master with half pants and I thought: "Why with this one!?" (lol). Since that day everything I had to do I did it with Shige. At first I thought: "Why must I work with this one, we're also two completely different types!" but the boss had already seen something in us, I guess.
⊙ So you two became good friends?
Since the beginning. We went shopping and bought matching clothes. Shige went to school in Shibuya so he knew well about the city. He taught me a lot of things, about stores et cetera. We also argued once but we immediately made up.
⊙ You entered the show business world unexpectedly, how was that world?
Always amazing. It was around one week after I entered, I was at home when suddenly I received a call from the boss: "Come to NHK now". "Now!?" - I thought but I ran there. They taught me a choreography, made me change clothes and with no time to realize what was happening the recording was started. He pushed me from the back saying: "YOU, stand in the middle of the stage! Go!". I went there replying "Yes!" even though I didn't know why...that was the dance number to introduce the Jrs. in "The Shounen Club". It was my first time in TV.
⊙ It was pretty unexpected.
I know (lol). Anyway really, everything I saw, everything I heard, it was all new and funny. Of course the lessons were hard though. Sometimes Takizawa-kun offered me the lunch. I used to eat with Takizawa-kun and Jin. After that Takizawa-kun brought me home with his car. I told him: "It's too far!" but he brought me anyway. During the drive he told me: "It really is far!" though (lol).
⊙ Other memories from Jr. time?
There was the stage play "SHOCK" with Koichi-kun, when Koki couldn't come I replaced him, I became good friend with KAT-TUN. After the play I went to Kame-chan's place with Jin. We always talked about work so fired up. At that time I had little experience with dancing so I wasn't very good. Taguchi came at my place and taught me the choreographies for long time. We danced "Ame no Melody" by Kinki Kids until full night.
⊙ Even though Jr. were all kind of rivals you also were good friends, right?
Right. That time Koichi-kun was a firm chairman, he showed us the spirit of a pro, the atmosphere there was: "If you can't do it it's bad". Usually in such situation it's obvious to become rivals but we became friends in order to create a good play.
⊙ Was it hard to combine work with a student's life?
Yes. Anyway back then being a Jr. was like an after school activity more than a job. I changed school at my 2nd year because my first school forbade the activities in the show business. I started to appear in TV little by little and the teachers told me that I couldn't go on like that. I've been told: "Choose according to what you want to do". I decided there: "I will change school. The procedures may be difficult but please, help me with them".
⊙ Wasn't it a big decision?
But if I gave up on show business I would have come back to a life without aims.
⊙ You didn't feel lost at all then?
If I had to choose between Johnny's and school I had no doubts. There was the fun side but mostly it was because of my inestimable hopes. I didn't want to sell them. Dancing behind stars, staying besides them, I could seriously think: "Let's work harder! I want to become better!". Let's say that it was my passion as a man.
⊙ Did you have some worries at that time?
None. Because I didn't recognize it as a job yet. The Jrs. saw all pink. Like: "Next time I'll do this!", "I will do that!".
⊙ While you were busy with work you also decided to take the university entrance exam, right?
Since I had a big disappointment with high school I wanted to have my revenge. Moreover I thought that I would have been a Jr. until I was 20 years old.
⊙ You wanted to quit?
Yes, if I couldn't debut. The 2nd and 3rd year of high school passed, I grew older and I started to watch around myself. If I didn't debut I didn't want to go on like that. It's a world that gives you no security, I had to think to my future too so I started to think about other possible paths.
⊙ Was it hard to study for the exam?
I had concerts, I went to cram school, I studied during the nights in the business hotels. Then again to concerts then to cram school, that was my life. I couldn't pass it if I didn't do like that.
⊙ How could you work hard like that?
I think I learned the tricks of hard work during the Jr. time. Like the immediacy to learn songs and choreographies and the concentration. The Jrs. have to learn a huge number of dance steps and songs in short time, that quickness is not common. Everybody would be surprised: "You learned all that, so quickly!?". You start to think that it's just natural. Because if you don't do it it's only you who is going to fail. It's a strict world but then that kind of concentration and the immediacy become part of you. I think I brought what I learnt being a Jr. into my exam.
⊙ It's an aspect of this world that fans can't see.
Yes. You don't want to show the efforts. Somehow being a Jr. is more hard than work after the debut, you have to use your body and your mind more than ever.
⊙ Before you said that you wanted to quit the showbiz if you couldn't debut within the 20 years, how did you feel towards your debut?
I entered the agency late so I didn't feel the frustration of seeing people entered at the same time with me debuting before me. Anyway there were many Jrs. who experienced that. At that time, 4 years before V6 and Arashi debuted as cheering groups for the volleyball team. So, 4 years later, we all wondered who would debut this time: "Somebody will be chosen". Thinking about my age I thought that if I didn't debut this time I had no more chances so I was really concerned.
⊙ How did you feel when you knew that you were a part of NEWS?
I was shocked. Because they told me so suddenly, like: "YOU, now you're in NEWS. You're the cheering group for the volleyball team". I said: "Here it came!". I was so happy, I went to eat out with Shige and we toasted with water. We said: "From now on we'll be together even when we'll be two old men. Do you remember? We've been together since the very beginning"
[I wept]
⊙ And you were right.
Anyway there were also complicated feelings. I was a good friend with Yokoo-chan since we entered at the same time. Me and Shige were taken from KKKitty and debutted as NEWS, looking at it from the point of view of Yokoo-chan who was left behind it looked very painful and hard. Yooko-chan always did his best chasing his dreams and he supported us. That's why when I heard about the Kis-My-Ft2 debut I was like: "WOOO!!".
[Sigh...Kusano completely forgotten...it made me sad :\ ]
⊙ If you learnt something from being a Jr. what is it?
If I think about it now it isn't only the hard work, it would be the importance of doing your best in the right way. There's something I will never forget, I was a back dancer for Takizawa-kun, he called me and told me: "In this way you will go in the back" and then he showed me how to do. I was the one dancing most in the back at the center. He told me: "Do your best! The feelings are important too!". It's just as he said. Of course you have to dance as best as you can but dancing isn't all, "I'm dancing here", with this feeling the way in which you show yourself changes. Takizawa-kun taught me a big thing. When I was in charge of the MC in "The Shounen Club" I kept that in mind. I was happy. The senpai hit the right spot.
[Sorry, this part is a little messed up, it was confusing.]
⊙ So, the Jr. era what kind of era was to the current Koyama-kun?
It was an important time that really changed my life of 180 degrees. When I failed the high school exam I thought that my life was over, that I was a loser. Now I can say I'm grateful that I failed that exam. Life is mysterious. Of course it would have been the best if I passed it, but it's all thanks to what I thought, what I encountered after I failed it. I became a Johnny's because I failed that exam. Now I think that the important things aren't limited to what was "the best" back then.
⊙ It's unbelievable that you were the same person who cried every day during the 1st year of high school.
I know. When I failed the exam the adults around me told me: "Everything that happens in life has a meaning". Back then I couldn't find that meaning. I thought: "What meaning can possibly have to fail like this?!". Right now I understand. It was a frustration necessary to arrive where I am now. It really had a meaning. I must not forget that I had people watching over me. Like my mom and my sister. In particular my sister, I owe her so much that I feel ashamed. She's the person that changed my life. I absolutely don't have to forget these feelings of gratitude.
⊙ You usually do the MC in NEWS concerts, do you?
Because during our first MC in a concert nobody was talking, the whole stadium was silent. Somehow all the members started to look at me, I had no other choice but talking. From then on I've always been in charge of the MC (lol).
⊙ Do you remember what you said in that occasion?
I told the story of when during the handshake event somebody wanted to handshake with Yamapi but arrived to my box said "I don't want" to me (lol). During those concerts I told the same story every night. I didn't know that same fans came to different shows, I wondered why it wasn't always funny to them (lol). Being always the same story also the other members grew tired of it, at the end nobody was commenting or following me at all (lol).
⊙ How did you improve your talking after that?
I thought that the one with my role in SMAP was Nakai-san, in V6 was Inohara-san, little by little I became more conscious of it. At first I used to take notes of the members' actions I could observe (lol). The different characters came out more and more, the tempo changed too.
⊙ So you had no big worries even after the debut?
I seem to not have any worries, right? (lol). In reality around 2 years ago I turned 25 years old and that was the most worried time of my life. Every night I was crying all alone.
⊙ What worried you so much?
I was scared. I was thinking: "What will I be in 5, 10 years?", "What do I want to do of my life?". I have nothing. I have nothing to be proud of. That's why I was worried and scared. Without the name "Johnny's" I would have been nothing.
⊙ How did you come over it?
I guess I could when I started to see my aim again. At that very time I was offered to work with "News every". I was nervous because I had never worked with something involving journalism before, I could see a light of hope in it too though.
⊙ What light was that?
In that world that I never experienced I felt once again that I was powerless and green. Until now I've lived floating on a cloud, everything went well without shakes. If I suddenly went on another ride I wouldn't have been able to go on and it wouldn't have been so soft. I realized that under my feet in reality there was nothing at all. Anyway then I thought: "Right now I'm at the bottom. From here on the only way is to go up".
⊙ You know yourself very well, it seems.
Right. Until then I've always worked calmly. Then the piling up of different tasks changed. I have to live into this world. So I had to face the matter of how to live there more than ever before. My 25th year of life was my turning point. To realize all this of course worrying and feeling lost was necessary.
⊙ Were you scared to challenge the new field of journalism?
If I say I wasn't I'd tell a lie, if I think of journalism I think to Sakurai Sho in "NEWS zero". Thinking of him as an aim I felt a big pressure. But he wasn't somebody to chase, he was only Sho-kun, who was a little ahead on me on the same path. Thinking in this way I felt happy.
⊙ Did you get some advice from Sakurai-kun?
Not really an advice but when I went to see Arashi's concert he told me: "I've watched you! At first you looked so nervous!". It made me happy.
⊙ Are you really dedicated to journalism now?
I'm in charge of a corner that introduces people that work hard. I go to locations for 2 days but in the show in reality it's only 6 minutes. In those 6 minutes I have to put together a guest's whole life of hard work. My work is to take out the words that my guest wants to say the most in life. When I work there I'm not an idol. I think of myself as a reporter.
⊙ I see.
Every week is a challenge. At first Fujii-san told me: "Kei-chan, let's do a winning show". Somehow I understood his words very well. We want to win against the shows of other channels but more than this, I think he meant that we must "win over ourselves". That's why every time before the show I close my eyes and whisper: "Let's win, let's win, let's win today too".
⊙ So even though you're in this world since many years, everyday you're studying.
Exactly. This is year is my 10th anniversary in the agency. On 21th January I received a fan letter that said: "I support Koyama-kun from 10 years", I was so happy. There are people who know me since I was a kid dancing at the margin. People who watched over me growing up and being inserted into a group. They aren't the testimonies of my existence but still they kept watching me for 10 years, I'm very proud of it. Fans are my support, it doesn't matter if they were there since the beginning or not, of course. I want to work even harder for all these people. I think about this expecially during NEWS' concerts. Like: "They came all here for us". More than fans I see them as a family. From now on I want the bonds of NEWS family to become stronger.
[I inevitably wept...that's so sweet...a light of hope for us too]
⊙ In the end I'd like to ask about the latest info, let's start with love.
Recently I started to like less types of girls. It's not like I can say that everybody's fine (lol). A person becomes my type when it matches my tastes. But I have no confidence at all, I want somebody that could confort me when I feel unconfortable. I wish to meet a girl like this. I want to build up a family so I want to get married within the 33 years.
⊙ What kind of family is your ideal?
I think I'd like my wife to stay at home. I want her to greet me with a "Okaeri!". When I was little I used to spend many time alone with my sister so I'd love a life where somebody is at home. Maybe that's only a dream. When I was a kid I experienced loneliness so I want to create a family where my kids will never feel like that.
⊙ What about work?
I want to be the 2nd best one. In NEWS on the 1st position there could be the other 5 members. I know that this would mean that I'm the last one but if the others will be first I'm ok with being the second. If it wasn't like this I wouldn't be able to be the MC. I know that I'm not the kind of cool, silent character too. I can't pretend to be cool (lol). I can't act it. I think I'm clumsy. I wouldn't mind to be cool though (lol). But I can't. I think that talking about whatever passes in my mind is a way to shorten the distance between us and the fans. I hate when there are walls between people. That's why I want to be seen as an idol that you can meet anywhere, that's what I want to be. I want to be the best pipe that connects NEWS to fans.
[Myojo 2011.09]
It was a really long and meaningful interview. It's nice to trace Koyama's life from the beginning until now, he's so sweet. He may not think like that but to me he's the true leader, the only one who can keep together fans and NEWS members. I'm grateful to him for this ♥
I put in bold font my favourite lines :)