Kazuya Ninomiya, driving a luxury car with his daughter in it… Kazuya Ninomiya was discovered and photographed as a “handsome man! What is the content of the painful choice to “walk for the sake of family”?

With his four friends, the national idol who once drew more than 2.3 million people on his dome tours has chosen the path of independence for the sake of his three beloved family members – and he has decided to go his own way.

On a weekday morning, luxury cars carrying children gathered one after another in the underground parking lot of a high-rise building in the heart of Tokyo. Driving them were celebrity parents dressed in high-brand clothes. Among them was Kazunari Ninomiya (40).

Kazunari Ninomiya, 40, was among them. “Mr. Ninomiya sends his two daughters to a pre-school for children aged 0 to 3 that has produced many students who have been accepted to famous kindergartens,” he said. The enrollment fee is about 200,000 yen, and the monthly fee is about 250,000 yen, and you can see Mr. Ninomiya pushing a stroller with his 1-year-old daughter on it, with his wife and 2-year-old daughter following behind.

On October 24, Ninomiya announced that he would be leaving Arashi. While he stated that he would continue to participate in the activities of “Arashi” after leaving, his personal office is being run completely separately from the former Johnny’s office (now SMILE-UP.).

He is running the new office completely through his own connections, including creating the website with his own sister and relying on her husband, sports journalist Akemi Masuda, to set up the company’s back office. The fact that he did not involve his wife in the management of the company is a decision typical of Ninomiya, who wants to separate his work and private life. He seldom talks about his family, even at work sites. It may be that he has seen his previous firm, which was complicated by family management, ……” (a major entertainment agency executive).

When he left the agency, Ninomiya revealed his distrust of his former agency and the fact that he had lost his own work in the aftermath of the sexual assault issue. For Ninomiya, who has been active in multiple fields, acting and commercials, the TV stations’ refusal to hire new talent from the former Johnny’s office is a matter of life and death. He also decided to leave because of the prolonged suspension of “Arashi.

I think Ninomiya understands the value of the title “Arashi” better than anyone else,” said Ono Satoshi (42), who left the group. When Satoshi Ohno (42) wanted to leave the group, he chose to suspend the entire group rather than to let one person leave. He decided to join “Arashi” even after leaving because he knows that the fans love Kazuya Ninomiya in “Arashi” and he would not let him go for the sake of his future activities.

He himself is not a person who wants to do things extremely badly, but always finds his role to play for someone else. After “Arashi” went on hiatus, he set up “Janino-channeru” on YouTube and called Yuichi Nakamaru (40), Ryosuke Yamada (30), and Fuma Kikuchi (28). He has worked hard on their behalf, but still could not match his daughter’s presence. Now that Arashi is no longer an entity, he must have turned to his family.

If he had stayed with Johnny’s, he would have been able to continue his multiple activities, such as forming a unit with his junior members. However, he could no longer engage in activities such as “Janino-channeru” involving members of the same agency. Naturally, the new jobs that will come their way will be limited to acting.

It will also be difficult to coordinate schedules for regular appearances on variety shows. A sequel to the popular drama “VIVANT” (TBS) has also been set, and there will be an increase in long-term location shooting. He will probably shift his variety work to YouTube, where his schedule is more flexible, and concentrate on his acting career.

From now on, he will go from being the breadwinner at a very big agency to a freelance middle-aged actor. Until now, if Ninomiya was to appear in a film, it could only be in the lead role due to the power of his office. In “VIVANT,” he was about fourth, but still in the secret guest slot. It is difficult for the production to offer him a minor role now, so I think his exposure will decrease” (TV station producer).

Kazunari Ninomiya, boiled or baked… Will he be able to flexibly overcome the difficult path of restricted activities for the sake of his family, a group that will last a lifetime?

From the December 1, 2023 issue of FRIDAY