Masahiro Matsuoka, the Big Brother Figure, Now Drinking with timelesz and Snow Man

Loved by Many Juniors — Former TOKIO Member Masahiro Matsuoka’s Manly Spirit and Deep Kindness

On the October 12 broadcast of the radio show Masahiro Matsuoka’s Irodori Saki-Sentan (NACK5), former TOKIO member Masahiro Matsuoka (48) shared a story about going out to eat with Fuma Kikuchi (30) of timelesz and Shota Watanabe (32) of Snow Man. Matsuoka is widely known as the big brother type, and according to a sports paper reporter, he is famous for being a senior who genuinely looks after younger talents—not only those from debut groups but even Junior talents.

Matsuoka has long been close to Kikuchi, and this time they met again after a while. Since Kikuchi is also close with Watanabe, he joined as well. However, Matsuoka and Watanabe had never worked together before, so it was practically their first meeting. Matsuoka said he heard lots of stories from Shota, including tales about the nine-member group Snow Man, and commented that Watanabe was super cheerful and really funny, clearly taking a liking to him.

The next day, after getting Watanabe’s contact information through Kikuchi, Matsuoka received a message from Watanabe, who asked, “Is it okay if I call you ‘Matsu-nii’?” Matsuoka replied, “Call me whatever you like.” He explained on the radio that listening to people who are active right now felt refreshing and inspiring.

Coincidentally, Watanabe wrote in his official FAMILY CLUB web blog (October 3) that “Yesterday, Fuma, Matsuoka-kun and I went out for sushi and—rare for me—I drank until pretty late lol. It was fun lol.” It seems both sides had a great time.

“Although he has already left STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, Matsuoka has long been well-loved by juniors—starting with Toma Ikuta (41), who was active as an actor under the former Johnny’s office. Members of Arashi like Masaki Aiba (42) and Jun Matsumoto (42), SUPER EIGHT’s Tadayoshi Okura (40), and Hey! Say! JUMP’s Kei Inoo (35), with whom he co-starred in a drama, have all spoken of his kindness. He once mentioned on radio that when he dined with ACEes members Hidaka Ukisho (23) and Yuto Nasu (23)—then still part of Bishonen—they exchanged LINE contacts. Each invited him to their concert separately, but he couldn’t attend due to scheduling conflicts,” the same reporter explains.

Matsuoka is also known for his consideration toward actors who work with his juniors: “He even reaches out to actors who co-star with younger talents,” the reporter adds. In the April 2024 drama Midnight Yatai ~ La Bonno (Fuji TV), the lead role was played by WEST.’s Tomohiro Kamiyama (32), with Travis Japan’s Kaito Nakamura (28) also appearing.

Actor Susumu Terajima (61) played Kamiyama’s father. In a May 23 interview with mezamashi media, Terajima revealed, “Before filming started, I received messages from people like TOKIO’s Matsuoka, whom I’m close with. They said things like, ‘He’s a really good guy, so please take care of him.’” Thanks to that, Terajima said he quickly bonded with Kamiyama, who played his son.

Matsuoka has also continued to look out for Taichi Kokubun (51), his longtime TOKIO bandmate. Kokubun suspended all activities indefinitely starting June 20 due to compliance violations—leading to the group officially disbanding on June 25 after 31 years. In a sense, Kokubun triggered the end of TOKIO.

However,

“In a YouTube video posted September 17, Matsuoka mentioned Kokubun, saying, ‘Honestly, I’m not even a little mad at him,’ and described him as my comrade-in-arms. He implied he would continue to support Kokubun in some form. Online, people praised him: ‘Matsuoka is so kind. He looks flashy but he’s a serious, responsible person,’ ‘He’s someone you can rely on.’ That’s how deeply caring he really is,” the reporter continues.

Matsuoka’s strong sense of responsibility and compassion are defining traits—and perhaps now it’s time for his juniors to inherit that same manly spirit.