Risa Niigaki

Pop idol and former member of the phenomenally popular girl-band Morning Musume as well as Hello! Project, Risa has long also worked as a model, actress in TV, cinema and theatre. Joining Morning Musume in 2001, she rose to gain the title of sub-leader and eventually becoming the band leader before graduating at the conclusion of the Morning Musume Concert Tour 2012 at the Budokan due to an ankle fracture following a hiatus in 2011. Risa married her Zettai Kareshi co-star Yoshikazu Kotani in 2016. Risa was born in Kanagawa in the Kanto area of Japan, but her grandparents are Okinawan.