Shunsuke Kazama

• Name — Shunsuke Kazama • Native Name — 風間 俊介 • Born — 17 June 1983 • Birthplace — Sumida, Tokyo, Japan • Occupation — * Actor • television personality • Years Active — 1997–present • Notable Works — Yu-Gi-Oh! as Yugi Muto • Children — 1 Shunsuke Kazama is a Japanese actor and television personality.

In 1997, when Kazama was in his second year of junior high school, he entered Johnny & Associates and started activities as a trainee. He made his debut on stage that same year in a Shonentai stage play. In 1999, he played Kenjiro Kanesue in Kinpachi-sensei. His performance earned him the Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix award for Best Newcomer. In 2002, Kazama was member of unit "FOURTOPS" with fellow trainees Tomohisa Yamashita, Toma Ikuta, and Jun Hasegawa. The quartet hosted Shounen Club, a Johnny's Jr. variety show. In September 2003, Yamashita was chosen to be a member of a new unit, News. FOURTOPS was dissolved with News' debut, and the remaining members would focus on acting. They reunited in 2018 for Fuji Television's Year-End show Johnny's Countdown as back dancers for duo Tackey & Tsubasa, just as they did in the group's original days, for the duo's final appearance on the show. In 2011, Kazama won a Television Drama Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He was a member of TU→YU in 2008, along with V6's Hiroshi Nagano, NEWS's Takahisa Masuda, Hey! Say! JUMP's Hikaru Yaotome and actor Tatsuya Takeda. He starred in the feature-length film Maebashi Visual Kei, as a young farmer who tries to make it big in a visual kei band. When fellow Johnny Kazunari Ninomiya from Arashi, with whom Kazama has a close friendship, opened Twitter in 2023, he included a link to Kazama's Johnny's Web profile as if it were his own, much to the amusement of both their fans. Mostly known as an actor, Kazama's musical career is basically non-existent, except for a few units at the beginning. So he was happy to receive a present from fellow Johnny and long time friend (Arashi's) Masaki Aiba. On 28 September 2023, at the last airing of the program VS Damashii in which both appeared, Aiba as "captain" and he as "assistant captain". Aiba gifted Kazama (and all the Damashii members) a CD copy of the show's theme song "New Again! Again and again!" saying, "Congratulations on your CD debut, Kazama-kun", to what Kazama responded, "This is the first CD that includes my voice in 26 years (of my entertainment career)." It was announced on 16 December 2023 that Kazama would be leaving the agency by year's end, to work as a freelance actor. After over 7 years as Monday personality in the Nippon Television morning show "Zip!" it was announced that Kazama would leave on March 23, 2026. A long–time fan of all things Disney, it was announced that Kazama would be appointed as a special supporter of the "Pixar World Exhibition" to be held at Crevia Base Tokyo in Toyosu, Tokyo from March 20, 2026. The "Mundo Pixar Experience" has already toured 7 cities as of February 2026, including Barcelona (Spain), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Seoul (South Korea) and London (United Kingdom). Kazama was excited to have in Tokyo the exhibition were people can visit life-size sets of different Pixar movies. On March 4, 2026, it was announced that Kazama, together with Yūmi Nagashima, was appointed as presenter for the JR East's Train Channel Train TV's new program Urban Information Navigator GoodMove!. The program's contents will include from useful information for daily life to current trends and popular places to visit, all information tailored to consumers' daily commutes.

Kazama married a non-celebrity woman in 2013, after dating for ten years. According to some gossip sites and fan blogs, Kazama's wife is former actress Kazuna Kawamura. Kawamura and Kazama met in 2004 during the performance of the play "Claudia", a first for Kawamura, who relied in the experience that Kazama had at that time. According to those sites, the pair started dating when the play ended. When it came time to get married, months before, Kawamura announced her retirement from the industry. When Kazama reported the marriage, he named her as a non-celebrity woman, to keep prying eyes from their private life. Kazama and his wife are parents of a boy, born around 2016. His existence was unknown until the child was 3 years old. According to people who have worked with him, Kazama is a very private person, and it isn't his intention to keep hidden his private life, just that he rarely speaks about it. On December 22, 2020, Kazama's talent agency announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. He made a full recovery on January 4.

• Year(s) — Title — Role — Notes — Ref. Reference • 1999−2004 — Kinpachi-sensei — 3 seasons • 2003 — Taikouki Saru to Yobareta Otoko — Koichiro — Television film • 2006 — Akihabara@Deep — Page — Lead role • 2011 — Still, Life Goes On • 2011−2012 — Chūgakusei Nikki • 2012−2013 — Jun and Ai — Asadora • 2013 — Matching Love — Television film • 2014 — Boku no Ita Jikan • Keiji — Television film • Asunaro San San Nana Byoushi • 2014−2015 — Bonkura — Sakichi • 2015 — Keisei Saimin no Otoko • 2016 — 99.9 Criminal Lawyer • 2017 — Gekokujo Juken • Rikuoh • 2018 — Segodon — Hashimoto Sanai — Taiga drama • 2020−2021 — Awaiting Kirin — Tokugawa Ieyasu — Taiga drama • 2021−2022 — Come Come Everybody — Haruhiko Katagiri — Asadora • 2022 — Silent — Masaki Haruo • 2023 — Hatsukoi, Zarari — Ryuji Okamura — Lead role • 2024 — Unmet: A Neurosurgeon's Diary — Hirotsugu Emoto — Episode 1 • 2025 — Unbound — Tsuruya Kiemon — Taiga drama • 2025 — 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40 — Suzume Tojo • 2026 — Plastic Beauty

• Zip! (Monday's main personality) (2018–2026) (NTV) • VS Damashii (Team's assistant captain) (2021-2023) (Fuji TV)

• Urban Information Navigator GoodMove! (JR East's Train Channel Train TV, April 2026)

• Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (2000−2004) − Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi • Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX (2004−2008) − Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi • Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid of Light (2005) − Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi • Yu-Gi-Oh!: Bonds Beyond Time (2010) − Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi • From Up On Poppy Hill (2011) − Shirō Mizunuma & Hiroshi Tachibana • Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions (2016) − Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi

• Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters Saikyo Card Battle (2016) – Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi • Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links (2016) − Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi • Jump Force (2019) − Yugi Mutou/Yami Yugi • Yu-Gi-Oh! Cross Duel (2022) – Yami Yugi

• Year — Title — Role — Venue • 1997 — Johnny's Fantasy Kyo to Kyo • 2000 — Big: Yume wa Kanau — Billy Copepki — Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo • 2000 — Millennium Shock — Company worker Jun (understudy) — Imperial Theatre, Tokyo • 2001−2002 — Show-geki Shock — Company worker Jun (understudy) — Imperial Theatre, Tokyo • 2002 — Playzone 2002: Yoshifumi — Policeman Townsperson (understudy) — Aoyama Theatre, Tokyo Festival Hall, Osaka • 2003 — Shock is Real Shock — Shunsuke — Imperial Theatre, Tokyo • 2003 — Playzone 2003: Vacation — Local correspondent Terrorist boy Soldier — Aoyama Theatre, Tokyo Festival Hall, Osaka • 2004 — Shocking Shock — Shunsuke — Imperial Theatre, Tokyo • 2004 — Chikyū Gorgeous Vol 7. "Claudia" — Dragon child — Nissay Theatre, Tokyo Aichi Arts Centre, Nagoya Fukuoka Sunpalace, Fukuoka Festival Hall, Osaka Niigata Terrsa, Niigata • 2004−2005 — West Side Story — Chino — Aoyama Theatre, Tokyo Orix Theater, Osaka • 2004 — Chikyū Gorgeous 10th Anniversary "Claudia" — Dragon child — Aoyama Theatre, Tokyo NHK Osaka Hall, Osaka • 2006 — Fall Guy — Yasu — Aoyama Theatre, Tokyo Theater Brava!, Osaka • 2007 — Takizawa Enbujō 2007 — Saburo — Shinbashi Enbujō, Tokyo • 2008 — Koi wa Comedy — Pierre — Japan Tour • 2008 — Full House — Seiya — Panasonic Globe Theatre, Tokyo Hyogo Performing Arts Center, Nishinomiya • 2008 — Frying Pan and Handgun — Shigeta — Panasonic Globe Theatre, Tokyo Sankei Hall, Osaka • 2009 — Kagotsurube — Rikkyo — Aoyama Theatre, Tokyo NHK Osaka Hall, Osaka • 2010 — Alibi no nai Tenshi — Masashi Tada — Panasonic Globe Theatre, Tokyo Sankei Hall, Osaka • 2010 — Believer — Steven — Setagaya Public Theater, Tokyo Umeda Arts Theater, Osaka Fukuoka Civic Hall, Fukuoka Denryoku Hall, Sendai • 2011 — Watashi wa Dare!? — Kunike Nomura — Mitsukoshi Theater, Tokyo • 2011 — Destiny 30 − Delux The Ninth Live — Aran — Telepia Hall, Nagoya Umeda Arts Theater, Osaka Sunshine Theatre, Tokyo • 2011 — Watashi wa Dare!? Replay — Kunike Nomura — Shin Kabuki-za, Osaka • 2012 — Otoko no Hanamichi — Kosuke Tōdō — Shin Kabuki-za, Osaka Hashima City Arts Centre, Hashima Le Theatre Ginza by Parco, Tokyo • 2014 — Chikyū Gorgeous Vol 13. "Kuzariāna no Tsubasa" — Gankutsu — Akasaka ACT Theater, Tokyo Aichi Arts Centre, Nagoya Canal City Theater, Fukuoka Umeda Arts Theater, Osaka • 2014 — Sakamoto Yūji Rōdoku geki 2014 — Sogetsu Hall, Tokyo • 2014 — Rōsoku Rōdoku Nakameguro — Woody Theatre, Tokyo • 2015 — Better Half — Yūta Suwa — Honda Theatre, Tokyo Sankei Hall, Osaka Yomiuri Otemachi Hall, Tokyo • 2015 — Baghdad Zoo no Bengal Tiger — New National Theatre Tokyo • 2016 — Kokami@network Vol 14. Intolerance no Matsuri — Kengo Sado — Space Zero, Tokyo Theater Brava!, Osaka Yomiuri Otemachi Hall, Tokyo • 2016 — Dragon Quest Live Spectacle Tour — Terry — Saitama Super Arena, Saitama Fukuoka Convention Center, Fukuoka Nippon Gaishi Hall, Nagoya Osaka-jō Hall, Osaka Yokohama Arena, Yokohama • 2017 — Better Half Replay — Yūta Suwa — Honda Theatre, Tokyo Winc Aichi, Aichi Kurume City Plaza, Fukuoka Sankei Hall, Osaka • 2025 — Fróis: His Death, Not Chronicled — Fróis — Kinokuniya Southern Theater (Tokyo) Umeda Arts Theater Drama City (Osaka)