Kamenashi Kazuya, often called Kame, is a Japanese idol, singer–songwriter, actor, television personality, producer, radio host and occasional model. Born and raised in Edogawa, Tokyo, he joined the Japanese talent agency, Johnny & Associates, at the age of 12 and was drafted as a member and co-lead vocalist of the popular J-pop group KAT-TUN in 2001. The group officially debuted in 2006, and has since achieved a string of chart successes with all four albums and ten singles reaching number 1 on the Oricon charts. He is also one half of the temporary group, Shūji to Akira, whose only single, "Seishun Amigo", became the best-selling single of 2005 in Japan.
Kamenashi has also established himself as an actor with award-winning roles in Nobuta wo Produce, the second season of Gokusen and Kami no Shizuku and has regularly appeared in various television dramas since 2005. He is also a co-host of KAT-TUN's late-night NTV variety/talk show, Cartoon KAT-TUN, and a radio host with his own program aired by Nippon Cultural Broadcasting.
