Career
Music career
In the summer of 1995, Okada participated in ''Johnny's Pre-School'', part of the NTV program . He passed the audition and joined Johnny & Associates at the age of 14. After being in Johnny's for only a short period of three months, he made his debut as the youngest member of the idol group V6. Unlike the rest of the members in the group, he did not have much experience as Johnny's Jr. The first time that he had been on a music program was only after the debut of V6. Their debut song was "Music For the People". Okada can play the guitar, as well as the piano. His mother is a piano teacher. His voice is in the middle range, and hence his solos usually include slower ballads. Later in his career as member of V6, he was given longer solo songs, such as "Way of Life". He also revealed that during V6's 2008 concert ''Vibes'', he was directing most of the lightning, staging, and costumes.Acting career
Dramas
In a ''Shounen Club'' ''Premium'' interview on May 7, 2009, he said that the Japanese drama '' Kisarazu Cat's Eye'' caught the attention of viewers and directors, and made them aware of his acting ability. The success of the drama led to the making of two movie sequels, ''Kisarazu Cat's Eye: Nihon Series'' and ''Kisarazu Cat's Eye: World Series''. His other notable dramas include ''Tiger & Dragon'', a comedy drama about '' rakugo'', a form of Japanese comedy acted only by one person telling that story. and ''SP'' (also known as ''Security Police''), an action suspense drama about a team of security police bodyguards in charge of protecting important people in the government. With Shinichi Tsutsumi as his co-star, the drama drew in overall ratings of 15.35% despite its Saturday 11:00 p.m. ( JST) time slot; its special episode broadcast in 2008 also received a viewership rating of 21.5%. After several years of "drama hiatus", Okada played the main character, Kuroda Kanbei, in the January 2014Movies
He made a big leap in his movie career with '' Tokyo Tower'' in 2005. In the movie he portrayed a young college student torn between his love for a lady twenty years his senior and the views society has on these kinds of relationship. After that came '' Hana'', directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. In the movie, Okada portrayed Sōza, a samurai uninterested in killing his enemy and focused on what he could do today to be a better person instead. The movie earned him a nomination for the Blue Ribbon Awards, but he declined this nomination. Nevertheless, he was awarded the Ishihara Yujiro New Actor Award at Nikkan Sports Film Award for his role in ''Hana''. Later, he was involved in movies such as '' Flowers in the Shadows'', portraying a young man in debt because of pachinko, and , an unconventional love story between two neighbors who have never met each other and only follow the other person's life through the sounds they hear from the other side of the wall. In 2012, Okada played the role ofPersonal life
He married actress Aoi Miyazaki on 23 December 2017. In May 2018, it was announced that he and his wife were expecting their first child. It was announced via fax message that their son was born in October 2018. On October 2, 2023, it was announced that Okada would be leaving Johnny's on November 30.Martial arts practitioner
In 2010, Okada had reported in a press conference that he is certified to teach Jeet Kune Do and Kali in Japan, the latter was used by him as his main martial art when the ''SP'' series was filmed. Trained under USA Shooto instructor Yorinaga Nakamura. While filming for The Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill, Okada trained for a fight scene using jiu-jitsu. He continued training under jiu-jitsu artist Tomoyuki Hashimoto (CARPE DIEM), getting a brown belt in 2022. Okada participated for the first time in a public match in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World Master 2023 in Las Vegas, USA, on 31 August 2023, in the Master 3 Brown Belt Light Featherweight Division, winning his first round, but losing on the quarterfinals against Andrew Steve Slackta. On October 27, 2024, it was reported that Okada had reached a significant milestone by earning his fifth black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The news was reported by the "Carpe Diem Hiroo" gym, of which he belongs to.Filmography
Film
TV dramas
Television animation
Other television
Japanese dub
Awards and nominations
References
External links
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Okada, Junichi 1980 births Living people Johnny & Associates Japanese hip-hop singers Japanese male pop singers Avex Group artists Japanese male film actors Japanese male television actors Japanese male child actors People from Hirakata Japanese Jeet Kune Do practitioners Japanese eskrimadors 20th-century Japanese male actors 20th-century Japanese male singers 21st-century Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese male singers Musicians from Osaka Prefecture Taiga drama lead actors Horikoshi High School alumni