is a Japanese

singer–songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

and

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

. He was a member of Jpop idol boy band

KAT-TUN was a Japanese boy band under Starto Entertainment. Their formation under Johnny & Associates was in 2001. The group's name was originally an acronym based on the first letter of each member's family name: Kazuya Kamenashi, Jin Akanishi, Junnos ...

from their debut until September 30, 2013, when his contract with

Johnny & Associates was a Japanese talent agency formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which managed groups of male idols known as The company had a significant impact on pop culture with male idols and boy bands in Japan since the 1980s. Until 2019, the company w ...

(the company that manages KAT-TUN) was terminated. When he was a member of

, he was recognized as the rapper in the group and has a hip-hop-influenced style. Out of the other members, Tanaka was most often paired up with

Yuichi Nakamaru , is a Japanese singer-songwriter, actor, television personality and radio host under Starto Entertainment. He joined the talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1998 and then officially debuted as part of KAT-TUN in 2006, group to which he belong ...

and they even formed a comedy duo 'TaNaka'. After leaving Johnny & Associates, Tanaka formed his own indie rock band called INKT.

Biography

Early life

Born in

Chiba, Chiba is the capital city of Chiba Prefecture, Japan. It sits about east of the centre of Tokyo on Tokyo Bay. The city became a government-designated city in 1992. In March 2025, its population was 983,045, with a population density of 3,617 people ...

prefecture; Japan on November 5, 1985, Tanaka is the second oldest of 5 siblings, all brothers and raised by their single mother. His younger brother Juri is also an actor and signed with Johnny & Associates. Juri along with Tanaka's youngest brother Subaru even appeared alongside Tanaka in the first episode of the TV series '' Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go'' in which Tanaka played the lead role. His younger brother Hyouga is also an actor, and Tanaka's older brother is named Kazunaru. Before Tanaka was born, his mother thought he would be a girl, so she thought of the name Maria (Saint). But he turned out to be a boy instead, so the Kanji letter of his name '聖' was kept, but its pronunciation was changed to “Kōki” (“Kōki” also means “Saint” in Japanese). Furthermore, when he was little his face was so cute and feminine that he was often mistaken for a girl. Tanaka graduated from

Horikoshi High School is a private high school in Nakano, Tokyo, Japan. The school was founded by Chiyo Horikoshi in 1923. Due to its trait course (formerly the entertainment activities course) and the physical education course for entertainers and athletes who have ...

, and eventually went to study at Josai International University, but he quit halfway. He loves animals so much that he originally wanted to become a veterinarian.

Career

Tanaka joined

in 1998 when he was only 13 years old, he once stated the reason why he applied was “My mother sent the application form behind my back. So I went to the audition without knowing anything at all. She told me it was because my cousin applied too. Therefore, we went to the audition together. But in the end, my cousin failed, while I passed.” He became a member of Jpop idol boy band

from their debut in 2001 until September 30, 2013, when his contract with Johnny & Associates was terminated due to several contract violations and he left the company. In November the same year he formed his own Indie rock band called INKT and was the lead vocalist in the band, and they finally released their debut album on November 8, 2014. On September 1, 2017, it was announced on the band's website that INKT has now officially disbanded. After the band's disbandment, Tanaka still continues to release music and perform in live shows as a solo artist. On January 23, 2019, Tanaka released his first solo album ''Easter'' under his own record label 'Project KOKI', followed by a solo national tour in Japan from February 2 to April 6, 2019. On July 31, 2019, Tanaka released his solo single ''Round and Round / end of begin'' and held a one-man solo live tour in August and a band tour in October. He then released a mini album ''LOUDER'' on October 2, 2019. On January 5, 2020, Tanaka started his own official YouTube channel where he uploads original content often featuring him with his younger brother Hyouga. In 2020 Tanaka announced that he would write, direct and star in his own stage show called ''OLD Maid-JOKER'', the shows were originally scheduled to begin in June 2020 but had to be postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, the shows have since been rescheduled to play from April 21–25, 2021. Since February 22, 2021 Tanaka has started a radio podcast show with his brother Hyouga called ''Tanaka Family Raaaaadio'' which broadcasts shows weekly every Sundays in Japan. As an actor, Tanaka has appeared in a string of Japanese TV series and movies and has won 2 awards for his acting work in '' My Boss My Hero''.

Personal life

Tanaka can play several instruments. His main instrument is the guitar; he can also play the piano and the

shamisen The , also known as or (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument . It is played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually b ...

. He wrote most of the rap lyrics for KAT-TUN's songs and his solos, going by the pen-name of "JOKER". While in INKT, he wrote all the band's songs under his name 'KOKI'.

Legal troubles

On May 24, 2017, Tanaka was arrested for marijuana possession during a traffic stop, despite claiming the cannabis in his car were not his he was tested positive to the drug and was detained for 2 weeks while investigations were ongoing. He was eventually released from jail on June 7, on June 30 it was reported that Tanaka will not be prosecuted for marijuana possession charges as the police were not able to obtain enough evidence to prosecute him. On February 24, 2022, Tanaka was arrested by police in

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is the list of cities in Japan, fourth-most populous city in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020, and the principal city of the Chūkyō metropolitan area, which is the List of ...

for alleged possession of

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

. Tanaka has denied the allegations, and was quoted as saying that he did not know anything about the drugs. On September 12, 2023, Tanaka was sentenced to 12 months in prison for possession and use of methamphetamines by a Chiba court. The prosecution alleged that Tanaka ingested illicit drugs at home on June 28, 2022. The following day he was arrested near Kashiwa station with 0.062 grams of methamphetamines found on his person. It occurred just nine days after his 20 month sentence by a Nagoya court on separate drug charges.

Discography

INKT

Studio albums

Solo

Singles Studio albums

Live performances

Concerts

This is a list of all the live concerts that Tanaka has performed at and will perform in either solo or with his rock band INKT.

Stage shows

Filmography

Film

Television

Other works

Books

* 田中聖 10845: Released on July 15, 2015.

Awards

* 50th Television Drama Academy Awards: ''Best Supporting Actor'' for My Boss My Hero (2006). * 2006 TVNavi Awards: ''Best Newcomer'' for My Boss My Hero (2006).

References

External links

Koki Tanaka official website

Koki Tanaka's official Youtube channel

Koki Tanaka's official Twitter

INKT official website
*

a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Koki 1985 births Living people Horikoshi High School alumni Josai International University alumni Johnny & Associates KAT-TUN members Japanese male pop singers Japanese male rock singers Japanese alternative rock musicians Japanese male actors 21st-century Japanese singer-songwriters 21st-century Japanese male singers