is a Japanese singer and idol. She is a former member of the idol group

HKT48 HKT48 (read "H.K.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. HKT48 is named after the Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Hakata-ku ward of Fukuoka, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at ...

Biography

In 2011, Tashima took part in the 10th generation auditions for the idol group

Morning Musume , formerly and commonly known as and colloquially referred to as , is a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most to ...

. She passed 3 rounds and advanced to the final, but was not chosen to join the group. In 2012, the idol group

held its 2nd generation audition. Tashima participated and passed. She was added to the group as trainee member along with 33 other winners of the audition. She became soon a hot topic throughout Japan, after it was reported that

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...

and HKT48 producer

Yasushi Akimoto is a Japanese record producer, lyricist, and television writer, best known for creating and producing some of Japan's top idol groups, Onyanko Club and the AKB48 franchise. Total sales of the singles he has written exceed 100 million copies, ma ...

commented on her as being "the new

Jurina Matsui is a Japanese TV personality, singer, actress, and YouTuber. She is a former member of Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and former concurrent member of AKB48 (in 2012–2015). She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the to ...

", a member who joined AKB48's sister group

SKE48 SKE48 (S.K.E. Forty-eight) is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. SKE48 is named after the Sakae, Nagoya, Sakae district in Nagoya of Aichi Prefecture, where the group is based. The group performs at SKE48 Theater on 2F of Sunshi ...

at the age of 11 and was immediately appointed one of the front positions in the next

single and featured on its cover art. Thus she became one of the most prominent members of the project in a matter of months. Another surprise came when Tashima, in spite of officially being a trainee member, was appointed the central position in her band's first original song "Hatsukoi Butterfly", to be released as a B-side on the 29th single by AKB48. In February 2013 it was announced that HKT48 will release its debut single, titled "

Suki! Suki! Skip! is the first single by Japanese girl group HKT48. It was released in Japan on March 20, 2013, and was released through iTunes on February 6, 2013. Release ''Suki! Suki! Skip!'' was released in Japan on March 20, 2013 in four different versi ...

", and that Tashima, again, was going to hold the central position in the title song. In HKT48's second single " Melon Juice", Meru Tashima was again featured in a central position. This time there were two "centers", her and

Mio Tomonaga is a former Japanese idol singer, and a former member of the idol girl groups HKT48 and AKB48. In HKT48, she was in Team KIV, and in AKB48 in Team B. In 2019, she announced her departure from HKT48 and AKB48. Personal life She was born on Ma ...

. * In November 2019, Tashima acted in ''Battles Without Honor and Humanity: On'na-tachi no Shitō-hen'', a stage adaptation of the ''

Battles Without Honor and Humanity , also known in the West as ''The Yakuza Papers'', is a Japanese yakuza film series produced by Toei Company. Inspired by a series of magazine articles by journalist Kōichi Iiboshi that are based on memoirs originally written by real-life ya ...

'' yakuza film series. She played the role of Yoshio Yamamori, based on

Nobuo Kaneko was a Japanese actor. His wife was actress Yatsuko Tanami. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1946 and 1993. Career Kaneko was a versatile character actor, playing roles ranging from comedic buffoons to hardened yakuza bosses. He is es ...

's original portrayal. On January 15, 2022, Tashima announced her graduation from HKT48. Her graduation performance is scheduled for March 14, then she will officially graduate from the group on April 3.

Filmography

Television

* (

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as or , is a Japanese television station that serves the Kantō region as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network System (FNS). The station is owned-and- ...

, October 27, 2013 – March 16, 2014) * (drama,

Kyushu Asahi Broadcasting is a broadcasting station in Fukuoka, Japan, affiliated with National Radio Network (NRN) on radio and All-Nippon News Network (ANN) on TV. With its relay transmitters in Saga, KBC functions as the default ANN affiliate for the said pref ...

, March 21, 2014) * as Megaphone (drama,

Nippon Television JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as (NTV) or Nippon TV, is a Japanese television station serving the Kantō region as the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned and operated by the , a sub ...

, November 28, 2015) * Ep.4 – First Boyfriend, as Ema Hoshina (drama,

TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...

, April 27, 2016)

Stage

*'' Battles Without Honor and Humanity: On'na-tachi no Shitō-hen'' (2019)

Film

*''Sengoku Girl and Kendō Boy'' (2020) *''Teppen no Ken'' (2024)

Anime

*'' Armor Shop for Ladies & Gentlemen'' (2021)

References

External links

Meru Tashima official HKT48 profile

Tashima Meru
on 755 {{DEFAULTSORT:Tashima, Meru 2000 births Living people HKT48 members Japanese idols Japanese women pop singers Singers from Fukuoka Prefecture Universal Music Japan artists