Miki Fujimoto

Fujimoto was born and raised in the Takikawa area of Hokkaidō, Japan. She is the youngest of four children:^[3] she has an older brother (who won a defamation case alongside Fujimoto in 2009^[4]), and two older sisters.^[5] Her father died on November 10, 2010.^[6]

On May 24, 2007, Fujimoto was featured in the Japanese gossip magazine Friday pictured walking with Tomoharu Shōji, a member of the comedy duo Shinagawa Shōji. Friday explained that they had a two-hour dinner together, drove to Fujimoto's apartment, then went to the sauna, returning to Shōji's apartment just after midnight.^[9] It soon became apparent that she was to be involved in a scandal that would jeopardize her position in Morning Musume. Up-Front Agency's initial response to the article was that they had no intention to deal with the situation since there was no proof of them dating.^[10]

On the May 26, 2007 edition of Young Town Doyōbi (a radio show with Ai Takahashi, Fujimoto and Sanma Akashiya), she confirmed that the pictures were of her, and confirmed her relationship with Shōji. Fujimoto was later called by the head of Up-Front Agency, Naoki Yamazaki, about the situation. Instead of ordering her to end the relationship, the agency left the decision to Fujimoto. Since she had no desire of ending the relationship, and she did not want to further betray the staff, fellow members, and her fans,^[11] she decided the best course of action would be to immediately resign from the group.^[12]

On June 1, 2007, Fujimoto announced her immediate resignation from Morning Musume.^[13][14] However, she remained with GAM (finishing their tour in progress at the time) and remained contracted with Hello! Project and Up-Front Agency.^[15]

Fujimoto's tenure as leader of Morning Musume of just 25 days remains a record within Hello! Project, and has become a source of notoriety within Japanese media.^[16][17]

In March 2009, Fujimoto announced her engagement to Shōji and graduated from Hello! Project. They married on July 3, 2009, at a ceremony held in Hawaii. The couple have three children: a son born in 2012,^[18] and two daughters born in 2015 and 2020.^[19]

On April 23, 2008, Fujimoto released a collaboration kayōkyoku single, "Okitegami" (置き手紙, lit. Leftover Letter), featuring Takao Horiuchi.^[20] Later that year, Fujimoto played the part of Rizzo in the fall musical, Grease.^[21]

In 2011, Fujimoto took part of the special revival unit Dream Morning Musume, though her concert and television appearances were limited, due to her concurrent pregnancy (with her first child).^[22][23]

Fujimoto had a brief stint as an owner of a chain of yakiniku restaurants in Japan: Yakiniku Mikitei (焼肉美貴亭). The first location opened on her 26th birthday, February 26, 2011, to much success. Three more restaurants were opened. The restaurant chain, however, was short-lived, and closed on June 29, 2012, following various incidents.^[24]

In 2017, Fujimoto appeared in the film Kamen Rider Ex-Aid the Movie: True Ending.^[25][26]

In October 2019, Fujimoto opened her YouTube channel: Hello! Mikitty^[27]. Her husband often appears in her videos, with frequent appearances by former Hello! Project members, and her three children.

On March 12, 2023, in celebration of her 21st Debut Anniversary, Fujimoto held a 20 Complete Years^[28] Anniversary Live Concert at Huric Hall Tokyo, featuring Asami Konno and Reina Tanaka as special guests, with surprise appearances by Maki Goto and Ichiro Ito (of Every Little Thing).^[29][30]