Kento Nakajima

Kento Nakajima (中島健人, Nakajima Kento, born March 13, 1994),^[1] is a Japanese singer, actor, voice actor and television personality. He is best known as being a member of the Japanese idol groups Sexy Zone and Yuma Nakayama w/B.I.Shadow.^[2]

Kento Nakajima
中島健人
Born	(1994-03-13) March 13, 1994 (age 31) Tokyo, Japan
Occupations	Singer actor voice actor television personality
Years active	2008–present
Agent(s)	Starto Entertainment (2024–present) Smile-Up (2023–2024) Johnny & Associates (2008–2023)
Musical career
Genres	J-pop
Instrument	Vocals
Labels	Pony Canyon
Member of	Gemn
Formerly of	Sexy Zone Yuma Nakayama w/B.I.Shadow
Website	Kento Nakajima Official Site

Career

When he was in 6th grade, Nakajima listened to the song "Seishun Amigo" by Johnny & Associates temporary unit Shūji to Akira, formed by KAT-TUN's Kazuya Kamenashi and NEWS member Tomohisa Yamashita and became interested in Johnny's.^[3] At the age of 14 years old, he sent in his application, and joined the agency in April 2008^[4]

In 2008, B.I.Shadow was formed as a Johnny's Jr. group. At that time the members were: Fuma Kikuchi, Misaki Takahata, and him. During that year, they acted in the drama Scrap Teacher.

He was chosen for the 5-member group Sexy Zone in 2011, when he was 17,^[3] which debuted in November 16 with the release of their eponymous debut single. Their average age was 14.4, making them the youngest group to debut since the Oricon Singles Rankings began in January 1968.^[5]

He was one of the chosen personalities to represent the network WOWOW during the broadcast of the Academy Awards.^[6][7][8][9] He studied English for this occasion and showed wonderful English-speaking skills.

It was announced that Nakajima would leave the group on March 31, 2024, but continue in the agency as a talent and actor, seeking "to take on various challenges as an idol and an actor, both in Japan and abroad."^[10]

Nakajima made his overseas debut as an actor in Hulu / SkyShowtime's drama Concordia, which started airing on May 23, 2024.^[11][12]

As a singer, Nakajima released a single in 2024, in a collaboration with Tatsuya Kitani, as the unit GEMN. The single, titled "Fatal", served as the opening theme song for the second season of anime series Oshi no Ko.^[13] He also released a song as part of the "Hitogoto Project", "Hitogoto feat. Kento Nakajima", which serves as theme song for the TV Tokyo drama series "Shosen Hitogoto desu kara: Toaru Bengoshi no Honne no Shigoto" in which he appears.^[14][15]

Nakajima's solo debut is slated for December 25, 2024, with the release of the album N/bias. accompanied with his first solo live, "KENTO NAKAJIMA 1st Live 2025 N/bias" at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo on January 17-19, 2025.^[16]

On his official site, in a post dated October 17,2024, Nakajima informed of the opening of official YouTube and TikTok accounts.^[17]

Personal life

Often fondly called as "Kenty," Nakajima is an only child and was raised by his mother to have a gentleman's attitude or "lady first" principle. He loves to play the piano and often performs with it during their concerts. He updates his blog KenTeaTime or ‘KTT’ on Johnny’s web everyday, reporting his daily life to his fans. He is a big fan of the manga Kimetsu no Yaiba and he can't be stopped every time he starts talking about it. He coined the term "Sexy Lovers" or セクラバ (sekurabas) for Sexy Zone fans. He owns a toy poodle he named, "Bonita" or "Boni-chan."

He graduated with a bachelor's degree in Sociology at Meiji Gakuin University.^[18]

Filmography

TV series

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2008	Scrap Teacher	Kento Minobe
2009	Koishite Akuma	Hiroto Handa		[19]
2011	You Taught Me All the Precious Things	Kentaro Kodama
	Umareru	Koji Hayashida
2012	Kazoku no Uta	Kosei Sakagami		[20]
2013	Bad Boys J	Tsukasa Kiriki	Lead role
2014	Kurofuku Monogatari	Akira Ogawa	Lead role	[21]
2015	Kurosaki-kun no Iinari ni Nante Naranai	Haruto Kurosaki	Lead role; miniseries
2016	Guard Centre 24	Mamoru Shinomiya	Lead role; television film	[22]
2018	Cop's N Robbers	Tsutomu Madarame	Lead role
	The Story of Shotaro Ishinomori, the Man Who Created a Hero	Shotaro Ishinomori	Lead role; television film
2019	Castle of Sand	Eiryo Waga	Television film	[23]
2020	Detective Novice	Kai Honma	Lead role	[24]
2021	She Was Pretty	Sousuke Hasebe	Lead role	[25]
2023	Legal Enforcement with Dogs	Yūsuke Kurihara		[26]
2024	Living-Room Matsunaga-san	Jun Matsunaga	Lead role	[27]
	Concordia	Akira John "A.J." Ohba	Overseas drama debut	[28][29][11]
	Shosen Hitogoto Desu kara: Toaru Bengoshi no Honne no Shigoto	Osamu Yasuda		[30]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref(s)
2013	Bad Boys J: The Movie	Tsukasa Kiriki	Lead role	[31]
2014	Silver Spoon	Yūgo Hachiken	Lead role	[32]
2016	The Black Devil and the White Prince	Haruto Kurosaki	Lead role	[33]
2017	The Anthem of the Heart	Takumi Sakagami	Lead role	[34]
	Teen Bride	Nao Tsurugi	Lead role	[35]
2018	Nisekoi	Raku Ichijo	Lead role	[36]
2022	Love Like the Falling Petals	Haruto Asakura	Lead role	[37]
	Fragments of the Last Will	Takeo Shintani		[38]
2023	Confess to Your Crimes	Kōji Uda	Lead role	[39]
2025	My Beloved Stranger	Riku	Lead role	[40]

Animation series

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes	Ref(s)
2014	Silver Spoon	Aoyama	Fuji TV	Episode 8	[41]

Dubbing

• Transformers: Rise of the Beasts – Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramos)^[42]

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected details, peak chart positions and sales

Title	Details	Peak positions			Sales
		JPN [43]	JPN Cmb. [44]	JPN Hot [45]
N / Bias[46]	Released: December 25, 2024 Label: Sony Japan Formats: CD+DVD, CD+BD, CD, DL, streaming	3	3	10	JPN: 50,490[47]

Singles

List of singles, showing year released, selected chart positions and album name

Title	Year	Peaks			Certifications	Album
		JPN [48]	JPN Cmb. [49]	JPN Hot [50]
"Fatal" (ファタール) (with Tatsuya Kitani as Gemn)	2024	5	2	3	RIAJ: Platinum (st.)[51]	Non-album single
"Hitogoto" (ヒトゴト)[52] (as Hitogoto featuring Kento Nakajima)		5	5	28
"Picaresque" (ピカレスク)[53]		—	—	—[A]		N / Bias
"Montage"[55] (with Hiroyuki Sawano)	2025	—	—	—		Non-album single

See also

• Sexy Zone
• Yuma Nakayama w/B.I.Shadow

Notes

1. "Picaresque!" did not enter the Billboard Japan Hot 100, but peaked at number 20 on the Heatseekers Songs.^[54]