Masahiro Nakai

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Masahiro Nakai
Also known as	Nakai-kun
Born	August 18, 1972 (1972-08-18) (age 35)
Origin	Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Genre(s)	Japanese Pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, Actor
Years active	1991-present
Label(s)	Johnny & Associates
Website	Johnnys net

Masahiro Nakai (中居正広, Nakai Masahiro^?, born August 18, 1972 in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a member of the Japanese pop idol group SMAP. Known as Nakai-kun among fans, he is the oldest member and leader of SMAP.^{[citation needed]}

Nakai is the youngest of three brothers, he likes baseball, and is a fan of the Yomiuri Giants baseball team. As a child, he wanted to be a professional baseball player. He hosts several TV shows throughout the week, including Utaban with Takaaki Ishibashi (from the comedic duo Tunnels).

He also appears as a co-host on The World's Frightening News (ザ・世界仰天ニュース) with Tsurube Shōfukutei, in which he shows an overbearing display of dark humour as he jokes about the various murder, rape, and other tragic cases that are documented. As the leader of SMAP, Nakai has the greatest TV exposure of the SMAP members insofar as variety shows go.^{[citation needed]}

In 2008, Nakai has been filming I Want to Be a Shellfish (私は貝になりたい, Watashi wa Kai ni Naritai^?), a post-WW2 war crimes trial drama based on the Tetsutaro Kato novel and directed by Katsuo Fukuzawa. It is a remake of the 1959 film of the same name.^[1]

Recently, Nakai often appears on variety shows wearing beanies; he is known for his collection of many hats and beanies. In his personal life, he has recently been linked romantically with recent J-Pop sensation Kumi Koda.^[2]