Junki Kono

is a Japanese singer and actor. He debuted as a member and vocal leader of the Japanese boy band JO1 in 2020, after placing ninth in the first season of Produce 101 Japan. He was featured in SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]'s single "Outsiders" in 2022 and the Japanese voice dub for Jonathan in Snow White.

Early life and education Junki Kono was born on January 20, 1998, in Nara, Japan. As a child, he played football for his local Heguri Football Club. In 2018, he joined Horyuji Football Club as a midfielder. That same year, their team won the Kansai qualifying round of the 25th National Club Team Football Championships on September 9.

Kono graduated from the Faculty of Policy Studies at Doshisha University. While attending university, he worked part-time as a security staff member at a concert venue, an experience that reinforced his desire to pursue a career as a singer.

Alongside his native Japanese, Kono is learning Korean.

Career 2019–2021: Produce 101 Japan and debut with JO1 After graduation, Kono was job hunting and had received an offer, which he turned down to participate in Produce 101 Japan, a reality competition show that's a spin-off of the South Korean Produce 101 franchise. In September 2019, Kono auditioned for the show as part of the audition group Six Packs. The show ended in December, where he finished in ninth place with 159,057 votes.

After undergoing training in Korea, In December, he appeared on The First Take, performing an acoustic version of "Infinity" and "Voice" from Protostar and the group's first studio album, The Star. Both performances were released as digital singles on January 13, 2021.

2022–present: Solo activities and acting debut In April 2022, he had a regular role as a student on NHK-E's , a Korean learning show. In May, Kono co-wrote the song "Touch!" for JO1's second studio album Kizuna,

In 2023, Kono co-wrote the song "NEWSmile" for JO1's third studio album Equinox. It was used as the theme song of the morning news show . On August 22, it was announced that Kono and bandmate Keigo Sato were cast as MCs of the two-episode television program Case Study - Forbidden Love Experiment, a part of Fuji TV's program slot .

In 2024, Kono was appointed as a cast member of TBS Television's show , where he appeared every Thursday from April to June. From June to September, Kono played Iida Tomohiro in the drama My Girlfriend's Child, which was broadcast on Kansai TV and Fuji TV. The drama is based on the eponymous manga series by Mamoru Aoi, where Tomohiro is one of the main character's classmates. On December 29, Kono was cast as the narrator of the Netflix and Prime Video distributed entertainment program The Comedy Dual.

In 2025, Kono did the Japanese dub for the role of Jonathan in the film Snow White. Kono co-wrote the JO1 digital single "Be Brave!" for the live action adaptation of Bad Boys.

Discography

Singles As lead artist

As a featured artist +

Peak chart position

2022 25 JPN: 2,709 +Key Indicates single Indicates a non-commercial release

+ Title Year Artist(s) Album Lyrics Music Credit With Credit With "Touch!" 2022 JO1 Kizuna Jinli (Fullbloom) "NEWSmile" 2023 Equinox Syoya, Sukai, Sho, Shosei "Lemon Candy" JO1 Hitchhiker Yuki Kokubo, Yhel, Jung Yong-hwa "Singing in the Rain" 2025 JunkiPlanJ is a series of self-projects by JO1 members on YouTube. "Bon Voyage" JO1Be Classic Masami Kakimuma Ren, Syoya "Be Brave!" Sukai

Filmography

Television series + Year Title Role Note 2022 Short Program Wataru Matsumura Lead role; anthology series 2024 My Girlfriend's Child Iida Tomohiro 2020 Colorful: Warau no Chikara de 77 Oku Saisei Host 2022–2023 Student Cast member 2023 Case Study - Forbidden Love Experiment Host Part of

Footnotes