- published: 07 Mar 2011
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Shingo Katori (香取 慎吾, Katori Shingo?, born 31 January 1977) is the youngest member of SMAP, a popular Japanese idol group from the agency Johnny & Associates, and he is from Yokohama, Japan. Shingo Katori has acted in several dramas such as Three Peace, and has appeared as a voice actor in such anime series as Akazukin Chacha, in which he voiced the werewolf boy Riiya.
Katori was cast as one of the main characters of Shinsengumi!, 2004's Taiga drama, a historical drama aired on NHK. He plays Kondō Isami, the leader of the Shinsengumi.
Katori was once known for cross-dressing as the character "Shingo Mama" (慎吾ママ) on the variety show Sata Suma; he even released a top-selling CD single "Shingo Mama no Oha Rock" (慎吾ママのおはロック), done in character. Shingo Mama's trademark phrase is "Ohhā!" (morning!). From 2000-2001, Shingo Mama promoted the use of ohha as part of a Ministry of Education campaign to encourage family communication. [1]
He went on to host his own English-oriented show "SmaSTATION!!" that featured mostly journalists discussing world news, as well as translation and vocabulary quizzes, where Shingo faced off against other celebrities in a battle of English comprehension. He also released a series of books under the title English PeraPera (fluently). He was also quite critical of George W. Bush.