Naoto Kataoka (stylized as NAOTO; born 30 August 1983) is a Japanese dancer, actor, rapper and creative director. He is a performer (dancer) of J-Pop dance and vocal group Exile, and is a leader and performer (dancer) of J-Pop dance and vocal group Sandaime J Soul Brothers. He was also a member of Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to Exile in 2009. In 2016, he formed Hip Hop unit HONEST BOYZ® with his friend Nigo and other members. As a member of Sandaime J Soul Brothers, he has received the Japan Record Awards twice, and received the same award third times as Exile's member. Naoto has acted in a few TV dramas and films and he has become a regular guest on TBS's popular Variety show Ningen Kansatsu Variety Monitoring since April 2016. Furthermore, he launched his own fashion brand STUDIO SEVEN in 2015 and has been working as the creative director for the brand since then. In 2017, he was appointed as the director for LDH Apparel, a subsidiary of his management company LDH. On 14 February 2020, Naoto opened his own Youtube channel EXILE NAOTO HONEST TV. Early life Naoto Kataoka was born on 30 August 1983, in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, Japan. He played baseball in junior high school, but stopped doing so after he went to Saitama Prefectural Tokorozawa High School. At one point in his youth he considered being a comedian and formed a comedy trio, "Jinsei Honoji-gumi", with friends. Naoto started dancing in high school at age 17 after he joined the Dance Club of his school. After he became the leader of his dance club in his third year of high school, he became serious about starting a career as a dancer. Once Naoto graduated, he spent all his time improving his dancing skill, formed the dance team JAZZ DRUG in 2003, which consisted of two male members (Naoto and Nabe) and one female member (Maiko), and started to become active in a wide range of events. In 2004, Naoto went to Los Angeles and New York to take lessons from famous choreographer Andre Fuentes, who had choreographed for famous artists including Britney Spears. During his time in the US, Naoto performed at The Carnival. Career Early Days: Backup dancer and the dance quintet Scream After returning to Japan he served as a backup dancer for artists such as Ayumi Hamasaki, Ai,