(born January 25, 1982) is a Japanese singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, news anchor, host and former radio host. He is a member of the boy band Arashi. Sakurai began his career in the entertainment industry when he joined the Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates in 1995 at the age of 13. About seven years after his debut as a singer with Arashi in 1999, he became a newscaster in 2006, appearing in the news program News Zero every Monday. In 2008, he was appointed the official newscaster for the news coverage of the Olympic Games in Beijing on NTV. For his work as an actor, singer and newscaster, Sakurai became one of the recipients of GQ Japan's Men of the Year award in 2009. His father is Shun Sakurai, former vice-minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Early life Sakurai was born in Maebashi, Gunma Prefecture, and grew up in Minato, Tokyo, the oldest of three children. His father, , is a former government official who served as Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications, and Vice President of Dentsu Group. Sakurai has a younger sister, (b. 1986), who is a journalist for Nippon TV, and a younger brother, (b. 1994). Sakurai attended Keio Yochisha Elementary School, an affiliated elementary school of Keio University. From age three to ten, he did many extracurricular activities, including kendo, swimming, football, oil painting, calligraphy, and scouting. He began music lessons in early childhood, starting with the electric organ at age three and switching to piano in fourth grade. From fourth grade to sixth grade, he played trombone for his school's brass band. He also played trumpet and attended cram school. He joined a local football club after developing a strong interest in football during the J.League boom in 1993. He wanted to play for a professional team and at one point considered studying abroad in Brazil to become a professional footballer. He played football until his second year of junior high school. In 1995, when Sakurai was thirteen years old, he sent an application to the talent agency, Johnny & Associates, and started activities as a Johnny's Jr. Despite already having an established career with Arashi by the time he graduated from high school, Sakurai went on to attend Keio University, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics in March 2004. Music career Sakurai is the designated rapper of Arashi and,