is a Japanese singer and actor. He debuted as a member of the Japanese boy band JO1 in 2020, after placing third in the first season of Produce 101 Japan. He played Sōma Shiki in the live action adaptation of Play It Cool, Guys (2023).

Early life Takumi Kawanishi was born on June 23, 1999, in Hyogo, Japan. Kawanishi played baseball from second grade of elementary school to third grade of high school, with the goal of competing in the Japanese High School Baseball Championships. He shaved his head in elementary school to imitate high school baseball players and once competed against Yomiuri Giants pitcher Iori Yamasaki.

Kawanishi was inspired to become a singer after he happened to watch a concert DVD owned by his mother when he was 11 years old and was practicing by himself ever since. During his third year in middle school, Kawanishi passed the second screening of a national men's talent search, but he canceled the trip to the last round of audition in Tokyo due to a baseball tournament. After graduating from high school, he worked as a buggy engineer at Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

Career 2019–2020: Produce 101 Japan and debut with JO1 In September 2019, Kawanishi convinced his family to allow him to audition for Produce 101 Japan despite having no experience in dancing or singing. The show concluded in December, with Kawanishi finishing third with 252,885 votes. Upon training in Korea, Kawanishi made his debut as a member of JO1 on March 4, 2020, with the release of their first single Protostar under Lapone Entertainment.

2021–present: Acting debut and first EP Kawanishi made his acting debut on February 26, 2021, playing an unnamed role in the Yoshimoto Kogyo-produced anthology film Meters Away, Worlds Apart segment "Today is A Good Day", alongside his group-mates Ren Kawashiri and Syoya Kimata. On March 3, 2023, Kawanishi was cast as Sōma Shiki in the live version of the web manga series Play It Cool, Guys, with Yuta Nakamoto, Dori Sakurada, and Maito Fujioka. The first episode aired on April 14.

Kawanishi wrote JO1's digital single "Happy Unbirthday" for the group's Alice in Wonderland-inspired exhibition, JO1 in Wonderland!. The song was released on March 26, 2024. In May, Kawanishi made his lead feature debut with 's . He played the recluse electronic music composer Kiyosumi Umino opposite Hiyori Sakurada. Kawanishi worked with music producer Yaffle to record the song "Surge" for the film, and the rearranged version "Surge" (single edit) was made available on April 29, 2024. The digital single also includes the self-written song "Heaven", which Kawanishi described as "a demo song Kiyosumi might have made".

In July 2024, Kawanishi starred in the film , which commemorated the 20th anniversary of Fuji TV's variety show Run for Money: Tōsō-chū. He played the lead role of Tachibana Yamato, a sprinter from Meio University's track and field team, with his groupmates Sukai Kinjo and Syoya Kimata, as well as Sota Nakajima, Taiki Sato, and Leiya Seguchi of Fantastics from Exile Tribe. In October 2025, Kawanishi was cast in Wowow's original drama series on domestic violence victims Shadow Work. Kawanishi played Yūma Araki, a junior detective and partner to the co-lead character. On December 5, JO1 released "Santa-san E" (), a song co-written by Kawanishi and was originally performed a year prior to celebrate the group's fifth anniversary.

On June 17, 2026, Kawanishi released his collaboration with the Japanese band Monkey Majik, "Unstoppable", to commemorate the band's 20th anniversary. He previously listed the band as an artist he admires. On June 24, Kawanishi released his first digital extended play (EP), Sketch, with "Kyou mo Manten de Manten Janai" () served as the lead single. Kawanishi later wrote "Murasakiiro" (), the opening theme of the drama Fūfu to 16-sai: Kyōki no Rinjin (), starring band mate Issei Mamehara. In October, JO1 released the single "Animal", co-written by Kawanishi and producer Dem Jointz for the group's eponymous debut US EP. Kawanishi also plays Ginji Hanazono, the nephew and secretary of Issey Takahashi's character, in the prime time drama series Political Lupin.

Discography

Extended plays + Title Album details Peak chart position Sales JPNDLPeaks on the Oricon Digital Albums chart: Sketch: Sketch Released: June 24, 2026 Label: Lapone Entertainment Formats: digital download, streaming 7 JPN: 806Total digital downloads for Sketch:

Singles + Title Year Peak chart position Sales Album JPNDLPeaks on the Billboard Japan Download Songs chart: "Surge" (single edit): "Kyou mo Manten de Manten Janai": "Unstoppable": "Surge" (single edit) 2024 81 rowspan=2 "Kyou mo Manten de Manten Janai" 2026 47 Sketch "Unstoppable" 46 JPN: 729 Frequency

Songwriting credits All song credits are adapted from the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers's database, unless otherwise noted. When searching, put "T. K" under 著作者名 (Author's name) and "LAPONEエンタテインメント" under 出版者名 (Publisher's name). +Key Indicates single Indicates a non-commercial release Indicates songs written solely by Kawanishi

+ Title Year Artist(s) Album Lyrics Music Credit With Credit With "Get Back" 2021 Shosei, Takumi, Syoya, Shion Shosei, Syoya, Shion colspan=2 "Breaking the Rules" 2023 Keigo, Takumi, Máme 2023 JO1 2nd Arena Live Tour "Beyond the Dark – Rise in Kyocera Dome" Keigo, T.K, Máme colspan=2 "D.I.Y." 2024 Ren, Takumi, Hiroto Ren, Hiroto Ren, Hiroto "Happy Unbirthday" JO1 Be Classic "Heaven" Kiyosumi "Santa-san E" () JO1 Skinner Box "Super Star" 2025 T.K "Come Again" "Warainaki" () rowspan=3 "True" "Sekai ga Hiroi No Ka. Boku ga Chiisai No Ka" () "Bingo" 2026 Ren, Takumi JO1nder Show 2025 "Wherever We Are" in Tokyo Dome Ren Ren "Push On" Ruki, Sukai "Kyou mo Manten de Manten Janai" () Takumi Kawanishi Sketch Naoki Kubo "Unstoppable" Monkey Majik, Takumi Kawanishi Frequency Maynard, Blaise, Tax Maynaird, Blaise "Heibon" () Takumi Kawanishi Sketch Naoki Kubo "Give Me Five" Naoki Kubo "Harukaze" () Naoki Kubo "Zutto, Zutto, Ikite Ikemasu Youni" () Naoki Kubo "Isshoumono" () Naoki Kubo "Murasakiiro" () Máme Naoki Kubo "Hitotoki" () Takumi Kawanishi Naoki Kubo "Animal" JO1 Animal colspan=2 Dem Jointz, THE B7ANK, Alexis Boyd, Carmen Reece, Zacharie Raymond, Yannick Rastogi

Filmography

Film + Year Title Role Note 2021 Meters Away, Worlds Apart Unnamed Segment: "Today is A Good Day" 2024 Kiyosumi Umino Lead role Tachibana Yamamoto

Television + Year Title Role Note 2019 Produce 101 Japan Contestant Finished 3rd 2022 Short Program Ichiro Imai Lead role; anthology series 2023 Play It Cool, GuysSōma Shiki Main role Play It Cool, Guys - Our Love Story 2025 Shadow Work Yūma Araki 2026 Political Lupin Ginji Hanazono

Music videos + Title Year Other artist(s) Director "Come Again" 2025 rowspan=2 Afghan Ray (Hive Inc.) "Kyou mo Manten de Manten Janai" () 2026 Yuuka Eda "Unstoppable" Monkey Majik Ryo Suda "Isshoumono" () rowspan=2 Sho Hatano ""Hitotoki" () Afghan Ray (Hive Inc.)

Footnotes

References

External links Official website