V6 is a very popular Japanese idol group, formed by Johnny & Associates. They debuted on 1 November 1995 with CD-Single "MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE".
Due to the age difference between the 6 members (the difference between oldest member, Sakamoto and youngest member, Okada, is 9 years), the band was separated into "20th Century" and "Coming Century".
There are many theories behind the meaning of the "V" in V6. It is said that it stands for Victory, but members have mentioned on TV programmes etc that it also means Volleyball (as their debut single was used in the World Cup Volleyball Tournament in 1995), Versus (20th Century versus Coming Century), Vegetable (as Sakamoto's parents own a green grocers), Vicycle (obviously means Bicycle - Nagano's parents own a Cycling store) and Veteran (as Inohara was told). It also could stand for Volume, which derives from their album that they made.
As they are 'idols', each member takes part in a variety of activities - as well as singing, they appear in TV dramas, variety shows, host radio programmes etc. 20th Century are usually associated with being on stage in plays and musicals, whereas Coming Century are more often in TV dramas (although every member has done both).
Leader Sakamoto Masayuki is especially famous for his roles in musicals such as 'Footloose', 'Blood Brothers', 'The Boy from Oz',and 'No man's Land'. Nagano Hiroshi and Inohara Yoshihiko also played the leading roles in the Japanese version of the hit musical 'The Producers' which proved to be a great success, being ranked as the No.1 musical of 2005 in a famous Japanese musical magazine. Nagano Hiroshi is also famous for playing the lead role in ウルトラマンティガ / Ultraman Tiga. He is remembered by kids and fans of the series as Daigo Madoka, the character he played and the human-form of Tiga.
Go Morita played a leading role in "荒神"(Ara-jin, characters mean rough god but it's obviously meant to mean Aladin too), Miyake Ken too has two stages under his belt (卒業 ~THE GRADUATE~ and 第32新海丸) and will be starring in yet another one coming February called 殺人者 (Satsujinsha). In 2005, Miyake finished filming a movie called 親指さがし(Oyayubisagashi) which was released in theaters across Japan in Summer 2006.
Okada Junichi is also currently involved in the movie industry with "Kizarazu Cat's Eyes Nihon Series", "Tokyo Tower" and "Fly Daddy Fly". He is also set to star in a movie by Hirokazu Koreeda called "Hana Yori Mo Naho"
V6 hosts two weekly TV shows as a group, "Gakkou e ikou"（学校へ行こう） and "Viva Viva V6". Along with their group shows, they also have individual TV shows, dramas or radio programs. Miyake is a regular in the TV show "Itou-ke no Shokutaku (The Itou Family Dinner)".
V6 celebrated their 10th year anniversary in 2005. They commemorated the event by holding about 30 concerts in sold-out arenas all over Japan, holding 3 major "Thank You Events", releasing a hit movie "Hold Up Down" and releasing a new album "Musicmind". They also had a rare "Handshake Session" with hundreds of thousands of fans in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.
