Mitsui Aika

Mitsui Aika (光井愛佳) is a member of Morning Musume, joining as a member of the eighth generation from the audition in Japan during December 2006. Mitsui's audition process was documented during the late 2006 episodes of Hello! Morning. She performed Hamasaki Ayumi's "Blue Bird" in round one of her audition and Morning Musume's "Furusato" and "Osaka Koi no Uta" in rounds two and three. She recently had a left ankle fracture. On May 4, 2012, Mitsui announced her graduation from Morning Musume to be held on May 18, 2012 due to discomfort in her foot. She will still remain in Hello! Project.

2006
On December 10, 2006, she alone out of five (originally six, but Ayami Masuda dropped out) audition finalists was chosen to join Morning Musume. An article published on December 11, 2006 revealed that Mitsui wouldn't be present in the 57th edition of Kōhaku Uta Gassen but would instead be featured in the group's 32nd single, Egao Yes Nude, which was released on February 14, 2007, following her first public appearance on the last round of the Hello! Project Winter 2007 Tours, ~Shūgetsu 10th Anniversary~ (～集結! 10th Anniversary～, ~Shūgetsu 10th Anniversary~?), which took place between January 27, 2007 and January 28, 2007 at Saitama Super Arena.

2007
She also took part in Morning Musume Concert Tour 2007 Haru ~SEXY 8 Beat~. One week after the results of Happy 8 Ki Audition were announced, Mitsui was featured in a small segment of Hello! Morning which included footage from a press conference given on the eleventh. During the conference, Mitsui revealed her goal of captivating the public by means of her cheerful personality and smile, emulating fellow member Kusumi Koharu, whom she admires and strives to equal or surpass. Following her concert debut, Mitsui was also featured in a small segment of the Oha Suta morning programme entitled I want to express my gratitude ("ありがとうを伝えたい", Arigatō o tsutaetai?), which purports to show the viewers a fictionalized account of the events following her first concert appearances, dealing with Mitsui's sadness over the fact she had to part with her former classmates due to her becoming an idol.

2008
Her first appearance at a non-Hello! Project related event took place on February 8, 2007, on Utaban, as part of Morning Musume. In October 2007, Mitsui was placed in the unit Athena & Robikerottsu along with fellow Morning Musume member Niigaki Risa, as well as Nakajima Saki and Okai Chisato of °C-ute. On the November 25, 2007 episode of Haromoni@, Mitsui got the seiyū role of Gurossan in the anime Kirarin Revolution starring Kirari Tsukishima, voiced by Kusumi Koharu. On April 6, 2008, Hello! Project announced that that Mitsui would not be able to perform in the 2008 spring tour due to her being in very poor health. Later in the week, it was discovered that she had suffered from acute appendicitis, and would be out of action for two more weeks. She recovered and continued with her scheduled activities. On August 8th, Morning Musume collaborated with female theatre group Takarazuka to perform Cinderella the Musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein. Mitsui took on the role of a fairy, a town girl and a princess.

2009
In 2009, it was announced that Morning Musume will be attending the annual anime convention, the Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California as Guests of Honor in July. All members of the current lineup including Mitsui Aika attended the event. Morning Musume held autograph sessions and a concert. The number of fans that attended the concert reached over 7,000 people.

Mitsui has a blog, only available to Official MM Fanclub members titled "Pastel Colour Days".

2010
In December 2010, Mitsui was announced her first Photobook titled 'Mittsi.' Mitsui mentioned had mentioned in several interviews before that she had wanted a photobook, and was very happy at the announcement.

2011
On January 7th, Mitsui played the main character in the horror movie, Real Kakurenbo (Hide and Seek). It was a direct to DVD release film. On May 9th, Mitsui was diagnosed with left ankle bone fracture. After the Morning Musume concert the past weekend, Aika complained of pain in her left foot, after which she went to the hospital where she was diagnosed with the injury on 5/9. Mitsui was out of events almost the whole summer. She could not participate in the dance shots for Morning Musumes MV's "Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa o Honki de Negatterun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai", "Pyocopyoco Ultra" or "Renai Hunter" because of the injury.

The following is a list of the events she missed:


 * ５/１４(土)、５/１５(日)　NHK大阪ホール
 * ６/５(日)　刈谷市総合文化センター
 * ６/２５(土)、６/２６(日)　ハーモニーホール座間
 * ５/２８(土)～５/２９(日)　道重さゆみ・田中れいな・光井愛佳バスツアーin東海
 * ６/６(月)、６/９(木)　愛佳のANNEXイベント～パステルカラーDays～
 * ６/１０(金)　クーザ×モーニング娘. スペシャル公演
 * ６/２０(月)　STAR digio presentsモーニング娘. 初夏の快進撃スペシャル

2012
In January 2012, Mitsui wrote in her blog that she is now supposedly cured and ready to dance and perform on stage again.

On January 12, on her birthday, Mitsui opened up an Ameblo blog to the public. She is now the only Morning Musume member with two blogs. Her second blog is only available to fanclub members.

On April 1, she announced she became a regular on the radio show Young Town along with Michishige Sayumi. Many fans believed this to be an April Fools joke.

At the end of April or start of May 2012, Mitsui had a doctors consultation where although her ankle had recovered from the fracture, she will not be able to continue as a member of Morning Musume due to intense movement of her ankle in dancing or concerts. On May 4, 2012, Mitsui Aika she announced her graduation from Morning Musume, but not from Hello! Project. She will graduate alongside with Niigaki Risa. She will graduate at the end of Morning Musume's 2012 Spring Concert Tour (Morning Musume Concert Tour 2012 Haru Ultra Smart ~Niigaki Risa Graduation Special~) on May 18, 2012 at the Nippon Budokan.

Official UFA's Statement: "Morning Musume 8th generation member Mitsui Aika will be graduating from the group at their “Morning Musume Concert Tour 2012 Spring ~Ultra Smart~ Niigaki Risa Graduation Special” concert on May 18th.

After experiencing pain in her foot on May 9th of last year, she underwent a medical examination at the hospital and received a diagnosis of “a stress fracture in the left anklebone.” Due to her own strong feelings of wanting to continue as a member of Morning Musume, she concentrated on taking a rest from her activities and getting medical treatment until she was able to make a full recovery. However, after a medical examination on April 23rd of this year, the diagnosis was, “She’s reached a near complete recovery, but if she were to repeat an intense performance like she’s done in the past, there’s a likelihood of her ending up in the same condition.”

With that diagnosis, as a result of a thorough discussion between the company and Mitsui herself, she has made the difficult decision to graduate early. Mitsui stated, ”I absolutely want to continue to be a part of Morning Musume, but if there’s a possibility of my injury reoccurring, we have many intense dances that I feel would make my activity as a member of Morning Musume difficult, and if in the near future it became that my left foot couldn’t completely heal, it would cause difficulty in my daily life from here on as well.”

Having to resign in the middle of her time with Morning Musume has left Mitsui with a lack of closure, but while she is full of immensely regretful feelings, she will continue to seek medical treatment from this point forward and we are now consulting her to decide whether or not there is some work she can do within Hello! Project.

We apologize to her fans for this sudden announcement, and we truly hope for your understanding."

Tsunku's Statement: "Thank you for always showing such support. Today, we have a notice concerning Morning Musume 8th generation member Mitsui Aika.

After taking a leave from Morning Musume for several months due to her foot condition, and having recently gotten much better, Mitsui had restarted her activity on the tour and in other areas despite not being fully healed, but although it’s a hurried and very unfortunate situation, it has been decided that she will be graduating from Morning Musume as of their “Morning Musume Concert Tour 2012 Spring ~Ultra Smart~ Niigaki Risa Graduation Special” live performance to be held at Nippon Budokan on May 18th.

The reason for this is because, while she was authorized as being “recovered enough that she will have no problems at all in her everyday life” during her recent examination, it was also written that “there is undeniable concern that the injury will reoccur if she continues to move as heavily as she did in the past,” and Mitsui herself seems to have worried very much about her life beyond this point, but she requested, ”Of course, to stay in the group in this incomplete way any longer would create worry and trouble for both all of our fans and the other members, so please allow me to graduate,” and deciding that the thought she’s put into her health issues and manner of living should be respected, I chose to accept her proposal.

Moreover, we considered what would be the right timing in her schedule and other plans, but thinking that, rather than a delay, a quick announcement and graduation would be less of a burden in many senses of the word as well as make for simpler departures in the future, we’ve decided the graduation will take place alongside Niigaki Risa’s. Please understand.

In addition, following her graduation, I believe we will continue to evaluate what she can do in Hello! Project with the guidance of her physician and Mitsui herself, so we ask that you please look after Mitsui Aika with an even greater degree of support."

Mitsui Aika’s Statement: "Thank you for always supporting me. But at this time I, Mitsui Aika, have decided to graduate from Morning Musume. Last May, I felt a lot of discomfort in my foot. There have been various attempts to help me improve my problem, but I have been diagnosed with an ‘abnormal’ bone disorder. Because of this, I’m closing full activities as a Morning Musume member so that I may rest. Recently, I’ve been feeling more grateful for being able to participate in Morning Musume and have been looking forward to participating in a range of activties. However, I went to get diagnosed on April 23rd. Although they said 'Your bone doesn’t show any signs of abnormality. So it won’t be problem during everyday life activities', they also said 'However, if you continue with strenuous exercise, this could potentially happen again.'

''I thought maybe I’d be at 100% one day as a Momusu member, but the diagnosis said there is a risk of recurrence. I spoke with my mother about the consultation and my future. You need to put your health first, and not worry about the members, staff or fans. So, I wish to graduate. As it’s because of my body, I should graduate soon.''

''Tsunku and the staff agreed that the best time to graduate would be during the spring tour since the last performance on May 18th is at Budokan. I know it is sudden. I want to apologize to the members and the fans and hope they understand.''

''I’m sorry to the fans who hoped that I would be able to dance in full. So until the end of the Budokan performance, I will do my best. So until the last show, thank you for your support.''

''After Morning Musume, I will consult with the staff and Tsunku about what kind of activities I can do within Hello! Project''.

Mitsui Aika and Niigaki Risa will conclude activites in Morning Musume by promoting Ren'ai Hunter, and will graduate from Morning Musume at Morning Musume's 2012 Spring Concert Tour on May 18, 2012 at the Nippon Budokan

Profile

 * Name: Mitsui Aika (光井愛佳)
 * Nicknames: Mittsi, Micchi, Charles, Wan-chan, Mittens
 * Birth Date: 1993-01-12
 * Birthplace: Shiga Prefecture, Japan
 * Blood Type: O
 * Height: 156.4 cm
 * Hello! Project Status:
 * 2006-12-10: Member
 * 2006-12-10: Morning Musume Member
 * Up-Front Agency Status:
 * 2006-12-10: Member
 * Years in Morning Musume: 5 Years
 * Favorite food: Plums, strawberries, roast beef, kombu and dried squid
 * Disliked food: Chocolate
 * Favorite color: Black, gold and purple
 * Favorite phrase: "The heaven and the earth, unbeaten ☆"
 * Special skill: Massaging and keeping my room tidy
 * Audition Songs: Blue Bird by Hamasaki Ayumi, Furusato, Osaka Koi no Uta
 * Hello! Project Groups:
 * Morning Musume (2006–2012)
 * Athena & Robikerottsu (2007–2008)
 * Guardians 4 (2009 – 2010)
 * Tanpopo (2009)
 * Hello! Project Mobekimasu (2011 – Present)
 * Concert Units:
 * Wonderful Hearts (2008–)

Morning Musume

 * Egao YES Nude (Debut)
 * Kanashimi Twilight
 * Onna ni Sachi Are
 * Mikan
 * Resonant Blue
 * Pepper Keibu
 * Naichau Kamo
 * Shouganai Yume Oibito
 * Nanchatte Renai
 * Kimagure Princess
 * Onna ga Medatte Naze Ikenai
 * Seishun Collection
 * Appare! Kaiten Zushi (as Muten Musume)
 * Onna to Otoko no Lullaby Game
 * Maji Desu ka Ska!
 * Only you
 * Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa wo Honki de Negatterun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai
 * Pyoko Pyoko Ultra
 * Ren'ai Hunter (Last Single)

Guardians 4

 * Omakase♪Guardian
 * School Days!
 * PARTY TIME
 * Going On!

Athena & Robikerottsu

 * Shouri no BIG WAVE!!!
 * Seishun! LOVE Lunch

Mobekimasu

 * Busu ni Naranai Tetsugaku

Featured Discography
For discography as part of groups, see Morning Musume Discography, Athena &amp; Robikerottsu Discography , Guardians 4 Discography .

TV Programs

 * [2007] ハロー! モーニング (Hello! Morning)
 * [2007–2008] ハロモニ@ (Haromoni@)
 * [2008] ベリキュー! (Berikyuu!)
 * [2008–2009] よろセン! (Yorosen!)

TV Dramas

 * [2010] Hanbun Esper (半分エスパー)

Films

 * [2011] Real Kakurenbo Final (リアル隠れんぼファイナル)
 * [2011] Keitai Deka the Movie 3: Morning Musume Kyuushatsu Daisakusen! ~ Pandora no Hako no Himitsu ~ (ケータイ刑事　THE　MOVIE3　モーニング娘. 救出大作戦！～パンドラの箱の秘密)

Anime

 * [2007] きらりん☆レボリューション (Kirarin☆Revolution) (guest role)

Radio

 * [2007–2008] Morning Musume Mitsui Aika no Ai say hello (e-radio)

Theater

 * [2008] シンデレラ The ミュージカル (Cinderella the Musical)
 * [2010] FASHIONABLE (ファッショナブル)

Photobooks

 * [2011.01.26] Aika (愛佳)

DVDs

 * [2011.01.26] Mittsi (みっつぃー)

Trivia

 * Morning Musume Happy 8ki Audition songs:
 * Round 1: "BLUE BIRD" (Hamasaki Ayumi)
 * Round 2: "Furusato" (Morning Musume)
 * Round 3: "Osaka Koi no Uta" (Morning Musume)
 * She became good friends with Yoshizawa Hitomi, who adopted an "older sister" figure.
 * Niigaki Risa has an older sister relationship to Mitsui, partly because Niigaki's younger sister is much like Mitsui.
 * Her favorite number is 397 because it was her entry number in the audition. Her mother stated she won because it means bloom like a flower (sa ku na = 397).
 * She is the first member to have joined the group with braces. Shortly after joining, she got them removed.
 * Her family calls her "Aika-don" and "Aika-san".
 * Would like to teach Japanese because she said it's fun.
 * Her closest friends in Morning Musume is Michishige Sayumi and Tanaka Reina.
 * The nickname "Wan-chan" (meaning dog in Japanese) was given to her by Takahashi Ai and Kamei Eri when they were describing Mitsui in the Morning Musume DVD Vol. 23.
 * She is a big animal lover.
 * Has a toy poodle named Leo. She also has a Siberian Husky, which is proclaimed to be one of her dream pets.
 * Lives with her older sister and her older sister's boyfriend in Tokyo.
 * Her grandmother named her.
 * She sometimes has an inhaler with her at concerts in case her breathing gets bad.
 * Has said she would love to work with Arihara Kanna, former member of °C-ute because many said they look alike and they get along well.
 * Noticed to be wearing flat shoes for single costumes. One cause of not wearing high heels is rumoured to be the operation she had earlier, possibly affecting her ability to dance with high heeled shoes.
 * She proclaimed herself to be Kusumi Koharu's rival. The two were incredibly close.
 * Admitted that she was jealous of Junjun and Linlin when they first joined because no one talked to her when she joined and felt lonely.
 * She is the first Morning Musume member to be the youngest in the group for 4 years, with no new members joining.
 * On May 8th, 2011, she fractured her left ankle and had treatment for eight weeks. She was still performing with the group, but her activity while performing was limited.
 * She said that if she could be another Hello! Project member, she would be Morning Musume's Kudou Haruka because she is cute.
 * During Niigaki Risa's Yorosen, the girls wrote letters to themselves ten years in the future. When Mitsui's letter was read aloud, the other members were impressed with how mature it sounded.
 * In Yorosen, she taught Morning Musume about pets.
 * Has a scar on her tummy from when she got her appendix removed.
 * She and Hagiwara Mai are very good friends.
 * Mentors all of 9th generation alone.
 * It was said that she will miss Morning Musume Concert Tour 2011 Aki Ai Believe ~Takahashi Ai Graduation Memory Special~, but came on the last day of the concert for Takahashi Ai's graduation ceremony in a wheelchair.
 * Said that if a theif came she thinks Okai Chisato would come to protect her.
 * Is noted to get hurt the most out of members in Morning Musume.
 * Is the first Morning Musume member to have two blogs. She recently opened her public to everyone blog, after she already had a blog just for fanclub members.
 * Is said to be strict towards 9th and 10th generation members but they kept friendly relationship.
 * As of April 2011, she's still under tratement for her ankle, because of this she didn't participate in the Dance Shot Ver. of Kono Chikyuu no Heiwa o Honki de Negatsu Terun da yo! / Kare to Issho ni Omise ga Shitai, Pyoco Pyoco Ultra & Renai Hunter. She also didn't participate in Tanaka Reina's, the 9th Generation's, and the 10th Generations' stage play for the same reason.
 * She is the eleventh former Morning Musume member to only graduate from Morning Musume and not Hello! Project. The first being Nakazawa Yuuko, the second being Goto Maki, the third being Yasuda Kei, the fourth being Abe Natsumi, the fifth being Tsuji Nozomi and Kago Ai, the sixth being Iida Kaori, the seventh being Ishikawa Rika, the eighth being Konno Asami, the ninth being Ogawa Makoto, and the tenth being Yoshizawa Hitomi.