Fujii Rio

"Our unit name has an impact, and armed with that, I'll do my best so that lots of people will come to know of the name Kobushi Factory !"

- Fujii Rio, January 2015

Fujii Rio (藤井梨央) is a member and the sub-leader of Kobushi Factory, a Hello Pro Kenshuusei unit under Hello! Project. She was first introduced as a trainee at the 2013 test event on May 5, 2013 alongside five other girls.

Early Life
Fujii Rio was born on March 4, 1999 in Aichi, Japan.

2011
In 2011, Fujii participated in the S/mileage second generation audition and made it to the finals, but she was not chosen to join S/mileage.

She also participated in the Morning Musume 10ki Member "Genki Jirushi" Audition and made it to the third round, but she chose to continue with the S/mileage audition instead, which was occuring at the same time.

2013
On May 5, Fujii was introduced as a member of Hello Pro Kenshuusei alongside Tanaka Karen, Inaba Manaka, Mikame Kana, Mashiro Kana and Inoue Hikaru at the Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2013 ~Haru no Koukai Jitsuryoku Shindan Test~.

In June, Fujii participated in Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2013 ~6gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~.

2015
On January 2, during the Hello! Project 2015 WINTER ~DANCE MODE!~ concert, it was announced that Fujii would be debuting in a new unit alongside Hamaura Ayano, Taguchi Natsumi, Ogawa Rena, Nomura Minami, Wada Sakurako, Hirose Ayaka and Inoue Rei.

On March 8, during Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2015 ~3gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~, Fujii Rio was announced sub-leader of Kobushi Factory.

2016
On March 4, Fujii celebrated her 17th birthday at a special event titled Kobushi Factory Fujii Rio Birthday Event 2016, featuring two performances in Tokyo.

2017
On March 7, Fujii celebrated her 18th birthday at a special event titled Kobushi Factory Fujii Rio Birthday Event 2017, featuring two performances in Tokyo.

On May 12, Fujii announced than she would be graduating from Kobushi Factory and Hello! Project at the end of the Hello! Project 2017 SUMMER concert tour as she wants to devote herself to become a teacher or nurse.

Personal Life
Family= She has an older brother and a younger brother.

When Fujii joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei, she was a third year middle student. She graduated from high school in March 2017.
 * -|Education=

Fujii began her first year of university in April 2017.

The following list are notable friendships Fujii Rio has acquired:
 * -|Friendships=
 * Hirose Ayaka: Fujii is good friends with Hirose Ayaka in Kobushi Factory. She often takes blog pictures with her, the pair is referred to as "Rio-Pan" a combination of their nicknames "RioRio" and "Aya-pan".
 * Makino Maria: She gets along well with Morning Musume member Makino Maria.

Fujii's given name, "Rio", means pear tree (梨) and center (央); therefore, the "center of a pear tree".
 * -|Name Meaning=

Here is a list of nicknames that was used to refer to Fujii Rio:
 * -|Nicknames=
 * RioRio (りおりお): Official nickname, given her since Hello Pro Kenshuusei.

Profile
Stats=
 * Name: Fujii Rio (藤井梨央)
 * Nickname: RioRio (りおりお)
 * Birthday:
 * Birthplace: Aichi, Japan
 * Blood type: B
 * Height: 150cm
 * Hello! Project Status:
 * 2013-05-05: Hello Pro Kenshuusei Member
 * 2015.01.02: Kobushi Factory Member
 * Kobushi Factory Member Color:  (2015-)
 * Hello! Project groups:
 * Hello Pro Kenshuusei (2013–2015)
 * Kobushi Factory (2015-Present)
 * -|Q&A=
 * Specialty: Gymnastics, Forward shoulder roll
 * Hobbies: Piano
 * Motto: "Gashinshoutan" (臥薪嘗胆; Struggling against difficulties for the sake of vengeance)
 * Favorite Color: Gold
 * Favorite Sports: Handball
 * Favorite Hello! Project song: "Shin•Nippon no Susume!"
 * Favorite Morning Musume song: Mikan
 * Looks Up To:  Suzuki Kanon, Kudo Haruka, Sugaya Risako, Wada Ayaka, Yajima Maimi, Fukuda Kanon, Tamura Meimi

Discography

 * See also: List:Fujii Rio Discography Featured In

​Blu-rays

 * [2017.02.23] Greeting ~Fujii Rio・Ogawa Rena~

Photobooks

 * [2017.03.25] Fujii Rio・Ogawa Rena Mini Photobook "Greeting -Photobook-"

Theater

 * [2015] Week End Survivor
 * [2017] JK Ninja Girls

Movies

 * [2017] JK Ninja Girls

TV Programs

 * [2015–] The Girls Live
 * [2016–] Uta-navi! (うたなび！)

Internet

 * [2013–] Hello! Project Station

Music Video

 * [2017] ℃-ute - To Tomorrow

Trivia

 * She learned of Hello! Project through her mother, who is a fan of Tsunku and Sharam Q.
 * She wanted to join Hello Pro Kenshuusei because she loves Hello! Project.
 * She wants to become popular and perform at year-end TV shows and specials.
 * She wants to be an intelligent idol who goes on quiz shows and gets rid of the stereotype that idols are idiots.
 * She thinks she won't lose to any other member in Hello! Project knowledge and throwing handballs really fast.
 * Her dream was to join the Hello! Project she's always loved and admired. Her other dream is to attend university like Tsugunaga Momoko and Suzuki Airi.
 * She thinks the hardest thing about being a Hello Pro Kenshuusei was trying to balance the program and her studies at the same time.
 * Her favorite Hello! Project group is °C-ute, and her favorite member is Yajima Maimi.
 * The first Hello! Project concert she went to was the Morning Musume Concert Tour 2011 Haru Shin Souseiki Fantasy DX ~9ki Mem wo Mukaete~.
 * Her rivals in Hello Pro Kenshuusei were her generation-mates. They all had the same lessons and time to improve, so she didn't want to fall behind. She didn't want to lose to anyone who joined after her, either. Her rivals in Kobushi Factory are Hirose Ayaka and Hamaura Ayano.
 * She loves Hello! Project, which is why she took the S/mileage and Morning Musume auditions, but after she failed, she was upset so she tried the Hello Pro Kenshuusei audition to still be a part of Hello! Project.
 * She only listens to Hello! Project music.
 * She wants to try singing "Kimagure Princess" by Morning Musume.
 * Her favorite historical figure is Prince Shotoku.
 * When asked what her first impression of Tsunku was, she said he had long hair.
 * Tsunku's comments: "Your dancing is incredibly good, so I want to focus more on your singing. I want you to mimic people who are much much better than you. It might be good to try copying Western singers. Dancing, good. Expressions, good. "
 * On the last day of the stage play Week End Survivor, Sudou Maasa gave Rio a special Berryz Koubou T-shirt.
 * According to the Top Yell July 2016 interview, Fujii's role within the group is "Factory Manager that Keeps the Time".