Uemura Akari

"I would like to improve our performance skills, and raise our level."

- Uemura Akari, September 2013

Uemura Akari (植村あかり) is a Japanese pop singer signed to Hello! Project as a member of Juice=Juice. She is also a member of the SATOYAMA Movement unit Sato no Akari. She was first introduced at the 2012 March "Nama Tamago Show!" concert as a member of Hello Pro Kenshuusei.

Early Life
Uemura Akari was born on December 30, 1998 in Osaka, Japan to a couple whose names are undisclosed.

She was a member of Up-Front Kansai prior to Hello Pro Kenshuusei, recieving six months of free training.

2012
In January, Uemura joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei alongside Kosuga Fuyuka. The goal of Hello Pro Kenshuusei is to prepare young girls for their debut into full idols, in the program, Uemura received vocal and dance training.

She was later introduced as a member on March 31 in the Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2012 ~3gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~ alongside Kosuga, Murota Mizuki and Okamura Rise. She performed Go Girl ~Koi no Victory~, Chokkan 2 ~Nogashita Sakana wa Ookiizo!~, JUMP and Pyocopyoco Ultra.

She then participated in the Morning Musume 11th Generation ~Suppin Utahime~ Audition alongside several other members of Hello Pro Kenshuusei, but failed.

2013
On February 3, during the Bravo! concert in Fukuoka, it was announced that she would be debuting in a new unit, Juice=Juice, alongside Miyamoto Karin, Kanazawa Tomoko, Miyazaki Yuka, Takagi Sayuki and Otsuka Aina.

On February 12, Hello! Project Fanclub News announced that Uemura will be participating in a stageplay titled Moshimo Kokumin ga Shusho o Erandara along with Takahashi Ai, Ishikawa Rika, Wada Ayaka, Fukuda Kanon, and Miyamoto Karin. There will be 11 showings and it will run from April 24th through the 30th.

On March 31, Uemura fell ill with the flu and was unable to participate in the Hello Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2013 ~3gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~.

On July 20, Uemura appeared solo in Photo Technic Digital.

On December 17, Uemura and Miyamoto Karin had a birthday FC event called, Juice=Juice Miyamoto Karin, Uemura Akari Birthday Event 2013, at Tokyo FM Hall.

2014
On March 13, it was announced that Uemura would be a member of a newly formed SATOYAMA movement unit called Sato no Akari.

On December 11, Uemura and Miyamoto Karin had a birthday FC event called, Juice=Juice Miyamoto Karin, Uemura Akari Birthday Event 2014, at Differ Ariake.

Personal Life
Family= She was raised as an only child. When her father had her, he was 18 years old.

Uemura has a pet bird named Happy, she previously owned another bird named Toppy, but it flew away.

When Uemura debuted as a member of Juice=Juice in February 2013, she was a second year middle school student. As of April 2014, she is currently attending her first year of high school.
 * -|Education=

The following list are notable friendships Uemura Akari has acquired:
 * -|Friendships=
 * Kanazawa Tomoko: Uemura gets along best with Kanazawa Tomoko in Juice=Juice.
 * Miyazaki Yuka: She also gets along best with Miyazaki Yuka in Juice=Juice.
 * Oda Sakura: She is close friends with Morning Musume member Oda Sakura.
 * Yoshihashi Kurumi: She also is good friend with former Hello Pro Kenshuusei member Yoshihashi Kurumi since she joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei.

Uemura's given name, "Akari", means light (あかり; akari). It's a feminine Japanese given name and surname.
 * -|Name Meaning=

Here is a list of nicknames that was used to refer to Uemura Akari:
 * -|Nicknames=
 * Aarii (あーりー): Official nickname, given her since joining Hello Pro Kenshuusei. Used by members and fans.
 * Uemuu (うえむー): Kanazawa Tomoko nicknamed her Uemuu. Takagi Sayuki also uses it.

Profile
Stats=
 * Name: Uemura Akari (植村あかり)
 * Nicknames: Aarii (あーりー), Akarin (あかりん), Akarinrin (あかりんりん), Uemuu (うえむー)
 * Birthday:
 * Birthplace: Osaka, Japan
 * Blood type: O
 * Height: 164.4cm
 * Western Zodiac: Capricorn
 * Eastern Zodiac: Tiger
 * Hello! Project Status:
 * 2012-01: Hello Pro Kenshuusei Member
 * 2013-02-03: Juice=Juice Member
 *  Years in Juice=Juice: 1 Year
 * Official Kaomoji: ﾘ|｀･_ゝ･)
 * Juice=Juice Fruit (Member Color): 
 * Melon (2013-Present)
 * Hello! Project groups:
 * Hello Pro Kenshuusei (2012-2013)
 * Juice=Juice (2013-Present)
 * Sato no Akari (2014-Present)
 * -|Q&A=
 * Hobbies: Talking with friends
 * Specialty: Running high jump, Pedometer
 * Strong Point: Her Kansai dialect
 * Weak Point:  Easily forget something
 * Scared of: Haunted houses
 * Favorite Animal: Dogs
 * Favorite Subject: Japanese language
 * Favorite Color: Purple and Yellow-green
 * Favorite Flower: Cosmos
 * Favorite Food: Strawberries, Pork-flavor ramen, Carbonara, Chocolate
 * Least Favorite Food: Melon
 * Favorite Drinks: Cocoa, apple juice
 * Charm point: Mouth
 * Favorite Hello! Project Songs: "SHINES", "Aa, Yo ga Akeru"
 * Looks Up To: Takahashi Ai, Sayashi Riho

Discography

 * See Also: Uemura Akari Discography Featured In

Solo DVDs

 * [2014.07.19] Greeting ~Uemura Akari~

Other DVDs

 * [2014.03.26] Juice=Juice Miyamoto Karin, Uemura Akari Birthday Event 2013 (“Fanclub” DVD)

Magazines

 * [2013.02.23] UTB Vol.213 (with Miyamoto Karin & Murota Mizuki)
 * [2013.??.??] UTB Vol. 214 (with Miyamoto Karin & Otsuka Aina)
 * [2013.06.23] UTB (with Miyamoto Karin & Miyazaki Yuka)
 * [2013.07.20] Photo technic Digital
 * [2013.10.24] BLT U-17 (with Miyamoto Karin and Takagi Sayuki)
 * [2014.01.23] UTB+ (Vol. 18) (with Miyamoto Karin)
 * [2014.01.29] anan
 * [2014.02.03] Nakayoshi (with Miyamoto Karin)
 * [2014.03.08] BOMB (with Miyamoto Karin)
 * [2014.03.19] TV Guide
 * [2014.04.06] Top Yell (with Miyamoto Karin)
 * [2014.04.23] UTB
 * [2014.04.30] Gekkan Entame
 * [2014.05.09] BOMB (with Takagi Sayuki & Kanazawa Tomoko)
 * [2014.07.09] BOMB (with Miyamoto Karin)
 * [2014.07.22] Gravure The Television (Vol. 34)
 * [2014.07.24] girls!

Theater

 * [2013] Moshimo Kokumin ga Shusho wo Erandara (もしも国民が首相を選んだら)
 * [2014] Musical Koisuru Hello Kitty

TV Shows

 * [2014-] The Girls Live

Radio

 * [2013.10.03~] We are Juice=Juice

Internet

 * [2013-] Hello! Project Station (ハロ！ステ)

Trivia

 * She wants to use her Kansai dialect in talks and MCs.
 * She thinks she can't beat Oda Sakura's vocal command.
 * She says the source of her energy is talking to people.
 * When she first joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei, she had difficulty holding a microphone while dancing.
 * On a rainy day she would watch TV at home alone, or sing the song Dot Bikini by S/mileage.
 * She participated in Morning Musume's 9th and 10th generation auditions.
 * When asked what group she'd like to debut in, she answered Morning Musume.
 * Tsunku commented on her: "She made it until the 3rd round of Morning Musume's 9th gen audition. She's still a novice in dancing and singing but that part also makes me smile. I'm expecting great things from her personality".
 * Kanazawa Tomoko nicknamed her Uemuu (うえむー).
 * Takagi Sayuki has said that Uemura is most-worthy to be leader of Juice=Juice.
 * According to Otsuka Aina, Uemura always makes everyone smile, and is the mood-maker in Juice=Juice.
 * In Juice=Juice, she seems to get along best with Kanazawa Tomoko.
 * She'd like to have a dog as a pet.
 * She is the youngest member of Juice=Juice, as well as the tallest member of Juice=Juice at 163cm.
 * She is a fan of the rock band Sekai no Owari.
 * She is currently the only Juice=Juice member to have appeared in Photo Technic Digital magazine.
 * She wants to become a dancer like Sayashi Riho, and would like to switch places with her.
 * On a T-shirt, she wrote that "AKARI" stood for "Acquire Kind Achieve Recollect Idea".
 * There was a YouTube video of Juice=Juice that was taken down shortly after uploading because Uemura had an inappropriate English word written on her shirt.
 * It has been said that she has the best eyesight in Juice=Juice.
 * When the Juice=Juice members were told about their Romance no Tochuu success, Uemura was smiling while the other members were crying.
 * She does not like melons, despite it being her image fruit.
 * Uemura and Oda Sakura used to go out to eat ramen together with Hamaura Ayano when they were all Kenshuusei.
 * She ranked 3rd most stylish idol by high school girls in a 2014 women's magazine.
 * She is allergic to cats.
 * She's the most childlike member of Juice=Juice.
 * People often say she’s an airhead, but among the members of Juice=Juice there’s a suspicion that she’s not an airhead, but is actually just careless, so keep an eye open.
 * Uemura resembles her mother.
 * When she’s angered, she’s scary.
 * She’s very strict with her father.
 * After her relationship with somebody reaches a certain depth, she doesn’t like using “~chan” and she’ll give strange nicknames.
 * Has expressed her love for Sayashi Riho many times at many events.
 * Has been in the most magazine appearances among Juice=Juice along with Miyamoto Karin.