Fukuda Asuka



Fukuda Asuka (福田明日香) is a former member of Morning Musume under Hello! Project, she was one of the original members of the group. She left the group in 1999. She returned to music in 2011 as a member of the band PEACE$TONE under the name asuka.

1997
In 1997, Fukuda Asuka was one of 5 runners-up in a talent contest for a new Japanese rock idol. After the contest, musician and producer Tsunku offered Asuka and four of the other runners-up (Iida Kaori, Nakazawa Yuko, Ishiguro Aya, and Abe Natsumi) the chance to be taken under his wing on one condition: that they sell 50,000 CDs of their song "Ai no Tane" in 5 days. The quintet accomplished that task in four and, thus, in 1997, Morning Musume was born. Along with Abe Natsumi, she was one of the group's main singers.

1998
In 1998, She released her first official single "Morning Coffee" with Morning Musume. She also partly starred in the film "Morning Cop", with Morning Musume and Heike Michiyo.

1999
On April 18, she graduated from the group, making her have the shortest tenure with only 1 year and 7 months. She stated the reason she graduated was to focus on her studies, although she dropped out of high school not long after her graduation. There was a rumor (possibly generated by the essay book she released a month after her graduation) that she was supposedly bullied by some of the other members due to her young age.

2005
In 2005, she was working as an assistant at her father's nightclub, Philippine, in Tokyo.

2006
In 2006, she was featured on the television show "Kaikan MAP", where it was revealed that she was working as a vocal coach and as a bartender at her parent's bar. There have been rumors about her returning to a musical career but she has mentioned she doesn't want to go back to the world of show business and has since kept a very low profile.

2011
On September 24, it was announced that Fukuda was now in a band called PEACE$TONE.

Profile

 * Name: Fukuda Asuka (福田明日香)
 * Stage name: asuka (2011-present)
 * Nickname: ♀asuka, Asukacchi
 * Birthdate:
 * Blood Type: B
 * Height: 149cm
 * Western Zodiac: Sagittarius
 * Eastern Zodiac: Rat
 * Hello! Project Status:
 * 1997-09-07: Member
 * 1999-04-18: Graduated
 * Years in Morning Musume: 1 year 7 months
 * Birth Place: Ota, Tokyo, Japan
 * Hobbies: Jazz dancing and looking at the sky
 * Special Skills: Ballet and karaoke
 * Favorite Food: Pancakes, kidney beans
 * Hello! Project groups:
 * Morning Musume (1997–1999)
 * Other Groups:
 * PEACE$TONE (2011-Present)

Discography Participated In
Singles=
 * Morning Musume
 * Ai no Tane
 * Morning Coffee
 * Summer Night Town
 * Daite HOLD ON ME!
 * Memory Seishun no Hikari (Last)
 * -|Albums=
 * First Time
 * Second Morning (Uncredited)

Solo Songs

 * [1999.02.10] Never Forget (with Morning Musume as background vocals)

Movies

 * [1998] Morning Cop

TV Dramas

 * [1998] Taiyo Musume to Umi (太陽娘と海)

Essay Books

 * [1999.05.??] Mou Hitori no Asuka (もうひとりの明日香)

Trivia

 * She was Morning Musume's first graduate.
 * Around the time she left Hello! Project, she introduced her then-manager Wada Kaoru to Yorico.
 * Along with Abe Natsumi, she was one of the group's main singers.
 * She was considered to be one of the most talented vocalists the group has ever had.
 * There was a rumor that she left the group because she was bullied by some of the other members due to her young age.
 * She was said to be the one to have started Morning Musume's infamous fluctuation of memberships, with members "graduating" and joining frequently.
 * She had the shortest tenure, at only 1 year and 7 months, out of all former members of Morning Musume.
 * She was the second shortest member of Morning Musume, while the shortest was Yaguchi Mari.
 * She graduate at age 15, which make her the youngest Morning Musume member to graduate.

Honorary Titles
Fukuda AsukaFukuda Asuka