Shigeaki Kato of the idol group NEWS announced on November 10 that his first child has been born, in a statement posted on his agency's official website, Modelpress reported.
The statement, titled "A Report Regarding Shigeaki Kato," opens with the news. "This concerns a personal matter, but I am writing to report that my first child has been born," it reads.
Kato, 39, said the birth had changed how he sees his work. "Having welcomed a new life into these hands, I intend to walk on with more responsibility than ever — as a parent, as a performer and as one human being."
He thanked the people who support him and promised to work harder in return. "I ask for your continued guidance and encouragement," the statement says.
A career across acting and fiction
Born in Osaka Prefecture, Kato joined his agency in 1999 and made his CD debut with NEWS in 2003. Before that debut he appeared in the sixth and seventh series of the school drama "3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei."
He went on to act in dramas including "Papa to Musume no Nanokakan" on TBS in 2007, "Shitsuren Chocolatier" on Fuji TV in 2014 and "Zero Ichi Kaku Senkin Game" on Nippon TV in 2018.
Kato graduated from Aoyama Gakuin University in 2010 and published his first novel, "Pink to Gray," in 2012. Two later novels, "Alternate" in 2021 and "Nare no Hate" in 2023, were nominated for the Naoki Prize — one of Japan's two major prizes for popular fiction.
He announced his marriage through his agency in March 2024.