TETSUYA

TETSUYA

• Gallery

TETSUYAテツヤ
TETSUYA promoting EXILE THE SECOND LIVE TOUR 2024 "THE FAR EAST COWBOYZ" (January 2024)
TETSUYA (November 2022)
Personal Information
Name	Tsuchida Tetsuya 土田(つちだ) 哲也(てつや) ツチダ テツヤ
Stage Name	TETSUYA EXILE TETSUYA
Born	February 18, 1981 (age 43)
Birth Place	Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Blood Type	O
Height	175 cm (5 ft 8.8 in)?
Zodiac Sign	♒︎ Aquarius
Professional Information
Occupation	Performer, actor
Years Active	2002-present
Labels	rhythm zone
Agency	LDH JAPAN
Associated Acts	Nidaime J Soul Brothers, EXILE, EXILE TRIBE, EXILE THE SECOND, DANCE EARTH PARTY, EXILE B HAPPY
External Links
Profile	EXILE EXILE THE SECOND EXILE mobile
X (Twitter)	@epi_tetsuya
Instagram	@exile_tetsuya_epi
Nidaime J Soul Brothers Information
Joined	January 25, 2007
Left	March 1, 2009
Time in Group	2 Years, 1 Month, 4 Days
Position	Performer
Debut Release	"WE!"
Last Release	J Soul Brothers
EXILE Information
Joined	March 1, 2009
Time in Group	15 Years, 9 Months, 8 Days
Position	Performer
Debut Release	"THE MONSTER ~Someday~"
EXILE THE SECOND Information
Joined	July 1, 2012
Time in Group	12 Years, 5 Months, 8 Days
Position	Performer, leader
Debut Release	"THINK 'BOUT IT!"
DANCE EARTH PARTY Information
Joined	April 29, 2015
Left	December 4, 2018
Time in Group	3 Years, 7 Months, 5 Days
Position	Performer
Debut Release	"Inochi no Rhythm"
Last Release	"HAPPiLA"
EXILE B HAPPY Information
Joined	June 1, 2023
Time in Group	1 Year, 6 Months, 8 Days
Position	Leader, performer

Tsuchida Tetsuya (土田哲也), better known by his stage name TETSUYA, is a Japanese performer, business man and academic. He is a member of the groups EXILE, EXILE THE SECOND and EXILE B HAPPY. He was also member of J Soul Brothers' second generation Nidaime J Soul Brothers until their migration to EXILE in 2009, and DANCE EARTH PARTY.

Besides his activities in the entertainment industry, he is the current representative director, president and CEO of "expg", the director of EPI Quality and the producer of the coffee brand AMAZING COFFEE. From April 2020 to January 2024, he was also the first president of EXPG High School.

Early Life

Tsuchida Tetsuya was born on February 18, 1981 in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

When he was a high school student, he aspired to become a carpenter. After graduating from high school, Tsuchida went to study architecture on high school, under influence of his parents, that are engaged to farm work. After graduating from high school, he worked at his father's company.

Tsuchida started practicing dancing at age 19.

Career

In 2002, he formed the dance team POLY-3 alongside KENCHI and local dancers from Yokosuka.

In 2004, he appeared at EXILE's stage-play HEART of GOLD ~STREET FUTURE OPERA BEAT POPS~.

In 2005, he formed the dance team FULCRUM, alongside KENCHI, KEIJI and others. The team lasted until 2016, when he joined the Krump dance team RAG POUND.

2007

On January 25, 2007, he was announced as member of the revival group Nidaime J Soul Brothers and his stage name became TETSUYA.

2008

On May 7, he made his official debut as part of Nidaime J Soul Brothers with the single "WE!".

2009

On March 1, he officially joined EXILE as it was announced that all Nidaime J Soul Brothers members would migrate to the group.

2011

In 2011, at the age of 30, he started "EXILE Performance Institute (E.P.I.)" as a serial project for the magazine Gekkan EXILE to do research on the improvement of dance performance, training and health. He later described this step as the first turning point in his solo career: "For example, I would ask soccer players of the same age what kind of training they do and think about what I can apply from it. I also asked university professors and experts about sleep to increase resilience, diet to improve performance, and so on. The purpose of the output in the form of magazine articles was to help me organize my own thoughts while having fun with my fans, but as I continued, I felt a strong sense of response, thinking, "This will surely be useful for my fellow EXILE members and the junior group performers". I wanted to always have an inquisitive mind and absorb more things."

2012

On July 1, he became a founding member of EXILE's first sub-unit, THE SECOND from EXILE.

2013

In 2013, TETSUYA participated in ÜSA's project DANCE EARTH, being part of the musical unit DANCE EARTH PARTY as a performer.

In April, he began teaching as an instructor on the dance education TV program E-Dance Academy.

In the same year, he became a certified coffee meister. Afterwards, he started serving coffee to EXILE members and staff, opened a mobile vending van at various events, and set up a coffee stand in the LDH office. He later revealed that he became interested in the coffee business after he was invited to the opening of the first store of Sarutahiko Coffee, which one of his friends served as president for, and was impressed by the coffee he drank there even though he was not fond of coffee before. "Originally, I couldn't drink coffee. But a friend of mine opened a coffee shop in Ebisu. I was so impressed by the black coffee I drank there that I got hooked on it." "I wanted to know why so many people were flocking to this amber-colored liquid and why they seemed to be enjoying it so much. Soon after that, I got all the equipment and started making it myself. I think that is why I was so attracted to it. The liquid, the coffee itself, and the people."

2014

In 2014, TETSUYA was appointed as a visiting professor at Shukutoku University's Faculty of Humanities, Department of Expression Studies, and started teaching "Contemporary Expression Theory" courses, conveying his experiences and thoughts about dance to students through classroom lectures and dance practice.

2015

On April 29, he was announced as a fixed member of DANCE EARTH PARTY alongside ÜSA and Dream Shizuka.

On July 11, TETSUYA launched his own coffee shop brand, AMAZING COFFEE.

2016

In 2016, he became a visiting associate professor at Mimasaka University.

Later that year, he opened his first AMAZING COFFEE store in Nakameguro, Tokyo, which he produced himself, overseeing everything, including costs, purchasing, and personnel. He later described this as the second major turning point in his solo career.

In late 2016, TETSUYA's first video work, EXILE UNIVERSITY ~Anata no Yume wa Nandesuka?~, a documentary movie of his lectures as a visiting professor at Shukutoku University's Department of Expression Studies in the Faculty of Humanities, was released.

2017

On January 1, he became the director of LDH kitchen, the restaurant, food and beverage department of LDH.

2018

On March 26, TETSUYA graduated from Waseda University's "1-year master's course for working adults in the Graduate School of Sports Science" after enrolling in it in April 2017 and received a master's degree. The theme of his master thesis was "Prescription for Difficulties of Teachers to Instruct Street Dance as Required Subject in Junior High School in Japan". It was awarded the "Best Thesis Award". After the graduation ceremony, he revealed that he commuted to university about three times a week while continuing his main job as an artist, and that he would like to try out the proposals he wrote in his thesis in various places.

Later that year, the results of the research at "E.P.I." started being used as a dance and fitness program for health maintenance and health promotion, and classes containing it were started at some EXPG STUDIOs.

On December 4, he, along with the DANCE EARTH PARTY members, announced their departure from the group. He would continue his activities as a member of EXILE and EXILE THE SECOND.

2019

On March 20, he started working with the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education to introduce video teaching materials for dance based on his master's thesis.

On December 23, he released his first book Mittsuami Life ~Yume o Kanaeta 31 no Kotoba~.

2020

In April, TETSUYA was appointed as the president of EXPG High School. The curriculum of the school would include "PCP Training," a body core training that EXILE members practice, and "E.P.I. Training" devised by himself, and he would also give lectures several times a year as a special instructor.

In July, dance video teaching material supervised by TETSUYA was recognized as "Selected by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology". The material was based on the results of his master's thesis, in which he researched effective teaching methods to solve the difficulties of teachers in teaching "Modern Rhythm Dance" and to make it more enjoyable for students to learn dance in the context of mandatory dance classes at junior high schools, and proposed a new class design that would be easy for students to understand and meet the needs of teachers. The result was the "Lecture Movie: Modern Rhythm Dance Lesson in Junior High School". EXILE TRIBE members Sato Taiki, Komori Hayato and Nakatsuka Yuta participated in this dance video teaching material too, and EXILE SHOKICHI, P-CHO and SWAY from DOBERMAN INFINITY, and track maker NAKKID cooperated for its music production. A demo version had been implemented in several junior high schools in Nagano Prefecture a year prior with the cooperation of the Nagano Prefectural Board of Education.

2021

In November, he became the industry's first "SCAJ Coffee Meister Ambassador", representing qualified SCAJ Coffee Meisters certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan.

2022

On June 23, it was announced that TETSUYA had been appointed as the "conditioning coach" of the Japan Table Tennis Association Men's and Women's Hopes National Team.

2023

On June 1, it was announced that he had become the leader of a new unit EXILE B HAPPY consisting of EXILE TRIBE members for LDH JAPAN's KIDS B HAPPY project, for which he serves as an ambassador.

On September 21, TETSUYA gave a speech at "THE MOTH ‒ Radio Hour Event" held in New York, a side event of the United Nations General Assembly. He was invited to speak at the event because of the high praise he had received from polio eradication organizations for his work in Japan as an ambassador for the "RECYCLE TO END POLIO" project launched in July of the same year. The event was organized by "The Moth", an internationally acclaimed non-profit organization specializing in the art and craft of "storytelling," or the telling of real-life experiences. Various people and experts working on polio eradication shared their experiences, and TETSUYA's "RECYCLE TO END POLIO" campaign was selected as a successful case study in Japan.

On September 23, he took the stage at the charity live concert "Global Citizen Festival" held in New York, U.S. in conjunction with the UN General Assembly in the section presenting polio-related initiatives, along with Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization.

On October 13, he was announced as a special instructor of the "Sharpened Sensibility Training Program (Sports) through Sports & Arts" at FC Imabari High School Satoyama (FCI), a private high school headed by OkadaTakeshi, former coach of Japan's national soccer team, and scheduled to open in April 2024 in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture.

On November 4, it was announced that TETSUYA had been appointed as the representative director, president and CEO of "expg", a subsidiary of LDH JAPAN which operates their talent school and oversees the education and training business. In an interview, he later revealed that one of his goals was to create a curriculum suitable for different ages and generations.

2024

On January 25, it was announced in a press conference to commemorate the opening of EXPG Funabashi that Nakatsuka Yuta of GENERATIONS had been appointed as the new president of EXPG High School, taking over the position from TETSUYA who had served as the first president since its founding in April 2020. According to himself, he decided to resign from the position of president due to the circumstance that he became the representative of EXPG as a whole in 2023.

Personal Life

Family

On March 5, 2019, TETSUYA announced that he had married a non-celebrity woman. He also announced that they would be expecting their first child to be born around summer 2019. On August 20 in the same year, he revealed at the press conference for MACHI cafe's Amazing Ice Caramel Latte that his first child had been born healthy and safely.

Health

On December 28, 2015 it was announced that he would undergo a surgery on his left shoulder due to a joint dislocation in early 2016.

On May 13, 2019, it was announced that TETSUYA had been diagnosed with bilateral patellar subluxation syndrome and would be halting his activities as performer in order to not affect the treatment.

Works

Filmography

Movies

• [2006] Backdancers!

Dramas

• [2009] Shin Oishinbo 3 Yuzan Kaibara VS. Kyukyoku Shichinin no Samurai!
• [2009] Gyoretsu no 48 Jikan
• [2010] Pandora II: Kiga Retto
• [2010] Keiji Teinen (ep.9)
• [2011] Kazoku Hotei
• [2011] Osama no Ie (ep.9)
• [2012] Kimi to Boku to no Yakusoku
• [2012] Counter no Futari (ep.6)

TV Shows

• [2012] "E" Dance Academy

Music

Lyrics

• [2017] DANCE EARTH PARTY - "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" feat. Dream
• [2021] DEEP SQUAD meets EXILE TETSUYA - "AMAZING DAYS"

Publications

Books

• [2019.12.23] Mittsuami Life ~Yume o Kanaeta 31 no Kotoba~ (三つ編みライフ 〜夢を叶えた31の言葉〜)

Serializations

• [2012-2020] DANCE no Michi (DANCEの道) - TOKYO HEADLINE

Other

• [2023] KIDS B HAPPY - Ambassador
• [2023] JCV "RECYCLE TO END POLIO" - Ambassador

Trivia

• Described as "the busiest man in LDH" due to his various positions, roles and titles.
  • According to himself, the core of his extensive activities is still dance. "Although I do many different things and seem to be scattered, in my mind the core of my activities is "dance" and that has not changed.", "The big thing is that I am responsible for everything. [...]. But I'm still trying to have fun doing it."
  • According to himself, "switching gears" is probably the biggest part of his job. "For example, if I have three meetings, train, and do other things, I have to get into the swing of things."
  • Does not want to lose his enthusiasm and intends to inspire children with his hard work.
  • Having reached this stage in my early 40s, he feels that the landscape of his life in his 50s will probably be different from what he had previously imagined.
• Was strongly influenced by EXILE HIRO's advice to think about the future and a second career while still being a member of EXILE, and "to be a host, not a guest" (meaning that one should show hospitality to not only the fans, but also the members, staff and everyone else).
  • By showing hospitality to both fans and staff, he learned that "a "thank you" from 50,000 people at the dome and a "thank you" for a cup of coffee I had brewed were both equally gratifying."
• Is interested in running a company and being a business owner.
• According to himself, he was supported by everyone in the company, including his manager, while studying for his master's degree.
• Encourages his students to have more than one dream and expand their possibilities.
• Created the EXPG High School logo.
• Likes doing yoga.

External Links

• Twitter
• Instagram