is a Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese keyboardist who was born in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

's Minato

Minato, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 1 March 2008, it had an official population of 217,335 and a population density of 10,865 persons per km². The total area is 20.34 km².Minato hosts 49 embassies...

 ward.

Personal History

In the late 1980s and early '90s, he worked as a support member for The Blue Hearts

The Blue Hearts

was a popular Japanese punk rock band that performed from the mid-1980s to the early-1990s. In 2003, they were ranked by HMV Japan as number 19 on their list of 100 most important Japanese pop acts...

 and played the keyboard for them on their tours. After The Blue Hearts broke up, Shirai joined with the band's two lead members, Hiroto Kōmoto

Hiroto Komoto

is a Japanese rock singer who has fronted bands such as The Blue Hearts, The High-Lows and The Cro-Magnons. The official kanji for his name are 甲本 浩人, but katakana is used when writing his name in official publications.-Personal History:...

 and Masatoshi Mashima

Masatoshi Mashima

is a guitarist who has performed with Japanese rock bands such as The Blue Hearts, The High-Lows and The Cro-Magnons. He was born in Hino and raised in Kodaira in Tokyo, Japan.His nickname while playing was "Marcy."-Solo albums:...

, to form a new group, The High-Lows

The High-Lows

were a popular Japanese punk rock band that was formed in 1995. The band stopped all activities in November 2005 and broke up.-Members:* Hiroto Kōmoto – vocals* Masatoshi Mashima –guitar* Sakito Shirabe – bass* Kenji Ōshima – drums* Mikio Shirai – keyboards...

, in 1995.

Shirai left The High-Lows in 2003. While embarking on a solo career, he also joined with a third former member of The Blue Hearts, Tetsuya Kajiwara

Tetsuya Kajiwara

Tetsuya Kajiwara may refer to*Tetsuya Kajiwara , drummer with The Blue Hearts*Tetsuya Kajiwara , a character in the manga Fushigi Yūgi...

, to form another band, The Big Hip.

External links

• Mikio Shirai Official Site