JAPHDOLLS is the latest all girl group to make their fierce and fiery presence felt in the local music scene. Japh comes from the combination of the first two letters of their countries of origin, Japan and Philippines.
Composed of four Japanese-Filipino girls who all sing and dance, they are now all set to stage their first concert, “Japhdolls Fantasy World“, at Music Museum on December 9, 8 PM. Their special guests are the Concert Comedy Queen Ai Ai de las Alas, the rock band called The Crib and Kyline Alcantara.
The Japhdolls are Riyo Nishijima who’s 20 years old, Risa Murayama who’s 20, Reina Minagawa who’s 22 and Ruri Yamamoto who’s 18. They’re a very talented bunch of young performers bursting with so much electric energy when they perform. They’re all high school graduates and currently have no boyfriend.
“Bawal po sa manager namin, si Laura Quizon,” they say. “She wants us to give all our time and attention to our career as we’re just starting.”
Riyo Nishijima was born and raised in Japan near Tokyo. She has a Japanese dad and a Pinay mom. Her parents separated when she was 11 years old and her dad remarried another Pinay with whom she has a half sister. She says her mom and her stepmom are good friends now.
She learned a group of Jap-Pinays is being formed through social media and she sent her audition video two years ago. She was told to come to Manila and undergo training as part of the group. She now speaks Tagalog fluently.
Riza Murayama has a Japanese dad and a Pinay mom. The third of four kids, they’re based here in Manila and just visit her Japanese grandparents in Tokyo every year, She went to a Japanese high school here in Makati and speaks English and Tagalog fluently. She has just finished high school when she heard of Japhdolls being formed and she sent her audition video.
“I really enjoy singing and dancing,” she says. “I do solo song numbers in our group, like ‘Missing You’ and ‘Zombie’.” She admits having had a boyfriend before but now, she follows the advice of their manager to avoid having a lovelife.
Ruri Yamamoto has Japanese blood on the side of her mom and her dad is Filipino. The youngest of four kids, she’s also the youngest in their group at 18. She was born in Malolos, Bulacan and finished high school there.
She loves performing and their manager saw her sing and dance in an event and asked her to audition for Japhdolls. She now enjoys being part of the group. “The crowd is always very appreciative when we perform,” she says.
Reina Minagawa was born in Tokyo to a Japanese dad and Pinay mom. She’s the eldest of two sisters and all her family is still in Japan.
“At first, my parents were scared to let me go on my own here in Manila,” she says. “But they now see that we’re being well taken care of here. All four of us girl live in the same condo in Makati and our manager really take good care of us. We all get along fine and we now treat each other like sisters. When I came here, I didn’t know how to speak Tagalog but tinuruan nila ako.”
The group was formed in 2017 but first, they had to undergo rigid training in singing, dancing and hosting before they were made to record their first single, “Magdamagan”. This was followed by other original songs like “Count Senpai”, “Yamete Kudasai”, “Gumball” and “Makura”.
“Well sing them all in our concert on December 9,” they say. “Plus cover versions of other hit songs na nilagyan namin ng Japanese lyrics.”
They have performed in various mall shows, corporate shows and they last performed at the Miss World Philippines Pageant at the Araneta Coliseum. Their musical styles are mainly RnB and J-Pop and they’re also well known for their distinct fashion style and stage presence.
They have since won the Most Promising All Female Performing Group at the 29th Asia Pacific Excellence Awards. You can get tickets for their concert at Ticketworld, 8891-9999, at Music Museum box office at 8721-0635 and 8721-6726, or Sam Calaca at 0917-7072435.
