INI is featured in the August issue of "JUNON"! A Jack edition with INI on the front and back covers is also available.

■The special edition of the August issue of “JUNON”, in which INI takes over the front and back covers, comes with a special double-sided pin-up with handwritten messages from the 11 members!

The August issue of “JUNON” (Shufunotomosha) will be released on June 21st.

In addition to the regular version, this issue will also be released with an INI cover and back cover jack version and a Yoshimoto Shinkigeki cover and back cover jack version. With the Paris Olympics just around the corner! There will also be special feature articles on athletes and a special collaboration with the professional baseball team, the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Kyoko Saito also appears in this issue, and her first long interview since graduating from Hinatazaka46 in April this year is published.

Now that she’s graduated from being an idol, she’s devoting herself to acting. “The other members also called me a ‘0 or 100 person,'” Saito said with a laugh. Once she falls in love, her tendency to become completely absorbed in something is what pushed her to pursue acting. Her sensitivity and purity, which makes her overthink things, her unique low, calm voice, and her deep gaze are sure to be major attractions of actress Saito Kyoko. We asked her about her current honest feelings.

■Excerpts from the interview
As an actress, rather than deciding that this is what she wanted to do, she felt that no matter what role she was given, “I was able to see a different side of Saito Kyoko.”
I want to work hard so that people will think, “It’s completely different from that work.” Recently, I watched about 10 of Masami Nagasawa’s works in a row. They are all completely different characters, so much so that I can’t believe they are being played by the same person. For example, in “The Confidence Man JP,” she was very bold, and I wanted to become an actress who can play a role like that. Of course, it’s not easy for me to do it now, and I’m sure I’ll run into many challenges, but I still want to keep trying.
I reported directly to Hikorohi, who I’ve been with on “Kyokorohi,” that I’ll be focusing on acting from now on and that I’ve been assigned to a new agency. When I did, Hikorohi, who always teases me during recordings because we have such a close relationship (laughs), was very surprised, but also very happy and told me, “Well done! Do your best as an actress from now on!” I was very happy and touched.

Then, on the daytime variety show “Pokapoka” (Fuji TV), the comedy duo of Unjash’s Kojima Kazuya and Inukai Takato, nicknamed “Inukoji” and currently enjoying rapid popularity (?), made their JUNON first appearance.

In one interview, the two had said, “I want to appear on JUNON.” A 30-year-old and a 51-year-old, 20-year age difference, the two of them had a joking and teasing conversation about Inukoji.

■Excerpts from the interview
The gap has narrowed thanks to Ohtani
Kojima: “What I think is cool about Inukai-kun is that even though he’s a good-looking guy and doesn’t need to do limbo or tie cherry stems in his mouth, he practices behind the scenes. That kind of hard work is cool.”
Inukai: “Even when I’m talking, I can tell right away when someone isn’t interested in me.” Kojima: “Is it okay to say something like that?”
Inukai: “It’s okay (laughs). Even in that situation, I feel that Kojima-san is a rare person who is sincere with me. I think it’s wonderful that he listens to me seriously.” Kojima: “After the opening greeting, Inukai-kun and I go offstage, and we chat for those 30 minutes, so I think that’s how we got closer. Well, you should just watch the actual show! That’s what I’m saying (laughs).”
Inukai: “You’re talking while watching it (laughs).”
Kojima: “That’s right, in front of the monitor. But I think the closest I got to Inukai-kun was when I had work on location for a day, and that day was the WBC finals, and all the staff watched the game together, and the moment that pitcher (Shohei) Ohtani struck out (Mike) Trout in the bottom of the ninth inning, Inukai-kun and I high-fived each other.”
Inukai: “That really brought us closer. In a way, I think it’s all thanks to Ohtani (laughs).”

■Just before the Paris Olympics, we take a close look at Japan’s notable athletes! Special feature: “The true faces of sportsmen make your heart skip a beat (heart)”
The three athletes appearing this time are Hanaguruma Yu (breaststroke swimming), Nishioka Takanari (trampoline), and Toews Kai (basketball).

The photoshoot was conducted with JUNON’s handsome and refreshing style. You will be able to discover new charms of the three members in the photos, which show their true selves in a closer way, different from when they are wearing their uniforms during competitions.

He also talks extensively about his competitive career and his favorite athletes.

■A dream collaboration between professional baseball team “Chiba Lotte Marines” and JUNON!
The Chiba Lotte Marines are on a roll, having recorded an incredible 11 consecutive wins and 15 unbeaten games since mid-May. But did you know that the players who support the team are actually really cool?

This time, five players appeared: Ishikawa Shingo, Kojima Kazuya, Sato Toshiya, Wada Koshiro, and Tomosugi Atsuki, capturing their usually unseen, glamorous expressions.

Sato: “I saw the finished product this time, Tomosugi is funny (laughs).”
Ishikawa: “Isn’t Tomosugi amazing? It looks like even his uncle (Kojima) has eyelids in his eyes (laughs).”
Sato: “I’m glad that Shingo and Wada were in the center…”
Ishikawa: “Wada is so handsome.”
Wada: “No no, Shingo is amazing after all. He looked great and seemed the most experienced.”
Kojima: “I usually dress casually in a T-shirt and shorts, so the costume felt really strange.”
Ishikawa: “If you wear a costume chosen by a professional, have your hair and makeup done by a professional, and have a professional photograph you, it will look good even if the material is not good (laughs).”
Tomosugi: “I felt a little embarrassed being surrounded by such handsome senior players.”
Kojima: If we were to give this group a name… how about Tomosugu?
Tomosugi: “What do you think, Mr. Wada?” (laughs)
Wada: “What should we do, Toshi-san? (laughs)”
Sato: “It just kept getting passed around like a relay (laughs). Why not call it the “Tomosugishikyo” (rather than the “Neftali kyo” that has become popular among fans)? Tomosugishi is in the center after all. Or, since the costumes are black, maybe “XX Black”?
Kojima: “Then how about ‘Kamome Black’… or ‘Team Kamome’?”
Ishikawa: “That’s rejected (laughs). Why not just say “CUTE & BEAUTY” (instead of King & Prince)? Because everyone is cute and beautiful (laughs).”

■What has Katori Shingo searched for recently?
Furthermore, Katori Shingo appears in the August issue. Katori has two smartphones and says he spends a “very long time” using them. When we looked into what he searches for every day, we found that he has a busy daily life, moving around while thinking about all sorts of things, from big to small.

This time, we will bring you various “search results” related to Katori.

■Excerpts from the interview
Are there spaces when searching?
As for recent searches, last night I looked up “Inception top”. There is a spinning top in the movie “Inception” directed by Christopher Nolan, but I wondered what its name was. “Inception” is a movie I like because it’s about going back and forth between the dream world and reality, and when I was thinking about dreams, I realized that it was a well-made story. In the movie, everyone has a tool for when they don’t know whether they are in a dream or reality, and the name of the tool is “totem”. The totem of the main character (Leonardo) DiCaprio is a top, and in the real world, if you spin a top, it will fall over eventually, but in dreams it keeps spinning, so it’s like “Oh, this is a dream”. But do you still need spaces between keywords when searching? I think it’s about time we didn’t need them anymore. If I can search without them, I think I’ll shift to not using spaces.

■Special feature on INI on 8 pages!
The August issue features an 8-page feature on the global boy band INI, who celebrated their third anniversary this June and will release their sixth album, “THE FRAME,” on June 26th.

INI was born in June 2021 from the survival audition program “PRODUCE 101 JAPAN SEASON 2.”

This will be the first time all 11 members have appeared in JUNON in about three years, since the September 2021 issue, shortly after the group was formed.

In addition to a roundtable interview with all 11 members and individual interviews looking back on their activities over the past three years, a special feature is also published, which includes a relationship chart of the 11 members. We asked them about their impressions of the members three years ago and their impressions of them now. Be sure to check out the magazine to find out how the relationships between the 11 members have changed.

And in the August issue of “JUNON” with INI on the front and back covers, a special double-sided pin-up with handwritten messages from the 11 members is included as a special supplement. Not only is the cover refreshing with a summery feel, but the back cover is also a must-see, featuring the 11 members freely photographed with the self-timer, showing off their unique expressions and poses.