Jun ichi Miyake

V6 is a very popular Japanese idol group, formed by Johnny & Associates. They debuted on 1 November 1995 with CD-Single "MUSIC FOR THE PEOPLE".

Due to the age difference between the 6 members (the difference between oldest member, Sakamoto and youngest member, Okada, is 9 years), the band was separated into "20th Century" and "Coming Century".

There are many theories behind the meaning of the "V" in V6. It is said that it stands for Victory, but members have mentioned on TV programmes etc that it also means Volleyball (as their debut single was used in the World Cup Volleyball Tournament in 1995), Versus (20th Century versus Coming Century), Vegetable (as Sakamoto's parents own a green grocers), Vicycle (obviously means Bicycle - Nagano's parents own a Cycling store) and Veteran (as Inohara was told). It also could stand for Volume, which derives from their album that they made.

As they are 'idols', each member takes part in a variety of activities - as well as singing, they appear in TV dramas, variety shows, host radio programmes etc. 20th Century are usually associated with being on stage in plays and musicals, whereas Coming Century are more often in TV dramas (although every member has done both).

Leader Masayuki Sakamoto is especially famous for his roles in musicals such as 'Footloose', 'Blood Brothers', 'The Boy from Oz',and 'No man's Land'. Hiroshi Nagano and Yoshihiko Inohara also played the leading roles in the Japanese version of the hit musical 'The Producers' which proved to be a great success, being ranked as the No.1 musical of 2005 in a famous Japanese musical magazine. Hiroshi Nagano is also famous for playing the lead role in ウルトラマンティガ / Ultraman Tiga. He is remembered by kids and fans of the series as Madoka Daigo, the character he played and the human-form of Tiga.

Source: Wikipedia