Ninomiya's career began in the entertainment industry when Ninomiya's cousin sent in an application to
Johnny & Associates without his knowledge, and his mother's prodding. After attending and passing the auditions, he joined the talent agency in 1996 aged 13. Prior to his debut with Arashi, Ninomiya started an acting career when he was cast as Chris for the stage play
Stand by Me, which was based on the
film of the same name. He has starred in numerous television drama, movie and stage production since then, and has been regarded as the actor of Arashi, described as an actor who can act with his mouth and eyes. Ninomiya announced he would become independent from the agency on 24 October 2023. Regarding his participation as member of Arashi, he said they would work together when they resume activities. On November 7, 2023, he announced on X (formerly Twitter), that he had established a company. He had announced before that he was making a website along with his sister. In the post in which he announced the company, he also said that "the website is also progressing". Husband of former long-distance runner
Akemi Masuda, Yuuji Kiwaki, also participates in operating the newly established company Office Nino, inc. On December 16, 2023, he shared on X the link to his official website. He posted as a description on his profile that he had completed it. On June 7, 2024, Ninomiya announced the release of "DigiNino", a smartphone app, and the opening of his official fan club, "Office Nino Holdings", both on June 17. Nino hosts a variety show for TV Tokyo for the first time (and his first appearance in 26 years), "Geki kawa petto dai shūgō! Wan Nyan Ninoland", which is to air on August 31, 2024. He and his co-host,
Shimofuri Myojo's Ishikawa appear as a CG dog and cat, respectively, in what is said to be "the ultimate pet program that delivers from the perspective of animals"; the concept of the show is a secret gathering in which animals have the main roles. For 2025, Ninomiya has in mind a fan meeting, which would be his first, planning to visit five locations: Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka, Hokkaido, and Fukuoka. He would like not only to interact with fans through Q&A sessions, but also perform songs in what he called a "showcase". He also said, "I don't want an all-standing venue. I'm thinking of it with seats in mind...it's just my preference". After 13 years, it was announced on January 8, 2026, that Ninomiya's crown program on
Nippon Television, "Nino san", would end by the end of March, the reason given was the difficulty to adjust the schedule with Arashi's last tour. However, there have been comments on SNS from fans saying that the atmosphere that the program had on Sundays, the day it started, had disappeared, and station officials have stated that as a program on the Golden timeslot, high viewership is required.
Music career Music and lyrics In 2004, Ninomiya penned and composed for his solo performance during Arashi's
Iza, Now!! tour. Although Arashi's fifth studio album
One was the first of their albums to feature solo songs of each member, Ninomiya did not provide lyrics or music for official release until the
Time album almost two years later. In 2007, the group's eighteenth single "
Love So Sweet" was released with the limited edition containing the bonus song , which was written by Arashi and composed by Ninomiya in 2006 for their variety show
G no Arashi. On July 11, 2007, the
Time album was released with the limited edition containing solo song of each member. Ninomiya wrote the lyrics to his solo song, , and played the piano portion of the song throughout Arashi's
summer tour. He later reprised the performance throughout Arashi's second Asia Tour in 2008. In 2008, Ninomiya composed, co-arranged and penned the lyrics for his solo "
Gimmick Game". In 2010, Ninomiya also composed, co-arranged and penned the lyrics for his solo "
1992*4##111". According to Ninomiya himself, the title is read as .
Solo recordings During Arashi's hiatus, Ninomiya released, in 2022, a solo album with his choice of cover songs, on June 17, in CD (+DVD/BR) for the members of Arashi's Fan Club, and June 20, in digital download and streaming. With this, he became the second member, after
Satoshi Ohno, to release a solo work. The album, Marumaru to Ninomiya to (〇〇と二宮と), debuted at the top spot on the Oricon download ranking within a week of its release. A continuation cover album was released on July 1, 2025 on CD (a fan club-exclusive edition and a regular edition), while the streaming and download versions are expected for the following day. An official "listening party" will take place on July 2 through the app Stationhead. Additional information about the event was revealed on July 1, 2025. The musical performance in the event will feature songs from his second cover album; the talk part will be a "Q and A" session, answering questions sent in by members of the fan club. He did not return to do any major stage productions for nearly seven years after
Stand by Me, instead focusing on
dramas. However, in 2004, Ninomiya appeared in his first lead role in the stage play directed by
Yukio Ninagawa. From April 3, 2005 to May 4, 2005, he took up
Rebel Without a Cause, playing the
James Dean character Jim Stark. From July 18, 2009 to August 11, 2009, Ninomiya appeared in his first stage play in four years. He starred as the psychopathic murderer Bruno in , which was based on the
novel of the same name.
Drama In 1998, he made his television debut as a fifteen-year-old runaway in the
TBS television movie . From October 11, 1999 to October 29, 1999, because Arashi were the main supporters for the 8th World Cup of Volleyball Championships, all five members co-starred together for the first time in the volleyball-centered short drama . From 2003 to 2005, Ninomiya continued to appear in a wide range of dramas. He played a student who found himself to be one of the last four virgins left at school in the comedy series
Stand Up!!, a boyfriend of a girl who mysteriously shrunk into a size of merely sixteen centimeters tall in the romance series and a young man who accidentally killed his mother and developed an estranged relationship with his father as a result in the human drama series In 2006, Ninomiya starred in the drama special , which was based on the true story of young man diagnosed with
Ewing's sarcoma. He went on to appear in two different films for the rest of 2006 before taking up on January 11, 2007. During the summer of 2007, he and fellow Arashi bandmate
Sho Sakurai co-starred together in the
manga-based comedy drama
Yamada Tarō Monogatari. Ninomiya played the title character , an extremely poor student attending a school for the rich. Soon after—whilst juggling rehearsals for Arashi's upcoming concerts—he acted as the lead in the drama special , which was based on the true story of an
autistic young man training to become a marathon runner. After a year without any acting roles, other than a small guest appearance in bandmate
Satoshi Ohno's first lead drama
Maō, Ninomiya finally took up the main role in the drama
Ryūsei no Kizuna "流星の絆 His
Ryūsei no Kizuna role also earned him an Outstanding Actor nomination in the drama category in the 49th
Monte-Carlo Television Festival. His roles in
Door to Door and
Ryūsei no Kizuna won him the Individual Award in the television category of the 46th Galaxy Awards, a first for a Johnny's talent and the first by an actor in his twenties. Ninomiya began filming for the drama special in April 2009. However, the special, which saw Ninomiya's first time playing a
psychiatrist, did not air on television until September 24, 2009. In January 2010, Ninomiya co-starred with the other members of Arashi in their first drama in nearly ten years in the human suspense drama special
Saigo no Yakusoku "最後の約束". Ninomiya portrayed , a 27-year-old temporary security center employee who is caught up in a building hijack. On September 20, 2010, he made a guest appearance on the last episode of bandmate Matsumoto and
Yūko Takeuchi's
getsuku drama . Ninomiya starred in the drama , The drama maintained steady viewership ratings throughout its airing, having an average rating of 17.14% overall.
Film In 2002, he made his motion picture debut in Arashi's first movie together, . Claudia Puig of
USA Today ("also superb"),
James Berardinelli ("another performer worth singling out") and Kirk Honeycutt of
The Hollywood Reporter ("just terrific"). On January 7, 2007,
New York Times film critic
A. O. Scott listed Ninomiya as an ideal Oscar candidate for
Best Supporting Actor. On October 24, 2006, a couple months after returning from filming
Letters from Iwo Jima in the United States, he debuted as a
voice actor, lending his voice to main character Black in the
Michael Arias animated film
Tekkon Kinkreet. ,
Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya and
Tsuyoshi Ihara at the
Berlin International Film Festival in 2007 In 2007, all the members of Arashi co-starred in their third movie together, , with Ninomiya playing the main role of an aspiring manga artist. On October 1, 2010, the live-action adaptation of
Fumi Yoshinaga's award-winning
Ōoku: The Inner Chambers manga, which starred Ninomiya and
Kou Shibasaki, was released into theaters in Japan. Ninomiya played , a young man living in a matriarchal society due to a disease that killed most of the male population. Part one of the live-action adaptation of the manga
Gantz, which starred Ninomiya and
Kenichi Matsuyama, was released on January 20, 2011 in the United States and on January 29, 2011 in Japan. Ninomiya starred as
Kei Kurono, a young man who is hit by a
subway train and becomes part of a semi-posthumous "game" with other deceased people. Part two of
Gantz, titled
Gantz: Perfect Answer, hit theaters in Japan on April 23, 2011. In 2013, Ninomiya played the lead role in the film adaptation of
Keigo Higashino's novel
Platina Data, []. Ninomiya's 2008 drama series
Ryūsei no Kizuna [] was also based on a novel by Higashino. On 5 March 2016, Ninomiya won the 39th
Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor, for his performance in
Living with My Mother (Haha to Kuraseba), succeeding fellow Johnny & Associates colleague
Okada Junichi. The movie Tang, based on the novel "A robot in the garden" by Deborah Install, in which he plays a failed man abandoned by his wife, who finds an amnesiac stray robot in their garden, was released in theaters around Japan on August 11, 2022. A few days later, it was revealed that Ninomiya played also the role of Tang the robot, after he suggested to the producer, who had been testing with both children and adults for creating its movements without results, that he should also play him as a mirror of his own acting. Tang was made by CG animators using
motion capture. Ninomiya was invited to the
2025 Cannes Film Festival as part of the cast of the movie
Exit 8, which was included as a
non-competition feature for the midnight screening on May 19, 2025. The film is based on the viral game of the same name created by Kotake Create. Ninomiya plays a man who is trapped in subway corridor with a seemingly endless loop, who has to look out for any anomalies to get out Exit 8. == Other ventures ==