Diamond Yukai

Overview

Diamond Yukai (ダイアモンド☆ユカイ; real name Yutaka Tadokoro, born March 12, 1962) is a Japanese singer-songwriter and actor. Born in Tokyo and raised in Saitama, he is best known as the vocalist of the rock band Red Warriors. Beyond his solo music career he works as an actor, voice actor, narrator and television personality, and he has appeared in the Hollywood films Tokyo Pop and Lost in Translation. He is signed to Sun Music Sound Mission.

Career

Red Warriors and solo debut

Yukai formed Red Warriors in 1985 as lead vocalist, and the band made its major debut on Nippon Columbia on October 10, 1986. In 1987 he began acting in the Hollywood film Tokyo Pop (released 1988, as Hiro opposite Carrie Hamilton) and attended the Cannes Film Festival. After the band disbanded in 1989, he made his solo debut in 1990 with "I'M THE BEST" and held a debut concert at Nippon Budokan. For the next decade he hosted an annual "Yukai Christmas" concert with a variety of guest musicians.

1990s

He starred in the 1993 video feature Heartbreaker. Red Warriors reunited in 1996 and paused in 1997, then returned in earnest in 1999, releasing two original albums among other work before going on hiatus again in 2003. In 1996 he sang the Japanese version of "You've Got a Friend in Me" for Toy Story (also "Strange Things" and "I Will Go Sailing No More"), and he appeared in Non-Stop/Dangan Runner (1996) and Unlucky Monkey (1998). His album Le CINEMA arrived on December 17, 1997. That year he also sang "Blue Sky Blue" on a Hideki Saijo rock tribute and married Rieko Miura, formerly of CoCo; they divorced in 2001. Under the name NIGHT LIFE he released Volume-one (1999) and Romance (2003).

2000s

In 2003 he released the single for Kamen Rider BE@RBRICK, and in 2003–04 he appeared in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation. On June 17, 2007 he performed at his live event "ROLLING ROCKS" alongside longtime ally Takehiko "Shake" Kogure—an event he calls his life work—and released D☆Y SHORT BIBLE. He played Zepp Tokyo with Red Warriors in October and held "ROLLING ROCKS 2" in December with guests ROLLY and HEESEY. He remarried in February 2009; in March he was reported to have hinted at retiring from music, but he continued working.

2010s

His first daughter, Niina, was born in February 2010; he moved to Sano, Tochigi that March and released the mini-album Niina. In July he was briefly hospitalized with neurocardiogenic syncope caused by overwork. In 2011 he was named a Sano Brand Ambassador, publicly discussed his azoospermia and published the book Tanenashi., and in November twin sons were born. He also released the digital single "Tamashii no Uta" that year.

In July 2012 he released the cover album Respect (Warner Music Japan), wrote and composed "Sanomaru Ondo" for Sano's mascot, and sang the Chunichi Dragons' "Doala's March"; in October he became a Tochigi Future Ambassador. In 2013 he published the parenting memoir Ikujii., released "Wonder Wings" and the second cover album RESPECT II in November, and held a Christmas dinner show at Shinagawa Prince Hotel. In 2014 his song "Mukuroji no Ki" aired on NHK's Minna no Uta, and he provided and sang "OPEN THE DREAM GATE" for the pro-wrestling promotion Dragon Gate.

In 2015 he joined Tetsuro Oda's band ROLL-B DINOSAUR as vocalist, released the family album Yukai na Kids Song, and played a one-night Red Warriors show at Saitama Super Arena. In October he held a 30th-anniversary concert, "Ryusei no Rock'n'Roll," at Yakult Hall, where his debut was decided. He played the Engineer in the musical Miss Saigon (2015–2016). In March 2016 he released the third cover album, Respect III, and held the birthday live "Hello-Goodbye"; in May he was named a Saitama stork ambassador. In 2017 YUKAI THE BEST 1990-1996 was released, he played Shocker Leader III in Kamen Rider × Super Sentai: Ultra Super Hero Taisen, and his mother died at age 90. In 2019 the online-only compilation The Best Respect Respect In Peace... closed out the Respect series.

Recent activity

He released the singles "Futari no Christmas Eve" (December 1, 2025), "Ai to Chowa no Symphony" (January 1, 2026), "Rock Star" (February 15, 2026) and "No Ma Jean" (February 26, 2026). In January 2026 he underwent surgery to remove a throat tumor and left the hospital on the 28th, and in February he received the grand prize at the Best Fundoshist Award 2025.

Musical style

A rock vocalist, Yukai has openly named Randy Newman, the Rolling Stones, Kenji Sawada and Kenichi Hagiwara among his favorites. His Respect cover series centers on songs that make men cry and songs men fall for, and his catalog also spans children's songs, regional theme songs and pro-wrestling anthems. Some works, such as "Sanomaru Ondo," are self-written and composed.

Personal life

His stage name comes from the nickname "Yukai" (cheerful), and the star in his name was changed from ☆ to ✡. He has a daughter, who competes in artistic swimming, and twin sons, and has spoken publicly about his interests in history, health and sweets.