Nijiro Murakami (村上 虹郎, Murakami Nijirō; born March 17, 1997) is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is best-known for his role as Kaito in the 2014 romance film Still the Water, which was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. Murakami's role in Last of the Wolves (2021) received critical acclaim and earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the 45th Japan Academy Film Prize. He also gained international recognition for his role as Shuntaro Chishiya in Netflix survival series Alice in Borderland.
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Early life and career
Murakami was born on March 17, 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. He is the only son of actor Jun Murakami and singer Ua. His parents divorced when he was nine years old and he grew up with his mother, stepfather, and three younger half-siblings. While still attending preparatory school, he moved to Okinawa with his family. Murakami also studied for years in Montreal, Canada.
Murakami debuted in 2014, portraying the main role of Kaito in the award-winning film Still the Water, for which he received the Best Newcomer Award at the 29th Takasaki Film Festival. In 2015, Murakami debuted in the television series Tenshi no Naifu. That same year, he later starred in the live action adaptation of the anime Anohana, as well as the film Wasurenai to Chikatta Boku ga Ita.
As a voice actor, Murakami is best-known for voicing Hiro Shishigami in the anime adaptation of the Inuyashiki manga.
Personal life
Health
In 2023, Murakami went on hiatus for mental and physical health issues, being absent from the Tokyo Revengers 2 red carpet event and dropping out of the stage play Evangelion Beyond.
He resumed activities in 2025, having only a cameo in the Singapore-Japanese co-production Lost and Found and the third season of Alice in Borderland.
Domestic violence accusations
Murakami's ex–girlfriend accused him in early 2026 of domestic violence. The woman alleged there were at least four incidents from March to May 2024 in which he had hit her, pulled her hair, slammed her head against a window, and punched her in the face. According to reports, her injuries had taken at least a month to heal. Murakami admitted to injuring her in his questioning by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Agency.
After the news of the assault came out, TV Tokyo was considering what to do with the opening episode of the upcoming horror anthology series Strange –Junji Ito’s Strange Stories That Keep You Up at Night, airing on July 3, 2026, in which he was scheduled to appear.
Murakami posted an apology on X to his fans on June 28, 2026.
