Masafumi Akikawa (秋川雅史 Akikawa Masafumi, born October 11, 1967, Saijō, Ehim… Read Full Bio ↴Masafumi Akikawa (秋川雅史 Akikawa Masafumi, born October 11, 1967, Saijō, Ehime, Japan) is a Japanese tenor singer.

Despite already having released three albums, "Passion" in 2001, "Dream of Love - Ai no yume -" in 2004 and "Ifu Dodo" in 2005, Akikawa, called "Akki" by fans, remained relatively unpopular, and even his most successful single to date "Sen no kaze ni natte" (I am a thousand winds) was ranked the single with the lowest initial sales, selling only 513 copies in the week of its debut.

Things changed with Akikawa's appearance at the annual Japanese music show "Kohaku Uta Gassen", aired at New Year's Eve and watched by millions of Japanese every year.
After his appearance in 2006 the sales for "Sen no kaze...", originally released in May 2006, skyrocketed, as well as the sales for "Ifu Dodo".
Furthermore, the song was used as a basis for a 4-part drama series, in which various actors replay the true stories of people whose lives have been affected by "Sen no kaze..."

The single was eventually announced best-selling single of 2007, with Akikawa appearing on Kohaku again in 2007, having given a total of 160 live performances over the year.

Since then, Akikawa has released two further albums, one in 2008, named after his most successful single, and "Fantasista" in 2010.
A Concert DVD has been released in 2010 and most recently, in March 2012.

Akikawa continues his busy touring schedule and appears on stages all over Japan every year.