Rikiya Otaka was born on August 27th, 1991, in the bustling city of Tokyo.
At the tender age of six, he was handpicked from a multitude of young boys to portray the role of Yoichi Asakawa, a seven-year-old, in the 1998 film Ringu. Today, alongside Hiroyuki Sanada, who played Ryuji Takayama in the same film, he is the most credited and popular male character in the entire Ringu series.
Rikiya reprised his role as Yoichi in the first sequel, Spiral, in 1999, but unfortunately, it failed to impress audiences in the cinemas. However, he continued to work hard and enjoyed every moment of playing Yoichi again in Ring 2, released in 1999, where he took on the role of the supporting male actor.
In the year 2000, Rikiya focused on doing extras work and made a notable appearance in the hit TV series "Kamen Rider Agito" in 2001. He then collaborated with director Hideo Nakata once again for a separate project, playing the role of Yuuchi in the film Sleeping Bride, released in the same year. He also made small appearances in Kuroe (2001) and The Sea Is Watching (2002).
As Rikiya's talent began to gain recognition, he starred in the drama movie Catharisis in 2003, playing the role of the youngest brother of a family, who was angry at his elder brother for dividing the family. He then played the main player's best friend in the film BBK Basketball Kids.
In the years 2004 and 2005, Rikiya appeared in the large-budget, drama-history film Kita no zeronen (2005),playing the role of Mamiya's son.
