Yasuda entered Johnny & Associates in 1997 together with fellow members Ryo Nishikido and Tadayoshi Ōkura. Also at the audition was Ryūhei Maruyama. As a result, these members have been close friends for a long time during their Kansai Jr days even before Kanjani8 was formed. Yasuda's application had been sent in by his older sister. In it, she had written that Yasuda's specialty was that he could "do anything" (nandemo dekiru). In 1999, Yasuda was chosen to be a guitarist for V.WEST. The Kansai Jr band was popular among Jr fans and had its o…