Sayaka Akimoto

Sayaka Akimoto
秋元 才加
Akimoto in July 2021
Born 26 July 1988
Makati, Philippines
Nationality Japanese
Occupations
  • Actress
  • singer
Years active 2006–present
Agent Flave Entertainment (formerly)
Spouse
PUNPEE
​
(m.  2020)​
Children 1
Musical career
Genres J-pop
Years active 2006–2014
Labels
Formerly of
Website sayaka-akimoto.com

Sayaka Akimoto (秋元 才加, Akimoto Sayaka, born July 26, 1988) is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and its spin-off unit Diva. She is of Japanese and Filipino descent.

As an actress, Akimoto has appeared in both Japanese and American productions, and made her Hollywood debut in Sniper: Assassin's End (2020). She also provides the Japanese dub for Mantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Career

Family and early career

Akimoto was born to a Japanese father and a Filipino mother. In 2012, she ran the Tokyo Marathon for the second year in a row and donated the money to the Philippines. Her solo book of photographs is entitled Ari no Mama. On June 26, 2014, Akimoto was appointed as the Goodwill Philippine Tourism Ambassador to promote the Philippines as a tourist destination in Japan. She was also assigned as a narrator in the collaboration drama of PTV-4 and Nippon TV entitled "Halo Halo House-Jose's Nippon Diary"

2006–2013: AKB48 member

Sayaka Akimoto at the Japan Expo 2009 in Paris, France

Akimoto began her career in AKB48 as one of the members of the second generation, the Original Team K. On the last day of the Budokan concert on August 23, 2009, during the first team shuffle, Akimoto was officially made captain of Team K. She resigned after a scandal in 2010 but after completing the Tokyo Marathon in 2011, she was reappointed the position. On August 24, 2012, in the Tokyo Dome~1830m no Yume~ concert, Yuko Oshima replaced her as the captain of Team K via team shuffle.

She has since been involved with sub-unit group Diva under Avex. She became a regular on the popular noon TV show Waratte Iitomo from 2010 to 2012. She was also featured as one of the members in AKB48's own anime television show alongside other members Minami Takahashi, Yuko Oshima, Tomomi Itano, Atsuko Maeda and others.

On April 7, 2013, Akimoto announced on her official blog that she would not be participating in AKB48's 2013 general election, and would be graduating from AKB48 to focus on her acting. Her graduation ceremony was held on August 22 at the Tokyo Dome, and her final stage performance was held on August 28 at the AKB48 Theater, and has been streamed live by Nico Nico Namahousou.

2014–present: Solo career

In 2014, she reunited with her sub-unit group DIVA to release their final single "Discovery", an album, and a tour before disbandment.

She composed and sang "Little Witch" which was the NHK 2014 Spring Campaign Theme Song.

Since leaving AKB48 she has starred in four films. She has a recurring role as Bikuu in Garo which led to a solo film spin off in 2015. She sang the theme song of the film entitled "Sengetsu ~Hikari to Yami no Soba de~".

Akimoto was a co-host for Team Japan in the reality competition show Ultimate Beastmaster which was released on Netflix on February 24, 2017.

Personal life

On July 27, 2020, Akimoto married music producer and singer PUNPEE. She gave birth to their first child on October 4, 2023.

Discography

With AKB48

Singles

Year No. Title Role Notes
2006 1 "Aitakatta" A-side Debut with Team K. Also sang on "Dakedo..."
2007 2 "Seifuku ga Jama o Suru" A-side Also sang on "Virgin Love"
3 "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō" A-side
4 "Bingo!" A-side Also sang on "Only Today"
5 "Boku no Taiyō" A-side Also sang on "Mirai no Kajitsu".
2008 7 "Romance, Irane" A-side Also sang on "Ai no moufu".
8 "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008" A-side
9 "Baby! Baby! Baby!" A-side
10 "Ōgoe Diamond" A-side Also sang on "109".
2009 11 "10nen Sakura" A-side
13 "Iiwake Maybe" A-side Ranked 12th in 2009 General Election.
14 "River" A-side
2010 15 "Sakura no Shiori" A-side Also sang on "Majisuka Rock 'n' Roll".
16 "Ponytail to Shushu" Under Girls Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Nusumareta Kuchibiru" as Under Girls; and "Majijo Teppen Blues"
17 "Heavy Rotation" A-side, Yasai Sisters Ranked 17th in 2010 General Election. Also sang on "Yasai Sisters".
18 "Beginner" Diva Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Nakeru Basho" as Diva.
19 "Chance no Junban" B-side Did not sing on title track; lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament. Sang on "Alive" with Team K.
2011 20 "Sakura no Ki ni Narō" Diva Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Area K" as Diva.
-- "Dareka no Tame ni - What can I do for someone?" -- Charity single
21 "Everyday, Katyusha" B-side Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Yankee Soul".
22 "Flying Get" A-side Ranked 17th in 2011 General Election. Also sang on "Seishun to Kizukanai mama"; and "Yasai Uranai" as Yasai Sisters 2011.
23 "Kaze wa Fuiteiru" Under Girls Yurigumi Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Gondola Lift" as Under Girls Yurigumi.
24 "Ue kara Mariko" A-side Lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament; She sang on "Zero-sum Taiyō" as Team K.
2012 25 "Give Me Five!" Special Girls B Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Hitsujikai no Tabi" as Special Girls B.
26 "Manatsu no Sounds Good!" Special Girls Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Mitsu no Namida" as Special Girls.
27 "Gingham Check" Under Girls Did not sing on title track. Ranked 20th in 2012 General Election. She sang on "Nante Bohemian" as Under Girls.
28 "Uza" New Team K Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Scrap & Build" as New Team K.
29 "Eien Pressure" B-side Did not sing on title track; lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament. Sang on "Watashitachi no Reason".
2013 30 "So Long!" B-side Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Yuuhi Marie" as Team K.
31 "Sayonara Crawl" B-side Did not sing on title track. Sang on "How Come?" as Team K.
2014 36 "Labrador Retriever" B-side Did not participate in title song. Participated in "Kyō made no Melody" as graduated member.

Singles with SKE48

Year No. Title Role Notes
2016 19 "Chicken Line" B-side Sang on "Tabi no Tochū". Participated as graduated member.

Stage units

Team K 1st Stage "Party ga Hajimaru yo" (PARTYが始まるよ)
  • Skirt, Hirari (スカート、ひらり)
  • Hoshi no Ondo (星の温度)
Team K 2nd Stage "Seishun Girls" (青春ガールズ)
  • Blue Rose
  • Fushidara na Natsu (ふしだらな夏)
Team K 3rd Stage "Nōnai Paradise" (脳内パラダイス)
  • Kimi wa Pegasus (君はペガサス)
Himawari Gumi 1st Stage "Boku no Taiyō" (僕の太陽)
  • Himawari (向日葵)
Himawari Gumi 2nd Stage "Yume o Shinaseru Wakeni Ikanai" (夢を死なせるわけにいかない)
  • Confession
Team K 4th Stage "Saishū Bell ga Naru" (最終ベルが鳴る)
  • Return Match (リターンマッチ)
Team K 5th Stage "Sakaagari" (逆上がり)
  • Mushi no Ballad (虫のバラード) (Solo Unit)
Team K 6th Stage "Reset"
  • Ashita no Tame ni Kiss o (明日のためにキスを)
Team K Waiting Stage
  • Anata to Christmas Eve (あなたとクリスマスイブ)
  • Yuuwaku no Garter (誘惑のガーター)

With Diva

Main article: Diva (Japanese band) § Discography
  • "Tsuki no Ura gawa"
    • "Fade out"
    • "Information"
    • "Blue rose -Diva ver.-"
  • "Cry"
    • "No way out"
    • "Chika Suidō"
    • "Maria -Diva ver.-"
  • "Lost the Way"
    • "Kanashimi no Mirage"
    • "Kimi wa Pegasus -Diva ver.-"

Filmography

Films

Year Title Role Directed by Notes Ref.
2007 Densen Uta Shuri Matsuda Masato Harada
2009 Super Gore Girl Yukie Takashi Hisao Tabuchi Lead role
High Kick Girl! Rika Fuyuhiko Nishi
2012 Ultraman Saga Anna Ozaki Hideki Oka
2014 Tokyo Slaves Eia Arakawa Sakichi Sato Lead role
2015 Bikuu the Movie Bikuu Akira Ohashi Lead role
Mango and the Red Wheelchair Ayaka Miyasono Shigeo Nakakura Lead role
Galaxy Turnpike Manmo Kōki Mitani
2020 Sniper: Assassin's End Yuki "Lady Death" Mifune Kaare Andrews American film
Beautiful Dreamer Sayaka Katsuyuki Motohiro

Television dramas

Year Title Role Network Notes Ref.
2016 Good Morning Call Yukari Netflix and FOD
Sumika Sumire Chiaki Yoshinogo TV Asahi
2021 Aikatsu Planet! Izumi Watanuki TV Tokyo
2022 The 13 Lords of the Shogun Tomoe Gozen NHK Taiga drama

Stage plays

Year English title Japanese title Role Ref.
2008 Oishii Timing おいしいタイミング Un­known
2010 Space Wars スペース・ウォーズ Un­known
2010 Act Izumi Kyoka 音楽劇 「ACT泉鏡花」 Tomohime (富姫)
2012 Roman Holiday ローマの休日 Ann Princess (アン王女)
2014 Kokumin no Eiga 国民の映画 Elsa Veesenmayer (エルザ・フェーゼンマイヤー)
2018 Japan's History 日本の歴史 Un­known

Musicals

Year English title Japanese title Role
2009 AKB Kagekidan Infinity AKB歌劇団 「∞・Infinity」 Muraama Ruka (村雨ルカ)
2010 Minky Momo: Kagami no Kuni no Princess ミンキーモモ〜鏡の国のプリンセス〜 Nightmare (ナイトメアー)
2011 Super Live Show "Double Heroine" スーパーLIVEショー「ダブルヒロイン」 Kinoshita Rachel (木下レイチェル)
2013 Mozart l'Opéra Rock ロックオペラ モーツァルト Constanze (コンスタンツェ)
2015 Shelock Holmes 2: Bloody Game シャーロック ホームズ2 ～ブラッディ・ゲーム～ Maria Clara (マリア・クララ)
2018 Ghost the Musical ゴースト Molly Jensen (モリー・イェンセン)

Other television

Year Title Role
2008 Mujack Self
2008 AKB 0ji 59fun Self
2008–2013 AKBingo! Self
2008–2010 AKB48 Nemosu TV (AKB48ネ申テレビ) Self
2009–2010 Shukan AKB48 (週刊AKB) Self
2009 Music Fighter Self
2010 G.I. Goro Self
2010–2012 Waratte Iitomo! Self
2014 Couple Kitchen Self
2017 Ultimate Beastmaster Host for Team Japan

Japanese dub

Year Title Role Voice dub for Ref.
2013 Spring Breakers Faith Selena Gomez
2017 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Mantis Pom Klementieff
2018 Avengers: Infinity War
2019 Avengers: Endgame
2022 Thor: Love and Thunder
2023 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3