# Asuka Saitō

Asuka Saitō (齋藤 飛鳥, Saitō Asuka, born August 10, 1998), is a Japanese actress, model, and television personality. She is a former first generation member of the idol girl group Nogizaka46 and a regular model for the fashion magazine sweet.
As an actress her lead roles have included Mana Hayase in the Japanese remake of You Are the Apple of My Eye, and Midori Asakusa in both the film and TV adaptations of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!.

## Early life

Saitō was born on August 10, 1998, in Katsushika, Tokyo. Her mother is Burmese and her father is Japanese. She has two older brothers.
When Saitō was in her latter years of elementary school, she was bullied by her classmates and, despite reaching out, received no help from her teachers, prompting her to stop attending school for a period of time. This resulted in a withdrawn personality as a consequence, which she eventually overcame after joining Nogizaka46.

## Career
### Early career: child actress

Saitō debuted as an actress in 2007 in the film Sakuran, playing the protagonist as a child. She had also appeared in a number of commercials.

### 2011–2023: Nogizaka46

In 2011, encouraged by her mother she auditioned for [then] an upcoming j-pop idol girl group, she successfully passed the audition for the first generation of idol group Nogizaka46, debuting as an idol on the group's first single "Guruguru Curtain" in February 2012. Saitō became the center member on the 15th Nogizaka46 single, "Hadashi de Summer", in 2016.
In 2015, Saitō became the exclusive model for the fashion magazine CUTiE published by Takarajimasha, which stopped publication in the same year. Saitō then became a regular model for another fashion magazine from the same publisher, sweet, as the magazine's youngest model since its publication.
In 2017, Gentosha published Saitō's first photobook. Titled Shiosai, the photobook sold 58,215 copies in the first week. As of December 2018, the photobook has sold over two-hundred thousand copies.
Saitō announced her graduation from Nogizaka46 on November 4, 2022. She would stay in the group until the end of 2022 and plans a graduation concert in 2023. She is the penultimate first generation member to leave the group. Asuka officially graduated from the group on December 31, 2022, and her graduation concert took place on May 17–18, 2023, at the Tokyo Dome, attended by 100 thousand people.

### Acting

Saitō was active as an actress and model outside of Nogizaka46. She has played lead roles in the Japanese remake of the Taiwanese film You Are the Apple of My Eye and the NTV horror drama Zambi. After departing from Nogizaka46, Saitō returned to full-time acting. In March 2023, it was announced that she would portray Riko in the crime and suspense film Side by Side directed by Chihiro Ito.
On January 9, 2023, it was revealed that Saitō was cast for both the film and television drama live-action adaptation of the manga My Home Hero as Reika Tosu, an 18-year-old college student trapped in an abusive relationship at the start of the story and who later becomes a police investigator after a timeskip. The movie is scheduled to air in March 2024.
In January 23, 2024, it was announced that she is also set to star as Ai Hoshino for the live-action film adaptation of the manga Oshi no Ko.

## Discography
### Singles with Nogizaka46

| Year | No. | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | 1 | "Guruguru Curtain" | A-side | Debuted as a 1st Generation member; Also sang on "Nogizaka no Uta", "Aitakatta Kamoshirenai", "Ushinaitakunai kara" and "Shiroi Kumo ni Notte" |
| 2012 | 2 | "Oide Shampoo" | B-side | Does not sing on title track. Sang on "Ōkami ni Kuchibue o" as Under Member |
| 2012 | 3 | "Hashire! Bicycle" | B-side | Does not sing on title track. Sang on "Kairyū no Shima yo" as Under Member |
| 2012 | 4 | "Seifuku no Mannequin" | A-side | Also sang on "Yubi Bōenkyō" and "Yasashisa Nara Ma ni Atteru" |
| 2013 | 5 | "Kimi no Na wa Kibō" | B-side | Does not sing on title track. Sang on "Shakiism" and "13nichi no Kinyobi" as Under Member |
| 2013 | 6 | "Girl's Rule" | B-side | Does not sing on title track. Sang on "Senpūki" as Under Member and "Ningen to Iu Gakki" |
| 2013 | 7 | "Barrette" | A-side | Also sang on "Tsuki no Ōkisa" and "Sonna Baka na…" |
| 2014 | 8 | "Kizuitara Kataomoi" | B-side | Does not sing on title track. Sang on "Toiki no Method" and "Umareta Mama de" as Under Member |
| 2014 | 9 | "Natsu no Free & Easy" | B-side | Does not sing on title track. Sang on "Koko ni Iru Riyū" as Under Member |
| 2014 | 10 | "Nandome no Aozora ka?" | B-side | Does not sing on title track. Sang on "Watashi, Okiru" and "Ano Hi Boku wa Tossa ni Uso o Tsuita" as Under Member |
| 2015 | 11 | "Inochi wa Utsukushii" | A-side | Also sang on "Arakajime Katarareru Romance" |
| 2015 | 12 | "Taiyō Nokku" | A-side | Also sang on "Hane no Kioku" and "Seifuku o Nuide Sayonara o…" |
| 2015 | 13 | "Ima, Hanashitai Dareka ga Iru" | A-side | Also sang on "Popipappapā" and "Kanashimi no Wasurekata" |
| 2016 | 14 | "Harujion ga Sakukoro" | A-side | Also sang on "Harukanaru Bhutan" |
| 2016 | 15 | "Hadashi de Summer" | A-side, center | Also sang on "Boku Dake no Hikari" |
| 2016 | 16 | "Sayonara no Imi" | A-side | Also sang on "Kodoku na Aozora" and "Ano Kyōshitsu" |
| 2017 | 17 | "Influencer" | A-side | Also sang on "Another Ghost" |
| 2017 | 18 | "Nigemizu" | A-side | Also sang on "Onna wa Hitori ja Nemurenai", "Hito Natsu no Nagasa Yori…" and "Naitatte Iijanaika?" |
| 2017 | 19 | "Itsuka Dekiru kara Kyō Dekiru" | A-side, center | Shared center position with Nanase Nishino; Also sang on "Fuminshō" |
| 2018 | 20 | "Synchronicity" | A-side | Also sang on "Against" as 1st Generation member |
| 2018 | 21 | "Jikochū de Ikō!" | A-side, center | Also sang on "Chikyū ga Maruinara " and "Anna ni Sukidatta no ni…" |
| 2018 | 22 | "Kaerimichi wa Tōmawari Shitaku Naru" | A-side | Also sang on "Caravan wa Nemuranai" and "Shiritai Koto " |
| 2019 | 23 | "Sing Out!" | A-side, center | Also sang on "No Yō na Sonzai" |
| 2019 | 24 | "Yoake Made Tsuyogaranakutemoii" | A-side | Also sang on "Boku no Koto, Shitteru?", "Romendensha no Machi" and "Boku no Omoikomi" |
| 2020 | 25 | "Shiawase no Hogoshoku" | A-side | Also sang on "Sayonara Stay With Me", "Romendensha no Machi" and "Fantastic Sanshoku Pan" |
| 2020 | — | "Sekaijū no Rinjin yo" | — | Charity song during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020 | — | "Route 246" | Center | |
| 2021 | 26 | "Boku wa Boku o Suki ni Naru" | A-side | Also sang on "Ashita ga Aru Riyū" and "Wilderness World" |
| 2021 | 27 | "Gomen ne Fingers Crossed" | A-side | Also sang on "Zenbu Yume no Mama" |
| 2021 | 28 | "Kimi ni Shikarareta" | A-side | Also sang on "Dorodarake" and "Tanin no Sora ni" |
| 2021 | — | "Saigo no Tight Hug" | A-side | |
| 2022 | 29 | "Actually..." | Center | Shared center position with Mizuki Yamashita; Also sang on "Fukayomi" and "Suki ni Nattemita" |
| 2022 | 30 | "Suki to Iu no wa Rock da ze!" | A-side | |
| 2022 | 31 | "Koko ni wa Nai Mono" | Center | Last single to participate |

### Albums with Nogizaka46

| Year | No. | Title | Participated song |
| 2015 | 1 | Tōmei na Iro | "Nazo no Rakugaki" "Jiyū no Kanata " |
| 2016 | 2 | Sorezore no Isu | "Kikkake" "Taiyō ni Kudokarete" "Threefold Choice" |
| 2017 | 3 | Umarete Kara Hajimete Mita Yume | "Skydiving" "Settei Ondo" "Katai Kara no Yō ni Dakishimetai" (Solo) |
| 2019 | 4 | Ima ga Omoide ni Naru made | "Arigachi na Ren'ai" "Mosugu ~Zambi Densetsu~" |

### Other featured songs

| Year | Artist | Title | Albums / Singles |
| 2017 | AKB48 | "Dare no Koto o Ichiban Aishiteru" | "Shoot Sign" |
| 2017 | Mondo Grosso | "Wakusei Tantra" | Nando Demo Atarashiku Umareru |
| 2018 | AKB48 | "Kokkyo no Nai Jidai" | "Jabaja" |
| 2019 | AKB48 | "Hitsuzensei" | "Jiwaru Days" |
| 2021 | Nogizaka46 | "Hard to Say" | "Time Flies" |
| 2022 | Mondo Grosso | "Stranger" | Big World |

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Sakuran | Tomeki | |
| 2018 | You Are the Apple of My Eye | Mana Hayase | |
| 2020 | Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! The Movie | Midori Asakusa | Lead role |
| 2023 | Side by Side | Riko | |
| 2024 | My Home Hero: The Movie | Reika Tosu | |
| 2024 | Oshi no Ko: The Final Act | Ai Hoshino | |
| 2025 | Unforgettable | | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2016 | A Girl's Dream | Nanami Hidaka | |
| 2016 | Tales of the Unusual: Summer Special 2016 "Another Elevator" | Kimiko Shishido | |
| 2019 | Zambi | Kanade Yamamuro | Lead role |
| 2020 | Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! | Midori Asakusa | Lead role |
| 2020 | Murdered Remotely | Yumiko Tamura | |
| 2023 | My Home Hero | Reika Tosu | |
| 2023 | My Beloved Flower | Konomi Ushio | |
| 2024 | Oshi no Ko | Ai Hoshino | |
| 2024 | Light of My Lion | Mio Makimura | |

### Music video

| Year | Title | Artist | Ref(s) |
| 2023 | Life | Gen Hoshino | |
| 2024 | Fujin (風神) | Vaundy | |