Asuka Saitō

Asuka Saitō (齋藤 飛鳥), 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 from Myanmar and her father is from Japan. She has two older brothers.

When Saitō was in 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 This resulted in a withdrawn personality as a consequence, which she eventually overcame after joining Nogizaka46.

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.

Photobooks

 * Kikan Nogizaka vol.3 Ryōshū (4 September 2014, Tokyo News Service) ISBN 9784863364264
 * Shiosai (25 January 2017, Gentosha) ISBN 9784344030534
 * Museum (23 May 2023, Kodansha)