Because Japan's film business is brimming with attractive and brilliant actors, it can be tough to stand out, with actresses typically reaching the pinnacle of their careers in their 30s. However, some actresses have established themselves in the profession while still in their twenties, demonstrating that they are accomplished artists with enough skills to carry a whole film even if they are not the lead. Here are ten such personalities, along with their debut films.
1. Fumi Nikaido
Fumi Nikaido began her career as a model in Naha, Okinawa, before landing a role in Koji Yakusho's Toad's Oil in 2009. Her breakthrough film was Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2013) A film about a fight between two competing yakuza clans, the daughter of one of the yakuza lords, a group of independent filmmakers, and a random bystander who serves as the spark for a violent clash between all parties involved.
2. Ryoko Hirosue
Ryoko debuted on television as a singer on the program TK Music Camp at the age of 14 when she entered the P&G cosmetic model competition. Wasabi (2001) - Her Breakthrough Film Role Wasabi is a French action-comedy film about a loose-cannon French cop who travels to Japan after learning of the death of an old flame, only to be given sole custody of the French/Japanese girl Yumi, who is being pursued by the Yakuza.
3. Sakura Ando
Sakura Ando is a Tokyo-based actress who began her career as a supporting actress in numerous films, winning several accolades, including Best Supporting Actress. Ai to Makoto's Breakthrough Film Role (2012) Ai to Makoto is an action/musical love story based on the manga series of the same name that follows the daughter of a well-respected and wealthy family and a juvenile criminal who is now on the hunt for the head of a female gang.
4. Hikari Mitsushima
Hikari Mitsushima began her career as a young idol singer in 1997 with the J-Pop group Folder 5. Love Exposure (2008) was her breakthrough film role. Love Exposure tells the story of a young devout Catholic boy who is kindhearted and faithful, yet tries to commit as much sin as possible because confessing it is the only way he can talk to his parish priest’s father. While disguised as "Miss Scorpion," he meets a young teenage girl named Yoko and falls in love with her; unfortunately, Yoko falls in love with Miss Scorpion.
5. Chizuru Ikewaki
Chizuru Ikewaki is an Osaka-based actress who debuted in 1999 with the film Osaka Story. Her Breakthrough Film Performances: Josee, The Tiger, and The Fish (2003) Josee, The Tiger and the Fish is based on the novel of the same name and follows Tsuneo, a university student, and part-time worker, as he meets Josee, a disable girl his age, during an accident with the pram she is using.
6. Ko Shibasaki
An actress who made her breakout in the cult classic Battle Royale in 2000, which catapulted her to international recognition and landed her numerous high-profile roles, including Tsubaki Sakurai in the 2001 film Go. Her breakout cinematic role is in Battle Royale (2000) Battle Royale is an adaptation of the same-named action thriller novel, and it takes place in a hypothetical Japan where the government has imposed a deadly game in which students must kill one other due to rampant juvenile crime.
7. Yuriko Yoshitaka
Yoshitaka began her career as an actor in 2006, at 18, in the film adaptation of the award-winning novel Snakes and Earrings. Her Breakthrough Film Performance in A Story of Yonosuke (2013) - The story revolves around the titular young man, who relocates to Tokyo to attend college. He meets new people and has some uninteresting adventures. The film then fast-forwards. Yonosuke died 20 years later, and we get to see the impact he had on the people he met.
8. Mao Inoue
Mao Inoue made her debut in 1999 as a member of the u-15 idol unit, but she rose to prominence after appearing in the Japanese TV drama Kids War, before hitting the pinnacle of her career and receiving honors when she appeared in the Hana Yori Dango series. Her Breakthrough Performance in The Snow White Murder Case (2014): The Snow White Murder Case is based on Kanae Minato's novel "Shiro Yuki Hime Satsujin Jiken" and centers on a murder that occurs at a cosmetics company.
9. Yoko Maki
Maki made her cinematic debut at the age of 19 in the 2001 film Drug, but her actual big break came when she was cast in The Princess Blade, a modernized adaptation of the famous retribution film Lady Snowblood. Her Debut Film Role: The Ravine of Goodbye (2013) - The Ravine of Goodbye is a murder mystery about the death of a kid, with the mother as the primary suspect and a neighbor with whom she was supposedly having an affair as an accessory.
10. Erika Sawajiri
Erika Sawajiri is a model, singer, and actress who began her career in 1999 after graduating from elementary school and passing a Stardust audition. Helter Skelter (2012) Breakthrough Movie Role: Helter Skelter follows famed star Ririko, who has had multiple cosmetic procedures to retain her appearance. But, as the repeated surgeries take their toll on her body, she becomes unhappy and takes it out on everyone around her.
