Article: Top 10 Japanese Stars Who Can Fluently Speak Other Languages

If these different actors, singers and idols weren’t already talented enough with overflowing resumes, their ability to speak more than one language gives them an extra boost. For these celebrities, speaking multiple languages is not just a sign of them investing time into their skills, within such a packed schedule. Besides obvious advantages it also allows them to communicate with a wider audience in their fanbase. And who wouldn’t love to think about talking to their favourite international celebrities without having someone to translate what’s being communicated. With that in mind, here are 10 Japanese stars who wow us with their amazing language speaking skills.

1. Yuki Furukawa

Multitalented Yuki is an actor, model, break-dancer and guitarist, besides being a father to his 3-year-old daughter. His breakthrough role in the Japanese drama Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo set him on the road to stardom. Mainly acting in Japanese cinema he has contributed a lot of English lines in dramas and interviews. His fluency in the language comes from the fact that he spent a major part of his childhood overseas in Canada and the US, where he completed his education before moving back to Japan.

 

2. Nakamoto Yuta

Lovingly given the nickname “Osaka Prince” and “Guardian of Takoyaki” by his fans, Yuta is the vocalist, lead rapper and lead rapper of the K-pop group NCT. Despite originally wanting to be a professional footballer, he gave that up to become an idol, which worked in his favour. Most of his interviews require him to speak in Korean, which he does, while often discussing quite advanced topics with poise and grace. Spending so much time in South Korea he for sure has become extremely proficient in the language!

 

3. Ken Watanabe

Having starred in multiple Japanese dramas and films, his work expands beyond the Japanese movie industry. To his western English speaking audience, Ken is mostly known for his tragic character roles in films like Memoirs of a Geisha, Inception, Letters from Iwo Jima and The Last Samurai, the last of which garnered him an Academy Award nomination. Despite learning English towards the latter part of his career, he has become quite fluent in the language- a proof of which lies in his large filmography

Watanabe Ken

 

4. Sana Minatozaki

A vocalist in the kpop group Twice, Sana picked up Korean after going to South Korea as a JYP Entertainment trainee. She is applauded by many in the interviews and variety shows she goes to for being exceptionally fluent in the language. Her secret, she claims, lies in nothing but hard work and practice. Besides having to communicate with her Korean members in that language, she also gained practice from her vocal training sessions- showing that nothing is impossible if one puts in the time and effort!

 

5. Hikaru Utada

Born in the United States to Japanese parents, she was heavily influenced by music as a child since her parents were involved in the music industry. She often had to travel to Tokyo because of her father’s job which eventually ended up with her signing a recording contract over there. Being bilingual, although she initially released English music she soon introduced her American R&B style to the J-pop scene, becoming a core component of the genre.

 

6. Nakabayashi Rima

The main rapper of the J-pop group NiziU under JYP Entertainment, Rima is not just fluent in two languages but three, making her one of the few trilinguals on this list. Having gone to international schools in Japan since she was a child, English came naturally to her. She has even mentioned in interviews that she feels more comfortable speaking in English rather than Japanese. Her time spent in South Korea due to her training helped her pick up their language to the point that even her trainers pointed out her impressive fluency.

 

7. Kei Hosogai

Starring in various film and television productions like Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger and Battle of Demons, Kei is not only an actor but also the bassist for a rock band for a small-time period. Despite being born and based in Japan, he spent a few parts of his childhood in Washington and Hawaii in the United States, making him pick up the English language. He attended a Japanese school during his time, allowing him to become fluent in both Japanese and English.

 

8. Shiori Kutsuna

Born and brought up in Sydney, Australia, Kutsuna moved to Japan at the age of 14 to further pursue her career as an actress and model. Being fluent in both English and Japanese helped her get more roles in various films and tv shows. One of her most popular English works includes playing the role of Yukio in Deadpool 2!

 

9. Giselle

The rapper and vocalist of k-pop group Aespa is the second trilingual on this list, speaking Japanese, English and Korean. Giselle, although born in Japan, went to an international school where she picked up English at the same time as her native tongue. Having to move to South Korea to become an idol under SM Entertainment, she also had to learn Korean, thereby becoming fluent in not two but three languages!

 

10. Yuho Yamashita

The final person on this list is, you guessed it, the last trilingual. Japanese actress Yuho Yamashita, born in Japan, currently resides in Leipzig, Germany. She is the only person on this list to speak German, besides speaking Japanese and English. Although fluent in all, she only started learning German and English towards the latter part of her career and considers her motivation and hard work to be her reasons for being successful in learning them.