Jurina Matsui

is a Japanese TV personality, singer, actress, and YouTuber. She is a former member of Japanese idol girl group SKE48 and former concurrent member of AKB48 (in 2012–2015). She is recognized as SKE48's absolute "ace", having placed in the top 10 in many of AKB48's annual general elections and winning the 2018 election.

Matsui debuted with SKE48 in 2008 and was soon appointed as the center position for AKB48's single "Ōgoe Diamond", making her the first sister group member to participate and serve as the choreography center in the group's main single lineup. Matsui graduated from SKE48 in 2021 with her last single "Koiochi Flag".

As a solo artist, Matsui has starred in many supporting roles and had her first leading role in horror TV drama Death Cash (2016). She released her self-written first solo album Privacy on October 5, 2019. Aichi Prefecture as the only child to Yumiko Matsui, a cosmetologist. Matsui was interested in singing since nursery school, then came to like dancing when she started to attend hip-hop dance school around the third grade of primary school.

Music career 2008–2012: Debut with "Ōgoe Diamond" and SKE48 In 2008, Matsui auditioned for SKE48 and made her debut performance on October 5 at SKE48 Theater in Sakae, Nagoya. Three months later, at the age of 11, Matsui was chosen as the choreography center and the cover girl for AKB48's single "Ōgoe Diamond". It was the first time an AKB48 single would feature a member of a sister group.

In 2009, Matsui was chosen again as one of the centers for AKB48's 11th major single "10nen Sakura" with Atsuko Maeda.

2012–2017: Concurrent position in AKB48 In early 2012, following scandals in which members Natsumi Hirajima and Rumi Yonezawa resigned from AKB48, Matsui was added to AKB48 as a temporary concurrent member to fill in one of the vacant positions. She later made her debut performance at AKB48 Theater on June 1. On September 18, Matsui was announced to be one of the center performers for AKB48's 28th single "Uza" with Yuko Oshima, and performed the song for the first time at the group's rock-paper-scissors tournament.

At the next rock-paper-scissors tournament in 2013, Matsui came out as the winner after beating a total of 83 members which earned her the center position for the group's 34th single, "Kimi no Hohoemi wo Yume ni Miru". In 2015, Matsui's first solo song "Akai Pinhiiru to Professor" was released as one of the new songs for AKB48's sixth studio album Koko ga Rhodes da, Koko de Tobe!.

During the broadcast of AKB48 All Night Nippon on October 21, 2015, Matsui announced that she would terminate her concurrent position in AKB48 Team K after three years to commit herself to SKE48. She subsequently had her last performance at the AKB48 Theater on December 24.

In 2017, Matsui's first self-written song titled "Hana Uranai" was released and included in SKE48's second studio album Kakumei no Oka. Matsui stated that the song consists of her feelings towards her fellow first-generation members. In May, Matsui shared the choreography center position with Sakura Miyawaki for AKB48's commemorative single "Negaigoto no Mochigusare" which was used as the theme song for the junior high school division at the NHK All-Japan School Choir Competition.

2018–2019: Brief hiatus and solo album In May 2018, Matsui was one of the two SKE48 members to participate in the South Korean competition show, Produce 48. On June 16, Matsui collapsed on stage during a concert for the 10th AKB48 general election and had to be carried away to rest before returning. At the end of the night, Matsui was announced as the winner with 194,453 votes and would become the center performer for AKB48's 53rd single. On July 7, SKE48 manager Yuasa Hiroshi released a statement that Matsui would halt all activities to take some time off to recover. Mnet later confirmed Matsui was also withdrawing from Produce 48 where she placed 13th in the voting results of the fifth episode with 329,455 votes. The news of her win and sickness made her one of the three most-searched idols in the first half of 2018 according to Yahoo! Japan.

Matsui resumed her activities on September 6, 2018, and made a surprise appearance at the SKE48 Theater to announce her return. Because of her long hiatus, Matsui was unable to participate in the recording of the song and music video of her winning single "Sentimental Train". Matsui was temporarily replaced by storyboard and CG images in the unfinished version of the music video. On September 25, the full version of both song and music video was released and could be downloaded by CD purchasers with serial numbers included in the CD.

On October 5, 2019, which is also the 11th anniversary of her debut, Matsui released her debut solo album Privacy under label Showroom Records. A pre-release single "KMT Dance" was distributed on August 28, accompanied by a Line Music campaign. All nine tracks in the album were written by Matsui and composed by Yoshimasa Inoue. The release of the album was proposed by AKB48 Group's producer Yasushi Akimoto after witnessing how Matsui's sensitive lyrics and singing voice grabbed fans through her live streams on Showroom.

2020–2021: Graduation from SKE48 On February 7, 2020, Matsui announced her graduation from SKE48. Her graduation concert was scheduled to be held at the Nippon Gaishi Hall on September 26–27 and her farewell performance on October 5 at SKE48 theater, which were eventually postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

In commemoration of her upcoming graduation, SKE48 and Chukyo TV launched a paid virtual exhibition titled "Jurina's Share Room" which features more than 100 pieces of content taken from her 12 years of career. The special website was opened for a limited time for about three months which was divided into three seasons starting January 9, 2021.

Matsui's last single as a member of SKE48 titled "Koiochi Flag" was released on February 3, 2021. All 68 members of SKE48 participated in the recording of the song and the music video. In addition to that, Matsui also produced a unit named Black Pearl from members who she "felt they would be the future of SKE48". She participated in all aspects, including songwriting, choreography, and styling. Matsui also wrote the lyrics for her graduation solo song . The single won first place on the Oricon Singles Weekly Chart. It marked SKE48's 23rd wins on the chart, making the group the fifth female artist who has the most number one positions in the history behind AKB48, Ayumi Hamasaki, Seiko Matsuda, and Nogizaka46.

On April 11, 2021, Matsui's graduation concert was held at the Nippon Gaishi Hall and consisted of two shows - day and night - with two different setlists, with an audience less than 50% of the venue's capacity. Matsui took part in the planning of the concert. The daytime show featured Pro Wrestling Noah's fighters, Naomichi Marufuji, Kaito Kiyomiya, Yo-Hey, and Yoshiki Inamura, as well as performance of several songs originally sung by Matsui's AKB48 senior members.

Matsui had her last performance as a member of SKE48 on April 29 at SKE48 Theater, ending her 13-year career as an idol. However, Matsui only appeared 48 minutes into the show after a series of solo performances of her junior members, to which she said she wanted them to gain experience. At the end of the show, Matsui expressed her intention to be active as an actress and TV personality in the future.

On May 18, 2024, it was announced Matsui would become the "playing manager" for AKB48's Malaysia-based sister group, KLP48, who will debut in August the same year.

Acting career Matsui had first her first movie and non-AKB48 Group related role by starring in a Nagoya-based movie Waya! Uchuu Ichi no Osekkai Daisakusen in 2011. Matsui and another SKE48 member Kumi Yagami were given roles in the movie after director Kohatsu Yo held an audition for all 57 members of SKE48 at their theater. At the time of the filming, Matsui was only 13 years old, even though her character in the film was 18 years old. She played Minami Hirokawa, an honor student who was inspired by the rebellious Masaki that was played by Ryūnosuke Kamiki.

In January 2014, Matsui played as a new secretary to Koichi Sato's character in a special broadcast of the mystery television drama Kagi no Kakatta Heya. Matsui played the role of Koharu Hasegawa, the daughter of the main characters, and portrayed her life from middle school to her 20s. SKE48's 20th single "Kin no Ai, Gin no Ai" served as its theme song. On October 2, Matsui announced she would transfer her agency from AKS to Irving to improve her activities in the entertainment world, including acting.

In 2019, Matsui made her acting comeback by guest-starring in TV Asahi's crime drama Emergency Interrogation Room alongside Yūki Amami. She played Hinako Tachibana, a new shogi champion who was suspected of murder. In 2020, Matsui reprised her role in Kagi no Kakatta Heya Special Edition 3 for a special re-broadcast with additional scenes. She eventually left Irving after her contract expired on December 31, 2023.

Other ventures Endorsements and ambassadorships As a solo artist, Matsui starred in TV commercials for part-time job search app Baitoru alongside her mother in 2015. In 2017, Matsui was appointed as the official ambassador of the Star Wars exhibition at Nagoya Castle that was held from February 16 to April 9. With agency-mate and actress Manami Hashimoto, Matsui has promoted products for online casino game Mystino and real estate company Aoyama Mainland.

In sports After playing the role of a pro-wrestling fighter in AKB48 Group drama Tōfu Pro Wrestling, In 2018, Matsui was awarded the Special Award by Tokyo Sports Pro-Wrestling Awards for sharing the wonders of professional wrestling to idol fans and her passion for the sport through her role and social media accounts. In November, Matsui was appointed as a support ambassador B.League professional basketball team, San-en NeoPhoenix. She stated to have been interested in the team after watching their game in April. In October 2020, Matsui attended the lighting ceremony for Saga Horse Racetrack's night game as one of special judges in the naming of the event. Matsui occasionally served as a guest narrator in various sports promotions including Pro Wrestling Noah and WWE.

Radio On April 6, 2019, Matsui started the broadcasting of her first regular radio program titled on CBC Radio. The program aired every Saturday at 19:30 JST and ended on December 28.

YouTube channel In October 2020, Matsui launched her official YouTube channel. During the first live streaming on November 1, Matsui chose "Jurina House" as the name for the channel out of approximately 80 suggestions received from Japanese and overseas fans.

Personal life On January 1, 2026, Matsui and Boys and Men member Tatsunori Tsujimoto announced that they are getting married on the same month after dating for three years.

AKB48 General Election placements Matsui's placements in AKB48's general election, an annual event to decide the promotional lineup or of the group's single. + List of placements in AKB48's general election with year, showing number of votes,earned position, and single title Edition Year Rank Number of votes Position on single Single 1 2009 19 1,371 Senbatsu "Iiwake Maybe" 2 2010 10 12,168 Media Senbatsu "Heavy Rotation" 3 2011 14 12,168 Senbatsu "Flying Get" 4 2012 9 45,747 Senbatsu "Gingham Check" 5 2013 6 77,170 Senbatsu "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie" 6 2014 4 90,910 Senbatsu "Kokoro no Placard" 7 2015 5 105,289 Senbatsu "Halloween Night" 8 2016 3 112,341 Senbatsu "Love Trip / Shiawase wo Wakenasai" 9 2017 3 113,615 Senbatsu "Sukinanda" 10 2018 1 194,453 Center "Sentimental Train"

Stage credits List of Matsui's participation in SKE48 and AKB48's theatre programs, called stages: 2008–2009: SKE48 Team S 1st Stage: Unit songs: "Skirt, Hirari", "Hoshi no Ondo" (1st unit) and "Classmate" (2nd unit) 2009: SKE48 Team S 2nd Stage: Unit songs: "Glory Days" (1st unit) and "Wimbledon e Tsuretette" (2nd unit) 2009–2013: SKE48 Team S 3rd Stage: Unit songs: "Omoide Ijou" (1st unit) and "Ookami to Pride" (2nd unit) 2012: AKB48 Team K 6th Stage: Reset Unit songs: "Kiseki wa ma ni Awanai" 2012–2014: AKB48 Team K Waiting Stage Unit songs: "Himawari" (1st unit) and "Candy" (2nd unit) 2013–2014: SKE48 Team S 4th Stage: "Reset" Unit songs: "Kiseki wa ma ni Awanai" 2012–2014: AKB48 Team K 4th Stage: (Revival) Unit songs: "Return Match" 2014–2016: SKE48 Team S 3rd Stage: (Revival) Unit songs: "Onna no Ko no Dairokkan" 2014–2015: AKB48 Team K 6th Stage: "Reset" (Revival) Unit songs: "Gyakuten Oujisama" 2015: AKB48 Team K 4th Stage: (Revival) Unit songs: "Gomen ne Jewel" 2016–present: SKE48 Team S 5th Stage: Unit songs: "Akai Pin Heel to Professor", "Koppu no Naka no Komorebi" (1st unit) and "Hana Uranai" (2nd unit)

Discography

By the time of her graduation in 2021, Matsui had been included in the promotional lineup of all singles of SKE48 except "Sōyūtoko Aru yo ne?" and served as the choreography center for 21 singles, including "Stand by You" which marked the start of the 11th year for the group. Matsui was also featured in the unit Love Crescendo. With AKB48, Matsui had been included in the promotional lineup of 43 singles of AKB48 and served as the center for 6 singles. She was also featured in the units AKBIdoling!!! and NyaAKB.

Albums +List of studio albums, with selected details Title Album details Privacy 2014 Lady Maiko Fukuna Masayuki Suo 2015 Furiko Koharu Hasegawa Norihino Takenaga

Television series + Year Title Role Network Notes 2010 Majisuka Gakuen Center TV Tokyo Episode 2 & 6 2011 Mousō Deka! Detective Mousō Tōkai TV Leading role Majisuka Gakuen 2 Center TV Tokyo Leading role 2012 Blackboard: Jidai to Tatakatta Kyōshitachi Manami Hirokawa TBS Episode: "Yume" Gakkō no Kaidan Storyteller 2013So Long! Tsubasa Kurabayashi NTV Episode 2 2014 Kagi no Kakatta Heya Special Haruka Kiryū Fuji TV 2015 Majisuka Gakuen 4 Center NTV Episode 9 Majisuka Gakuen 5 Center NTV and Hulu 7 episodes 2016 AKB Horror Night: Adrenaline Nights Reina TV Asahi Episode: "Tunnel" It's Not That I Can't Marry, But I Don't Want To young Miyabi Tachibana TBS 10 episodes Death Cash Yuka Minami Leading role AKB Love Night: Love Factory Maiko Okabe TV Asahi Episode: "Love Ban" Cabasuka Gakuen Center (Kurage) NTV Leading role 2017 Tōfu Pro Wrestling Matsui Jurina / Hollywood Jurina TV Asahi Leading role 2019 Emergency Interrogation Room Season 3 Hinako Tachibana Eps. 2 2020 Kagi no Kakatta Heya Special Edition 3 Haruka Kiryū Fuji TV Re-aired with extra scene

Television shows + Year Title Role Network Notes 2016 Genroku Nau: Owari Hanshi 8882-nichi no Tweet Narrator NHK General TV Historical documentary 2018 Produce 48 Contestant Mnet Eps. 1-5 Tokumitsu x Jurina no Sport Jiman Dekiru Hanashi Host BS NTV

Theatre + Year Title Role Dates Venue 2019 Hamlet (SKE48 ver.) Hamlet April 18 – 21, 2019 Shinagawa Prince Hotel Club eX Oricon 2015 Jurina: Jurina Matsui First Photo Book Shueisha 1 6 JPN: 32,722

Awards Niconico New Adult Awards: Grand Prize (2017) Tokyo Sports Pro-Wrestling Awards: Special Award (2017) Yahoo! Japan: "Yahoo! Search Awards" Idol Category (mid-year 2018)