Sayaka Akimoto

is a Japanese actress and singer. She was a member of Japanese idol girl group AKB48 and its spin-off unit Diva.

As an actress, Akimoto has appeared in both Japanese and American productions, and made her Hollywood debut in Sniper: Assassin's End (2020). She also provides the Japanese dub for Mantis in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Career Family and early career Akimoto was born to a Japanese father and a Filipino mother. In 2012, she ran the Tokyo Marathon for the second year in a row and donated the money to the Philippines. Her solo book of photographs is entitled Ari no Mama. On June 26, 2014, Akimoto was appointed as the Goodwill Philippine Tourism Ambassador to promote the Philippines as a tourist destination in Japan. She was also assigned as a narrator in the collaboration drama of PTV-4 and Nippon TV entitled "Halo Halo House-Jose's Nippon Diary"

2006–2013: AKB48 member

Akimoto began her career in AKB48 as one of the members of the second generation, the Original Team K. On the last day of the Budokan concert on August 23, 2009, during the first team shuffle, Akimoto was officially made captain of Team K. She resigned after a scandal in 2010 but after completing the Tokyo Marathon in 2011, she was reappointed the position. On August 24, 2012, in the Tokyo Dome~1830m no Yume~ concert, Yuko Oshima replaced her as the captain of Team K via team shuffle.

She has since been involved with sub-unit group Diva under Avex. She became a regular on the popular noon TV show Waratte Iitomo from 2010 to 2012. She was also featured as one of the members in AKB48's own anime television show alongside other members Minami Takahashi, Yuko Oshima, Tomomi Itano, Atsuko Maeda and others.

On April 7, 2013, Akimoto announced on her official blog that she would not be participating in AKB48's 2013 general election, and would be graduating from AKB48 to focus on her acting. Her graduation ceremony was held on August 22 at the Tokyo Dome, and her final stage performance was held on August 28 at the AKB48 Theater, and has been streamed live by Nico Nico Namahousou.

2014–present: Solo career In 2014, she reunited with her sub-unit group DIVA to release their final single "Discovery", an album, and a tour before disbandment.

She composed and sang "Little Witch" which was the NHK 2014 Spring Campaign Theme Song.

Since leaving AKB48 she has starred in four films. She has a recurring role as Bikuu in Garo which led to a solo film spin off in 2015. She sang the theme song of the film entitled "Sengetsu ~Hikari to Yami no Soba de~".

Akimoto was a co-host for Team Japan in the reality competition show Ultimate Beastmaster which was released on Netflix on February 24, 2017.

Personal life On July 27, 2020, Akimoto married music producer and singer . She gave birth to their first child on October 4, 2023.

Discography With AKB48 Singles

Year No. Title Role Notes 2006 1 "Aitakatta" A-side Debut with Team K. Also sang on "Dakedo..." 2007 2 "Seifuku ga Jama o Suru" A-side Also sang on "Virgin Love" 3 "Keibetsu Shiteita Aijō" A-side 4 "Bingo!" A-side Also sang on "Only Today" 5 "Boku no Taiyō" A-side Also sang on "Mirai no Kajitsu". 2008 7 "Romance, Irane" A-side Also sang on "Ai no moufu". 8 "Sakura no Hanabiratachi 2008" A-side 9 "Baby! Baby! Baby!" A-side 10 "Ōgoe Diamond" A-side Also sang on "109". 2009 11 "10nen Sakura" A-side 13 "Iiwake Maybe" A-side Ranked 12th in 2009 General Election. 14 "River" A-side 2010 15 "Sakura no Shiori" A-side Also sang on "Majisuka Rock 'n' Roll". 16 "Ponytail to Shushu" Under Girls Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Nusumareta Kuchibiru" as Under Girls; and "Majijo Teppen Blues" 17 "Heavy Rotation" A-side, Yasai Sisters Ranked 17th in 2010 General Election. Also sang on "Yasai Sisters". 18 "Beginner" Diva Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Nakeru Basho" as Diva. 19 "Chance no Junban" B-side Did not sing on title track; lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament. Sang on "Alive" with Team K. 2011 20 "Sakura no Ki ni Narō" Diva Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Area K" as Diva. -- "Dareka no Tame ni - What can I do for someone?" -- Charity single 21 "Everyday, Katyusha" B-side Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Yankee Soul". 22 "Flying Get" A-side Ranked 17th in 2011 General Election. Also sang on "Seishun to Kizukanai mama"; and "Yasai Uranai" as Yasai Sisters 2011. 23 "Kaze wa Fuiteiru" Under Girls Yurigumi Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Gondola Lift" as Under Girls Yurigumi. 24 "Ue kara Mariko" A-side Lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament; She sang on "Zero-sum Taiyō" as Team K. 2012 25 "Give Me Five!" Special Girls B Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Hitsujikai no Tabi" as Special Girls B. 26 "Manatsu no Sounds Good!" Special Girls Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Mitsu no Namida" as Special Girls. 27 "Gingham Check" Under Girls Did not sing on title track. Ranked 20th in 2012 General Election. She sang on "Nante Bohemian" as Under Girls. 28 "Uza" New Team K Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Scrap & Build" as New Team K. 29 "Eien Pressure" B-side Did not sing on title track; lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament. Sang on "Watashitachi no Reason". 2013 30 "So Long!" B-side Did not sing on title track. Sang on "Yuuhi Marie" as Team K. 31 "Sayonara Crawl" B-side Did not sing on title track. Sang on "How Come?" as Team K. 2014 36 "Labrador Retriever" B-side Did not participate in title song. Participated in "Kyō made no Melody" as graduated member.

Singles with SKE48 Year No. Title Role Notes 2016 19 "Chicken Line" B-side Sang on "Tabi no Tochū". Participated as graduated member.

Stage units Team K 1st Stage

Team K 2nd Stage Blue Rose

Team K 3rd Stage

Himawari Gumi 1st Stage

Himawari Gumi 2nd Stage Confession Team K 4th Stage

Team K 5th Stage (Solo Unit) Team K 6th Stage "Reset"

Team K Waiting Stage

With Diva

"Tsuki no Ura gawa" "Fade out" "Information" "Blue rose -Diva ver.-" "Cry" "No way out" "Chika Suidō" "Maria -Diva ver.-" "Lost the Way" "Kanashimi no Mirage" "Kimi wa Pegasus -Diva ver.-"

Filmography

Films Year Title Role Notes 2007 Densen Uta Shuri Matsuda 2009 Super Gore Girl Yukie Takashi Lead role High Kick Girl! Rika 2012 Ultraman Saga Anna Ozaki 2014 Tokyo Slaves Eia Arakawa Lead role 2015 Bikuu the Movie Bikuu Lead role 2023 Sniper: Rogue Mission Yuki "Lady Death" Mifune American film 2025 #Iwilltellyouthetruth

Television dramas

Stage plays

Year English title Japanese title Role 2008 Oishii Timing おいしいタイミング 2010 Space Wars スペース・ウォーズ 2010 Act Izumi Kyoka 音楽劇 「ACT泉鏡花」 2012 Roman Holiday ローマの休日 2014 Kokumin no Eiga 国民の映画 2018 Japan's History 日本の歴史

Musicals Year English title Japanese title Role 2009 AKB Kagekidan Infinity AKB歌劇団 「∞・Infinity」 2010 Minky Momo: Kagami no Kuni no Princess ミンキーモモ〜鏡の国のプリンセス〜 2011 Super Live Show "Double Heroine" スーパーLIVEショー「ダブルヒロイン」 2013 Mozart l'Opéra Rock ロックオペラ モーツァルト 2015 Shelock Holmes 2: Bloody Game シャーロック ホームズ2 ～ブラッディ・ゲーム～ 2018 Ghost the Musical ゴースト

Other television Year Title Role 2008 Mujack Self 2008 AKB 0ji 59fun Self 2008–2013 AKBingo! Self 2008–2010 Self 2009–2010 Self 2009 Music Fighter Self 2010 G.I. Goro Self 2010–2012 Waratte Iitomo! Self 2014 Couple Kitchen Self Ultimate Beastmaster Host for Team Japan 2018 Avengers: Infinity War 2019 Avengers: Endgame 2022Thor: Love and Thunder 2023Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3