(born May 7, 1993) formerly known by her stage name , is a Japanese actress and model.

Early life

Abe was born on May 7, 1993 in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

. She attended at the Osaka Prefectural Kitano High School, where she was part of the

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in aroun ...

team. While in high school, she was involved in

Japanese dance Japanese traditional dance describes a number of Japanese dance styles with a long history and prescribed method of performance. Some of the oldest forms of traditional Japanese dance may be among those transmitted through the tradition, or fol ...

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

and playing piano. She was also part of the high school brass band, where she played flute. In March 2017, she graduated from the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies at Keio University in Tokyo.

Career

While at elementary school, she was discovered and signed on by an agent. She made her debut as an advertising model for

Hankyu Department Store is a Japanese department store chain owned by , a subsidiary of H2O Retailing Corporation. Stores *Umeda, Osaka - Main Store (''Honten'') **Hankyu Men's *Kobe **formerly Sogo Department Stores * Takarazuka * Kawanishi * Senri *Takatsuki, Takat ...

. In middle school, she worked as a model for a fashion magazine and later worked as an image character for the

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

anime series ''

Shion no Ō , subtitled ''The Flowers of Hard Blood'', is a Japanese manga series written by Masaru Katori and illustrated by Jiro Ando. It is published by Kodansha in the seinen manga magazine ''Monthly Afternoon'', and is collected in eight bound vo ...

''. On 2010, she made her acting debut in the movie ''The Chasing World 2'' (リアル鬼ごっこ２), as the heroine. She started using her stage name ''Jun Yoshinaga''. In 2012, she played as one of the main casts in the Japanese comedy-drama television series ''

Perfect Son is comedy-drama television series starring Hey! Say! JUMP's Ryosuke Yamada and Kyōka Suzuki, which aired on NTV from 21:00-21:54 on Saturday nights from January 14, 2012 to March 17, 2012. The screenplay was written by Shinji Nojima. Synopsis H ...

''. As a result of her role in the series, she garnered attention and the number of access to her official

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order s ...

grew. In 2014, she starred in the movie ''

Still the Water is a 2014 Japanese romance film directed by Naomi Kawase. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toro ...

'' directed by

Naomi Kawase is a Japanese film director. She was also known as , with her former husband's surname. Many of her works have been documentaries, including ''Embracing'', about her search for the father who abandoned her as a child, and ''Katatsumori'', about ...

. She was selected as the cast for the movie, due to her experience in scuba diving during her time in high school, at "the beauty of swimming" audition in

Amami Ōshima , also known as Amami, is the largest island in the Amami archipelago between Kyūshū and Okinawa. It is one of the Satsunan Islands. The island, 712.35 km2 in area, has a population of approximately 73,000 people. Administratively it is ...

. For her performance in the movie, she received the Best Actress Award at the

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, r=Sakhalín, p=səxɐˈlʲin; ja, 樺太 ''Karafuto''; zh, c=, p=Kùyèdǎo, s=库页岛, t=庫頁島; Manchu: ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ, ''Sahaliyan''; Orok: Бугата на̄, ''Bugata nā''; Nivkh ...

International Film Festival and Best New Actress Award at the

Takasaki is a city located in Gunma Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 372,369 in 167,345 households, and a population density of 810 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Takasaki is famous as the hometown of th ...

Film Festival. In August 2014, Abe took a career break and quit her acting agency to head to the United States for a year to study English and Drama at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

. While studying at the

NYU Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

, she met her acting agency staff and returned to Japan in 2015. Following her return to Japan, she started to use her birth name as stage name. Abe auditioned for

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestr ...

TV serial ''

Toto Neechan is a Japanese television drama series and the 94th asadora on NHK. It premiered on April 4, 2016, and ended on October 1, 2016. The theme song is " Hanataba o Kimi ni" by Hikaru Utada. Plot Tsuneko is the eldest of three daughters of Takezō and ...

'' and was cast for the role of heroine's friend, Aya Nakada. On 2019, she starred in movie ''

The Prisoner of Sakura (russian: В плену у сакуры, ''V plenu u sakury'') is a 2019 Japanese war film directed by Masaki Inoue. A joint Japan-Russia co-production, the movie is based on the true story of a prison camp in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, during t ...

'', a Japan-Russia co-production, which was based on the true story of a war prison in

Matsuyama 270px, Matsuyama City Hall 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan and also Shikoku's largest city. , the city had an estimated population of 505,948 in 243541 househo ...

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tok ...

, during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. In the movie, she has a

dual role A dual role (also known as a double role) refers to one actor playing two roles in a single production. Dual roles (or a larger number of roles for an actor) may be deliberately written into a script, or may instead be a choice made during produc ...

Filmography

Films

*''The Chasing World 2 '' (2010) – Sato Ai *''Wasao'' (2011) - Tagawa Maki *''A Man With Style'' (2011) - Miyata Momoko *''Tonnerura de Boo'' (2011) - Sakiko Toyama *''In the City of Dawn'' (2011) - young Nakanishi Akiba *''Lifeline'' (2014) - main role *''

My Hawaiian Discovery is a 2014 Japanese romantic comedy film directed by Koji Maeda and starring Nana Eikura, Rin Takanashi, Koji Seto, and Ryo Kase. It was released on 14 June 2014. Cast *Nana Eikura * Rin Takanashi *Koji Seto *Ryo Kase *Sosuke Ikematsu *Shingo T ...

'' (2014) - Mako *''

'' (2014) - Kyoko *''Home Away From Home'' (2014) - Akiko *''The Limit of Sleeping Beauty'' (2017) - Maria *''Dawn Wind in My Poncho'' (2017) - Maria *''

The Blood of Wolves is a 2018 Japanese crime and yakuza film directed by Kazuya Shiraishi. Plot 1988, Hiroshima, Japan. Shūichi Hioka ( Tori Matsuzaka) gets assigned to the second investigative unit under Shōgo Ōgami (Kōji Yakusho), a detective rumored to have m ...

'' (2018) - Momoko Okada *''The Man From the Sea'' (2018) - Sachiko *''

Samurai Marathon is a 2019 Japanese-British historical action adventure film directed by Bernard Rose and starring Takeru Satoh, Nana Komatsu and Mirai Moriyama. It is based on the 2014 novel ''The Marathon Samurai: Five Tales of Japan’s First Marathon'' by ...

'' (2018) - Shiori Uesugi *''

'' (2019) - Yui Takeda / Sakurako Takamiya *''I Don't Want to Be Like You'' (2019) *''Daughters'' (2020) - Kiyokawa Ayano *''The Voice of Sin'' (2020) - young Sone Mayumi *''461 Days of Bento: A Promise Between Father and Son'' (2020) - Yajima Maka *'' Baragaki: Unbroken Samurai'' (2021) - Itosato *'' A Dog Named Palma'' (2021) - Akita Dog Museum staff *'' Ring Wandering'' (2022) - Midori / Kozue *''Yes, I Can't Swim'' (2022) - Namie *''Miss Osaka'' (2022) *''Remember to Breathe'' (2022)

Television

*''Drama W Beat'' (2011) – Terumi Higuchi *''

'' (2012) - Hyouzuka Masako *'' Rumic Theater'' (2012) - Hazuki Fuwa *''Special Spy Zone'' (2012) - Kitagawa Natsumi *'' Gozen 3-ji no Muhōchitai'' (2013) - Haruka *''In the Room'' (2013) - Narukawa Rui *''

'' (2016) - Aya Nakada *''

A Girl & Three Sweethearts ''A Girl & Three Sweethearts'', known as in Japan, is a 2016 Japanese television drama, starring Mirei Kiritani, Kento Yamazaki, Shohei Miura and Shūhei Nomura. It aired on every Monday at 21:00 ( JST) on Fuji Television beginning July 11, 2016 ...

'' (2016) - Ishikawa Wakaba *''Tales of the Unusual Story Autumn Special Edition'' (2016) - Natsuki Tokita *''Osaka Kanjousen Part 2 '' (2017) - Fujimoto Asahi *''4-go Keibi'' (2017) - Ueno Yu *''I Will Threaten You From Now On'' (2017) - Momoka Kobashi *'' Tokyo Vampire Hotel'' (2017) - Yui *''Swab'' (2018) - Faculty role *''Caseworker's Diary'' (2018) - Kataoka Mari *''Heisei Bashiru'' (2018) - Ayaka Ekuni *''BRIDGE Begins on 1995.1.17 Kobe'' (2019) - Ritsu Takeda *''Fruits Takuhaibin'' (2019) - Sumomo *''Sasurai Onsen'' (2019) - Yabe Junko *''No Side Game'' (2019) - Fujishima Rena *''Really Scary Story'' (2019) - Asuka Miyazaki *''Shiyakusho'' (2019) - Imoto Midori *''Keiji to Kenji - Shokatsu to Chiken no 24ji'' (2019) - Ishida Kiriko *''Papa ga Mo Ichido Koi wo Shita'' (2020) - Kawakami Yukari *''Sunday Prime Funny Detective '' (2020) - Rena Gazuma *''Toshishita Kareshi '' (2020) - Yoko *''Tantei Yuri Rintaro'' (2020) - Kawase Fumino *''Dakara Watashi wa Make Suru'' (2020) - Kawamatsu Yasuko *''

Ochoyan is a Japanese television drama series and the 103rd Asadora series, following Yell. It premiered on November 30, 2020 and concluded on May 15, 2021. It is based on the life of Chieko Naniwa. Plot Chiyo Takei (Hana Sugisaki) was born to a p ...

'' (2020-21) - Wakasaki Yoko

Online

*''Nestlé Theater on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

"Day and Night"'' (2014) - Shiori Haneda

Commercials

* Suntory -

C.C. Lemon C.C. Lemon is a Japanese soft drink created by Suntory. It is known for its lemon flavor, and for its advertisements featuring characters from the American animated series ''The Simpsons''. It has been sold in Vietnam since 2014. Sizes C.C. L ...

(April 2011) *Haruyama Trading Co., Ltd. (February 2013) * Starbucks *

Odakyu Electric Railway , commonly known as Odakyū, is a major railway company based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for its '' Romancecar'' series of limited express trains from Tokyo to Odawara, Enoshima, Tama New Town, and Hakone. The Odakyu Electric Railway Compa ...

(August 11, 2017) * ABC-Mart - Asics/Asics GEL-PROMESA (January 25, 2018) *

Daily Yamazaki is a convenience store franchise chain in Japan established on December 21, 1977. The convenience store chain is owned by Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd, Japan's largest baking company. Daily Yamazaki sells baked goods such as bread, pastries, and o ...

(February 2018)

Radio drama

*FM Radio Drama Retake Sixteen - Starring Saori Komine (

NHK FM is the official music and news FM radio station of the NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation). See also * NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japa ...

, 26 August 2013 - 13 September 2013)

Music videos

Tatsuro Yamashita , occasionally credited as Tatsu Yamashita or Tats Yamashita, is a Japanese singer-songwriter and record producer, who is known for pioneering the style of Japanese Soft rock, adult-oriented rock/soft rock music. His most well-known song is "C ...

- '' Cheer Up! The Summer'' (2016) *MOROHA - ''Revolution'' (2018) *

Mr. Children , commonly referred to by their contracted nickname , are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one of t ...

- ''Gravity and Breath'' (2018)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abe, Junko 1993 births Japanese film actresses Japanese television actresses Japanese female models Living people 21st-century Japanese actresses Keio University alumni Amuse Inc. talents Actresses from Osaka