is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

tarento Television personalities in Japan, known as in Japanese, are celebrities who regularly appear in mass media in Japan, especially as panelists on variety shows. During the Golden Age of Hollywood, bankable stars in America were described as " ...

and

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She is the former captain of idol group

Sakurazaka46 , formerly , is a Japanese idol girl group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. The group was created on August 21, 2015, becoming Nogizaka46's first sister group under the Sakamichi Series. Following the resignation of group's center Yurina Hirate an ...

, represented by

Sony Music Records , often abbreviated as SMEJ or simply SME, and also known as Sony Music Japan for short (stylized as ''SonyMusic''), is a Japanese music arm for Sony. Founded in 1968 as CBS/Sony, SMEJ is directly owned by Sony Group Corporation and is opera ...

. She is also the former Special Ambassador for the Japan Equestrian Federation.

Career

Sakurazaka46

On August 21, 2015, Sugai along with 22 other members were announced for the newly created idol group, Toriizaka46, renamed shortly after into Keyakizaka46 and again into

in 2020. Her nicknames include and , the latter referring to her persona. Sugai made her musical debut with Keyakizaka46's first single,

Silent Majority The silent majority is an unspecified large group of people in a country or group who do not express their opinions publicly. The term was popularized by U.S. President Richard Nixon in a televised address on November 3, 1969, in which he said, " ...

. As of February 2019, she has participated in all eight of Keyakizaka46's singles. She is also part of the subgroup along with

Risa Watanabe is a Japanese fashion model and former idol. She is an exclusive model for the women's magazine ''non-no'' and a former member of the female Japanese idol group Sakurazaka46. Biography On August 21, 2015, Watanabe passed the audition for Keyaki ...

, Akane Moriya, Manaka Shida, and

Rika Watanabe is a former member of the female Japanese idol group Sakurazaka46. She also serves as a regular model for the female fashion magazine ''LARME'' since July 2017 and an exclusive model for the female fashion magazine ' since November 2017. Like ot ...

. As part of the subunit, Sugai made center appearances in three songs: "Aozora Chigau" in "

Sekai ni wa Ai Shika Nai is the second single by the Japanese girl idol group Keyakizaka46. It was released in Japan on 10 August 2016 on the label Sony Records. The song was used as the theme song of their mystery and comedy drama that premiered on TV Tokyo on 16 J ...

", "Wareta Sumaho" in "

Fukyōwaon is the 4th single by Japanese idol girl group Keyakizaka46. It was released on 5 April 2017. It reached number-one on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart with 632,667 copies sold. It was also number-one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100. "Fukyōwaon" ...

, and "Namiuchigiwa o Hashiranai ka?" in " Kaze ni Fukarete mo". Additionally, Sugai made two song appearances as part of Sakamichi AKB (坂道AKB), a group made of various

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with ...

and Sakamichi members. She will also be included in Sakamichi AKB's next song. During a handshake event on January 21, 2017, Sugai was named the captain of Keyakizaka46. Akane Moriya was named co-captain on the same day. On April 11, 2018, Kodansha announced that they will be publishing a

photo-book A photo book or photobook is a book in which photographs make a significant contribution to the overall content. A photo book is related to and also often used as a coffee table book. Early Early photo books are characterized by their use o ...

featuring Sugai that was photographed in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. She became the fourth member in Keyakizaka46 to have a photobook, behind

Neru Nagahama is a Japanese television personality, television presenter, and actress. She is a former member of the girl groups Keyakizaka46 and Hiragana Keyakizaka46 and current chairperson of the Tokyo Idol Festival. Nagahama joined Keyakizaka46 in 2015 a ...

Yui Imaizumi is a former Japanese actress, singer, model, and television personality. She is a former member of the idol girl group Keyakizaka46 (now Sakurazaka46). Career Early career In 2011, Imaizumi was a member of the underground idol group Smile ...

, and

. The photo-book, titled ''Fiancé'' (フィアンセ), was the bestselling photo-book in Japan for three weeks in a row. On August 22, 2022, Sugai announced that she will be leaving Sakurazaka46 after the Tokyo Dome performances on November 8 and 9, the final leg of the national tour that will begin in September that year. Second generation member Rina Matsuda succeeded her as captain.

Equestrianism

Sugai started

horseback riding Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

in 5th grade. She has won numerous awards in various junior national competitions, particularly in dressage. She often discusses horse riding in her appearances with Sakurazaka46, which contributes to her established persona in the group. On June 7, 2017, Sugai was appointed the Special Ambassador for the , in order to broaden the appeal of the sport. She left the position in the end of 2021.

Awards

The table below lists Sugai's top three finishes in equestrian competitions recognized by the Japan Equestrian Federation.

Post-Sakurazaka46

On November 24, 2022, Sugai opened a

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

account. Her first post-Sakurazaka46 activity was an acting role in the stage play '' Neo Bakumatsu Junjoden'', which ran from January 28 to February 19, 2023. On February 12, 2023, Sugai's official website was launched. On the same day, she was announced as a host for the horseback racing program Keiba Beat .

Personal life

Sugai was born on November 29, 1995, in

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. As a child, she had 11 years of ballet experience. As of March 2018, Sugai has graduated from university. She was a member and then manager of the equestrian club.

Discography

Keyakizaka46

Sakamichi AKB

References

External links

Official Website
(since February 12, 2023) * (since January 11, 2022) * (since November 24, 2022) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sugai, Yuka 1995 births Living people Japanese actresses Japanese female equestrians Japanese idols Keyakizaka46 members Musicians from Tokyo Sakurazaka46 members