Nako Yabuki

Biography

Nako Yabuki (矢吹 奈子; born 18 June 2001) is a Japanese actress and former singer. She is a former member of the Japanese idol girl group HKT48 and the South Korean-Japanese girl group Iz*One, having finished sixth in the competition television show Produce 48. As an actress, she is known for her role as young Minami Asakura in the film Touch (2005).
She joined HKT48 in November 2013, and was a concurrent member of AKB48 from 2015 to 2017. She is an exclusive model for Japanese magazine Love Berry since 2016.

Career

Yabuki made her film debut as young Minami Asakura in the coming-of-age film Touch in 2005. Two years later, she appeared in JCB and Dainichi (ja) commercials. In 2009, she appeared in the made for television films Detective Samonji Susumu and My Father's Longest Day.
She appeared in a Koala's March commercial in 2011. In 2012, she appeared in the short film On the Shinhori River. The following year, she appeared in the tokusatsu superhero film Gatchaman.

Yabuki is a fan of Rino Sashihara. During an AKB48 handshake event, she met Sashihara, who told her to audition for the group. Yabuki decided to audition for HKT48 instead, after Sashihara was demoted and transferred to HKT48. In 2013, she passed the third generation auditions for HKT48.
In 2018, Nako participated in reality girl group survival show Produce 48, and after ranking #6 in the final ranking, she placed in the top twelve, and became a member of Korean-Japanese idol group Iz*One. She and the other two Japanese members of the group took a hiatus from their respective Japanese groups until their contracts with Iz*One expired in April 2021.
On April 29, 2021, her contract with Iz*One officially expired and she and the other two Japanese members returned to Japan. On May 15, 2021, Nako officially resumed HKT48 activities with a theater appearance.
On October 16, 2022, during HKT48's 11th-anniversary concert, she announced her graduation from the group with a graduation concert which was held on April 1, 2023. After graduation, she continued her career as an actress.
On January 28, 2023, Yabuki's contract with Vernalossom expired. On June 18, it was announced that Yabuki had signed on with Twin Planet.

AKB48 general election placements

Since her debut in 2013, Yabuki has taken part in five of AKB48's annual general elections. Her placements were as follows :

Magazines

Love Berry, Tokuma Shoten (2001), exclusive model since 2016.