is a Japanese actress and former singer. She is a former member of the

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...

girl group

HKT48 HKT48 (read "H.K.T. Forty-eight") is a Japanese idol group produced by Yasushi Akimoto. HKT48 is named after the Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Hakata-ku ward of Fukuoka, where Akimoto originally intended to base the group. The group currently performs at ...

and the South Korean-Japanese girl group

Iz*One Iz*One ( ; ; ; stylized in all caps) was a South Korean–Japanese girl group formed through the Mnet (TV channel), Mnet reality competition show ''Produce 48''. The group was composed of twelve members: Jang Won-young, Sakura Miyawaki, Jo Yu-r ...

, having finished sixth in the competition television show ''

Produce 48 ''Produce 48'' () is the third season of the South Korean reality competition series ''Produce 101''. It was a large-scale project in which the public "produces" a girl group by voting for members out of a pool of 96 contestants from South Kore ...

''. As an actress, she is known for her role as young Minami Asakura in the film ''

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

'' (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 was a monthly fashion magazine published in Tokyo by Tokuma Shoten. The magazine targets girls from early- to mid-teens. The magazine was known for its models (called ''LoveBerrina''). ''Love Berry'' is often abbreviated LB. History and profil ...

'' since 2016.

Career

Yabuki made her film debut as young

Minami Asakura is a Japanese high school baseball manga series written and illustrated by Mitsuru Adachi. It was serialized in Shogakukan's ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday'' from 1981 to 1986, with its chapters were collected into 26 ''tankōbon'' volumes ...

in the coming-of-age film ''

'' 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 Koala's March () is a bite-sized cookie snack with a sweet filling. The cookies are produced by Lotte. History The product was first released in Japan in 1984, to celebrate the arrival of the first koalas to the country. The snack originally ...

commercial in 2011. In 2012, she appeared in the short film ''On the Shinhori River''. The following year, she appeared in the

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live-action films or television programs that make heavy use of practical special effects. Credited to special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya, ''tokusatsu'' mainly refers to science fiction film, science fiction, War fi ...

superhero film ''

Gatchaman is a Japanese animated media franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gat ...

''. Yabuki is a fan of

Rino Sashihara is a Japanese tarento, singer, producer and actress. She is best known as a former member of idol groups HKT48, AKB48 and STU48, and was the theater manager for HKT48 and STU48. She was also a member of AKB48's unit Not Yet and is the produc ...

. During an

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...

handshake event, she met Sashihara, who told her to audition for the group. Yabuki decided to audition for

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 ''

,'' and after ranking #6 in the final ranking, she placed in the top twelve, and became a member of Korean-Japanese idol group

. She and the other two Japanese members of the group took a hiatus from their respective Japanese groups until their contracts with Iz*One expire in April 2021. On April 29, 2021, her contract with

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 , formerly , is a Japanese talent agency headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company is involved in various entertainment-related industries, including music, film and merchandise production. History AKS has managed the Japanese idol groups AKB ...

expired. On June 18, it was announced that Yabuki had signed on with

Twin Planet is a Japanese marketing firm and talent agency headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was found in 2006 and focuses on various marketing related businesses in the entertainment industry, including talent management. The company was established in ...

AKB48 general election placements

Since her debut in 2013, Yabuki has taken part in five of

's annual general elections. Her placements were as follows :

Discography

Songwriting credits

Filmography

Film

Television series

Television shows

Hosting

Bibliography

Magazines

* ''

'',

Tokuma Shoten is a publisher in Japan, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. The company was established in 1954 by Yasuyoshi Tokuma in Minato, Tokyo. The company's product portfolio includes music publishing, video game publishing, movies, anime, magazines, man ...

(2001), exclusive model since 2016.

Notes

References

External links

Nako Yabuki
at Twin Planet {{DEFAULTSORT:Yabuki, Nako 2001 births Living people Actresses from Tokyo Singers from Tokyo Swing Entertainment artists Produce 48 contestants Reality show winners AKB48 members HKT48 members Iz*One members J-pop singers Japanese child actresses Japanese child singers Japanese dance musicians Japanese expatriates in South Korea Japanese women pop singers Japanese film actresses Japanese female idols Japanese K-pop singers Japanese television actresses Korean-language singers of Japan 21st-century Japanese actresses 21st-century Japanese women singers