Mirei Sasaki (Japanese: 佐々木 美玲, Hepburn: Sasaki Mirei; born December 17, 1999) is a Japanese actress, media personality, and singer. She has appeared in dramas such as Women's Gourmet Burger Club (2020) and Kakegurui Twin (2021), and starred in Koeharu! (2021) and Piece of Cake! (2022). Her theater appearances include portraying Yor Forger in the stage adaptation of Spy × Family (2023). She is also a lifestyle reporter for the Nippon TV morning show Zip!
Sasaki was a founding member of the girl group Hinatazaka46 (formerly Hiragana Keyakizaka46) from 2016 to 2025 and made her acting debut in the group's drama series Re:Mind (2017). She was the lead performer for "Kitai Shiteinai Jibun" from the album Hashiridasu Shunkan (2018) and "Azatokawaii" from Hinatazaka (2020). She was also an exclusive model for the fashion magazine Non-no from 2019 to 2025.
Sasaki was born in Kanagawa Prefecture and raised in Hyōgo Prefecture. She lived in Taiwan for four years as a child and can speak Mandarin Chinese.
In 2013, Sasaki became a founding member of the Osaka-based local idol group Chocomilq (stylized as choco☆milQ). She left the group on November 1, 2015.
In May 2016, Sasaki passed the auditions for new members of girl group Keyakizaka46's subgroup Hiragana Keyakizaka46 and joined the group as the "first generation". Her first concert was on 28 October at Akasaka Blitz, where she performed Keyakizaka46 songs "Silent Majority" and "Sekai ni wa Ai Shika Nai", as well as Hiragana Keyakizaka46's own "Hiragana Keyaki". She made her television acting debut in the group's drama series Re:Mind (2017) on TV Tokyo and Netflix, portraying a character named after herself, and theater debut in the group's stage play Ayumi (2018).
Sasaki served as center (lead performer) for the main song on Hiragana Keyakizaka46's debut album Hashiridasu Shunkan (2018), titled "Kitai Shitenai Jibun" (期待していない自分; lit. 'I Don't Expect Anything'). The album also included her solo song, "Wazukana Hikari" (わずかな光; lit. 'A Little Light').
2019−2025: Hinatazaka46, expanding activities
Sasaki portrayed the main character in the music video of Aimer's "Hanabiratachi no March", released in January 2019. She started modelling work in earnest by becoming an exclusive model for the fashion magazine Non-no in February.
In March 2019, Hiragana Keyakizaka46 was spun off from Keyakizaka46 and rebranded into Hinatazaka46. Sasaki was one of five members representing Hinatazaka46 in "Hatsukoi Door" (初恋ドア; lit. 'First Love Door'), a collaboration track between the AKB48 Group and Sakamichi Series franchises released on the 2019 AKB48 single "Jiwaru Days". She again served as center for the main song of Hinatazaka46's second studio album (first under the Hinatazaka46 name) Hinatazaka (2020), "Azato Kawaii" (アザトカワイイ; transl. "Cunningly Cute").
On September 18, 2019, Sasaki hosted the 2019 MTV Video Music Awards Japan along with fellow Hinatazaka46 members Kumi Sasaki, Nao Kosaka, and Miho Watanabe.
As a bread lover, Sasaki hosted her first self-titled special program Kaiten! Mīpan Bakery (開店!みーぱんベーカリー; lit. 'Open for Business! Mīpan Bakery') (2019) on TV Asahi CS 1. In April 2020, she became a regular lifestyle reporter for the "Kiterune!" (キテルネ！; transl. This is Trending!) segment of the long-running Nippon TV morning show, Zip! Her work in television acting continued with appearances in the TV Tokyo drama Japan Women's Gourmet Burger Club (女子グルメバーガー部) (2020) and as Mikura Sado in the live-action series adaptation of Kakegurui Twin (2021), as well as lead roles in the Hinatazaka46 drama Koeharu! (2021) and Piece of Cake (2022) on Nippon TV. She also headlined two stage plays in 2023, namely the stage adaptation of Piece of Cake and double cast as Yor Forger in the stage adaptation of best-selling manga Spy × Family.
Sasaki's first photobook, titled Hizashi no Parade (陽射しのパレード, Hizashi no Parēdo; lit. 'Sunshine Parade'), was published on December 17, 2024, her twenty-fifth birthday, by Shueisha (publisher of Non-no). It was photographed in Da Nang, Vietnam, and made with the theme of "sparkling happiness". It sold 32 thousand copies in its first week and topped the Oricon weekly photobook chart that week, and placed sixth on the Oricon 2025 first half-year photobook chart with 41.8 thousand copies sold.
On 6 January 2025, Sasaki and fellow first generation members Kumi Sasaki and Mana Takase announced that they would part ways with Hinatazaka46 after the promotions for the upcoming 13th single have concluded, marking the end of the founding first generation's tenure in the group. Her "graduation" ceremony took place on April 6 at the Yokohama Stadium as part of the 6th Hinatansai anniversary concert.
In June 2025, Non-no magazine announced that Sasaki would end her exclusive modeling contract after 6.5 years, with a final appearance in its September 2025 issue. On July 1, Sasaki announced that she had joined the Queen-B talent agency, which had also represented fellow former Hinatazaka46 member Miho Watanabe since 2022. She started a new radio program, Mirei Sasaki's Hapi Hapi! Happy Radio! (佐々木美玲のハピハピ！ハッピーラジオ！), on InterFM in September.
In January 2026, the sequel to Piece of Cake, Piece of Safe, was announced, with Sasaki and the other cast members playing different characters. It would again include both a drama series and stage play; Nippon TV noted that all 17 performances of the previous stage play were sold out despite being shown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sasaki became the second-generation "Butter Queen" brand ambassador for the Butter Queen cookie brand in September 2026, succeeding fellow former Hinatazaka46 member Manamo Miyata. She has been scheduled to hold her first solo concert, billed "Another Me", on October 10 at the Nihonbashi Mitsui Hall in Tokyo, with fellow former Hinatazaka46 members Mei Higashimura and Suzuka Tomita as guests.
Sasaki enjoys fishing with her family and obtained a class 2 small boat license in 2024.
The following are Sasaki's notable participation in Hiragana Keyakizaka46 and Hinatazaka46 discography.