Birthplace: Okinawa, Japan

Height: 162 cm

Blood type: A

Hikari Mitsushima is best known as an actress, though she started out as a J-pop idol in the late '90s. She was a teenage singer in Folder and Folder 5 beginning in 1997, which is also the year she made her film debut in Rebirth of Mothra II—though honestly, she didn't seriously pursue acting until 2005.

The role that really got people's attention was her part in Love Exposure (2008), Sion Sono's acclaimed drama. That performance earned her critical praise and several awards. She'd already appeared in the Death Note thriller film a couple years before that, but Love Exposure was the breakthrough.

Following that success, she landed lead roles in Kakera: A Piece of Our Life (2009) and Sawako Decides (2010), the latter written and directed by Yuya Ishii. She and Ishii got married in late 2010, though they split up six years later. Since the divorce, she's been in a relationship with fellow actor Kento Nagayama.

She's the sister of actor Shinnosuke Mitsushima.