7 Portraits of Japanese Actresses with Mixed Heritage, From the Philippines to America

Hikari Mitsushima is a Japanese actress and singer born in Okinawa. She has foreign ancestry from her grandparents. Her great-grandfather is Italian-American and her grandmother is French-American, making Hikari of mixed Japanese and French-American descent. In the film BRING HIM DOWN TO A PORTABLE SIZE, released last February, Hikari Mitsushima plays Kanako, the younger sister of the main character.

Naomi Watanabe is a comedian, actress, and fashion designer from Japan who has mixed Japanese-Taiwanese heritage. Her father is from Japan, while her mother is from Taiwan. In the film SAILOR MOON ETERNAL, Naomi plays the character Zirconia, which was released in 2021.

Eiji Wentz is an actor and singer of Japanese mixed German-American descent. His father is from the United States with German-American ancestry, while his mother is from Japan. He plays a supporting character in the film YUDO: THE WAY OF THE BATH which was released in 2023.

Meisa Kuroki is a Japanese actress, model, and singer from Okinawa with the real name Satsuki Shimabukuro. She is of mixed Japanese and Brazilian descent, with about a quarter of her lineage being Brazilian. In the film Lupin III, released in 2014, she played the character Fujiko Mine.

Ayami Nakajo is a Japanese actress and model born in Osaka. She is of mixed Japanese and English descent; her mother is Japanese and her father is English. In the film Flight on the Water, released in 2020, Ayami Nakajo played the character Haruka Todo.

Elaiza Ikeda is an actress, model, and singer of mixed Japanese and Filipino descent. Her father is Japanese, while her mother is from the Philippines. Elaiza Ikeda plays Mayumi Ogata in the film OMAE NO TSUMI WO JIHAKU Shiro released in 2023.

Jesse Masaya Lewis, also known as Jesse SixTONES, is a Japanese singer, actor, and model who is a member of the Japanese idol group SixTONES. He was born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and an American father. Jesse plays the main character named Keiya Uto in the film A GIRL & HER GUARD DOG" (OJOU TO BANKEN-KUN) which is set to be released in March 2025.