Personal Information
Born on July 1, 1990, in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Natsuki Sato (佐藤 夏希) was a former member of the Japanese idol group AKB48. She debuted as an original Team K member on April 1, 2006. Her team affiliation changed twice: she was moved to Team B during the final Budokan Concert in August 2009, and later transferred to Team A at the Tokyo Dome Concert on August 24, 2012. Sato was part of the AKB48 sub-group "Ice from AKB48," alongside Erena Ono, Yūko Ōshima, Tomomi Kasai, and Yuu Imai. This unit recorded the theme song "Aisareru to iu Koto for ICE" for the anime ICE. Between 2007 and 2008, she formed the comedian duo Nacchinon (「なちのん」) with Kayo Noro. Although they competed in numerous comedy contests, they never secured a placement. During AKB48's inaugural concert at JCB Hall on December 20, 2008, it was revealed that Sato would be attending Waseda University in Tokyo. She frequently appeared on the TV quiz show Q-Sama!!, where her first guest spot featured a partnership with Sakiko Matsui, who was the only other AKB48 member enrolled in college at that time. On May 4, 2010, Sato was officially announced as being under the management of Watanabe Productions' Biscuit Entertainment, and her official public blog was launched on the agency's website on May 28, 2010. On July 11, 2010, Sato was selected for the "Girls・ING" (「ガールズ・ING」) unit for the Ameba Team Pigg Unit Battle, a competition to feature a B-side track on AKB48's 18th major label single, "Beginner." Her teammates included Ayaka Umeda, Ayaka Kikuchi, Asuka Kuramochi, Haruna Kojima, and Rina Chikano. The unit finished third in the tournament with 108,575 votes, meaning their song "Uso Desho?" (「嘘でしょ？」), a quick-paced pop song about girls' feelings, was not included on the single. However, the track was released in early 2011 on No3b's debut self-titled album, facilitated by Haruna Kojima's membership in both units. Shortly after, on July 18, 2010, Sato announced a lead role in the annual September production of the play "Imagine9.11," which addresses the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. She portrayed a character named Sato who suffered from leukemia and served as the center of the idol group SM8 (Sugar Moon 8). On September 21, 2010, she participated in the luck-based Jankenpon (Rock-Paper-Scissors) tournament to determine the lineup for the 19th major label single, "Chance no Junban" (「チャンスの順番」). Sato finished in seventh place, securing a spot on the single for the second time; her first selection had been for the third major label single in April 2007. Additionally, for AKB48's fourth annual Top 100 concert, she was announced as a member of Team Z, a 16-girl promotional sub-unit for an upcoming pachinko game, performing the song "Koi no Onawa" (「恋のお縄」). In July and August 2011, Sato performed in her third musical, "Dump Show." She was double-cast as a lead in the Moon pair alongside Amina Sato, opposing the Sun pair of Oya Shizuka and Asuka Kuramochi, with Oya sharing the role. Sato played Akane, the childhood friend of the main character. Beyond stage performances, she co-hosted the regular radio show "Asian K-Pop Powered by Love-1" with MC Minshiru on Tokyo FM and presented the weekly weather segment on the TBS news program "Hiruobi." On November 30, 2012, Sato announced her graduation from AKB48 and the entertainment industry to focus on her university studies and future career.
