Rina Kawaei (川栄 李奈, Kawaei Rina, born February 12, 1995) is a Japanese actress and former singer, represented by Avex.[2] She is a former member of the girl groupAKB48. As an actress, she has starred in television series such as Come Come Everybody (2021) and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 61st Blue Ribbon Awards in 2019.
Career
2012–2014
Kawaei auditioned for AKB48 and was selected to join the 11th generation as a kenkyūsei (trainee) in July 2010.[3]
In March 2012, she was promoted to Team 4, and was transferred to Team A in August. Soon after the TV series Shiritsu Bakaleya Kōkō ended on June 30, it was announced that Kawaei would participate in its film adaptation. The movie would star several members from the groups Johnny's Jr. and AKB48.[4][5]
In 2013, during a broadcast of a special episode of the comedy show Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!, it was announced that Kawaei would perform as center in a song of the special unit BKA48 that will be included on AKB48's single "Sayonara Crawl" to be released in May.[citation needed] At the 2013 AKB48 general election, she placed 25th with 26,764 votes,[8] and thus gained a place as an Under Girl for the next single "Koi Suru Fortune Cookie".
On May 25, 2014, during an event held at the Iwate Industry Culture & Convention Center in Takizawa, Iwate, she, along with Anna Iriyama and a staff member were attacked by a 24-year-old man wielding a handsaw, who was arrested at the scene on suspicion of attempted murder. All three victims suffered wounds including bone fractures on their fingers (reportedly, Kawaei's right thumb and Iriyama's right little finger were both fractured and cut, and the girls suffered wounds on their heads), and were taken to a hospital for surgery. The event, as well as all other group activities on that day, were halted.[9][10][11][12][13][14]
2014–present
At AKB48's 2014 general election she placed 16th with 39,120 votes[15] and thus gained a place in the promotional line-up for the next single "Kokoro no Placard".
On March 26, 2015, Kawaei announced that she would leave AKB48 and transition to acting, citing her inability to participate in handshake events after the handsaw assault as the reason.[16][3] She had her graduation ceremony during AKB48's Summer Concert in Saitama Super Arena on August 2 and had her last stage performance on August 4, 2015. In November 2015, it was announced that she would star with Mitsuki Takahata in the NHKmorning dramaToto Neechan.[17][18]
Did not sing on title track; lineup was determined by rock-paper-scissors tournament. Sang on "Totteoki Christmas". Sang on "Eien Yori Tsuzuku Yō ni" as part of OKL48.[28]
^ ab"AKB48 32ndシングル 選抜総選挙" [32nd single selection elections]. AKB48 Official Site (in Japanese). 2013-06-08. Archived from the original on 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2013-12-04.
^川栄、入山襲われた!AKB握手会に刃物男 (in Japanese). nikkansports.com. 2014-05-24. Archived from the original on 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2014-05-24.
^Center and A-side lineup information provided by "AKB48 歴代シングル選抜メンバー(2006年~2013年)" [(2006–2013) AKB48 successive single member selection]. entamedata.web.fc2.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-20. Retrieved 2013-09-23.