Mirei Kiritani

Mirei Kiritani is a Japanese actress, model, and news anchor born on December 16, 1989. She is best known for her roles in feature films such as Kimi ni Todoke (2010), Usagi Drop (2011), Arakawa Under the Bridge (2012), Crying 100 Times: Every Raindrop Falls (2013), Jossy's (2014), Koisuru Vampire (2015), No Longer Heroine (2015), and Revenge Girl (2017). On television, her major credits include Andō Lloyd: A.I. knows Love? (2013), Gunshi Kanbei (2014), Hell Teacher Nūbē (2014), Atelier (2015), and A Girl & Three Sweethearts (2016).

Kiritani was born in Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Her mother is from Hokkaido and her father is from Fukuoka Prefecture, where she frequently visited her grandparents during her childhood. She has a younger brother. In fifth grade, her family moved to Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, where she lived until her second year of junior high school before returning to Chiba. She attended Chiba Higashi High School, serving as manager of the rugby club for half of her high school years. She later attended Ferris University, graduating in March 2015 after seven years of study, which included a two-year break to accommodate her work schedule.

In 2005, while a high school freshman, Kiritani was scouted by the agency Sweet Power after being called at home as Chiba's number one beautiful girl. She made her official acting debut in the February 2006 film Haru no Ibasho, followed by television roles in Kisshō Tennyo, Tokyo Girl, and Kaidan Shin Mimibukuro. In April 2006, she became an exclusive model for the teenage fashion magazine Seventeen, working with the publication until August 2011. She also became a regular presenter for the Hayamimi Trend No.1 segment on Mezamashi TV starting in October 2006.

Kiritani secured her first lead film role in Ongakubito in 2010 and her first lead television drama role in Jotei Kaoruko that same year. In 2011, she starred in the mystery films Scattered Reflection and Snowflake, and was featured on the MBS documentary program Jonetsu Tairiku. Her subsequent projects included the 2012 films Arakawa Under the Bridge and Ace Attorney, the 2015 Netflix and Fuji TV series Atelier, and the 2016 Fuji TV Monday 9pm drama A Girl & Three Sweethearts. In fashion, she modeled for magazines including Non-no, GINGER, and BAILA.

Parallel to her acting and fashion career, Kiritani established a career in television broadcasting. From April 2012 to September 2018, she served as the Tuesday anchor for NTV's news program News Zero, personally covering youth topics in her segment Mirei Kiritani: My Generation. After 16 years with Sweet Power, she left the agency in March 2022 to work as a free agent focused primarily on modeling. In March 2024, she joined NTV's News Every as a news anchor for Wednesday and Thursday broadcasts, making her on-air debut on April 3, 2024.

Throughout her career, Kiritani has received industry recognition, including the Entertainment Industry Category – Female award at the 28th Japan Glasses Best Dresser Awards in October 2015, and being selected as the Most Beautiful Face of 2016 by VoCE magazine. In her personal life, she began dating actor Shohei Miura in early 2017 after co-starring in A Girl & Three Sweethearts. They registered their marriage on July 24, 2018, held a wedding ceremony in Hawaii in December 2018, and later hosted a reception in Tokyo. She gave birth to their first child, a son, in July 2020.