Yuya Yagira

Yuya Yagira is a Japanese actor born on March 26, 1990. He is best known for his breakthrough performance as a child actor, which earned him historic recognition at an international level, as well as his subsequent career across Japanese feature films, television productions, and commercial projects.

When production began in 2002 for the acclaimed drama Nobody Knows, Yagira was twelve years old and had not worked as a professional actor. He played the role of twelve-year-old Akira in the project. In 2004, he received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in Nobody Knows, establishing him as the youngest winner to ever receive the award.

Following the success of his debut film, Yagira immediately expanded his acting work into television projects and additional cinematic releases. He starred alongside Eriko Sato in director Akane Yamada's film All to the Sea, which reached audiences in 2010. In 2013, he co-starred with Kie Kitano in the film Under the Nagasaki Sky, directed by Taro Hyugaji. Later, in 2021, Yagira took on the role of a young Takeshi Kitano in the biographical feature Asakusa Kid.

In addition to his acting projects, Yagira has been involved in brand endorsement campaigns. In 2018, he signed on as the official brand ambassador for GATSBY, a Japanese men's grooming brand. During this campaign, he starred alongside prominent Japanese actor Mackenyu Arata in the television commercial series titled GATSBY Cop.

Yagira was hospitalized on August 29, 2008, after suffering a drug overdose. Early public reports characterized the event as a suicide attempt. However, Yagira publicly refuted these claims on his personal blog, clarifying that he had not intended to end his life. He explained that following an argument with his family, he took a larger dose than usual of his prescription tranquilizers in anger. After feeling ill from the medication, he personally requested that an ambulance be called.

Yagira's personal life includes his marriage to television personality Ellie Toyota. The two first met while attending Horikoshi High School, where Toyota was a senior student and Yagira was a junior. Yagira first proposed to Toyota when he was seventeen years old, but she turned down the proposal because he did not realize that individuals could not legally marry until reaching eighteen years of age. He proposed to her again two years later at nineteen, and she accepted.

Yagira announced their engagement via his personal blog on December 2, 2009. The couple officially registered their marriage on January 14, 2010, and celebrated their wedding ceremony on January 15, 2010, at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. On October 13, 2010, Toyota gave birth to their daughter.