This is a translation of an article that was originally published in issue #021 of IDOL AND READ (January 2020).
— What kind of girl are you?
Sakamoto: I’m not outspoken; I don’t want to stand out all that much. But deep down, I’m a positive person, and when life gets tough, I feel better after a good night’s rest. I’m carefree, I just go like: “Oh well. Food is good.“ (laughs)
— Isn’t this the best life skill?
Sakamoto: I just take it easy. When the members ask me for advice, I tell them they have nothing to be worried about, there’s no point. I guess that means I’m positive, through and through. I failed an audition before joining The World Standard (Wasuta) and I wasn’t selected as an official member of a group (GEM), I’ve had a life with many twists and turns, but I didn’t take it to heart. (laughs) I’m not the type who has ups and downs.
— You’ve experienced things that would make a normal girl give up…
Sakamoto: I don’t really feel down in general, so when people are worried about me, I always think: “I don’t care personally, can’t I just have fun?“
— So Sakamoto Hazuki, what kind of life have you had so far? I want to discuss your background; how were you as a child?
Sakamoto: I was shy and always followed my mom. I’m an only child so I didn’t have any problem playing on my own and I was quiet in front of others. When I started opening up, I became super lively. I’ve been carefree ever since. I liked playing, so I waited for people to invite me to play with them and we’d be friends immediately. I had fun with anything and everything.
— What’s your earliest memory?
Sakamoto: I was about 3 years old and went to Kagawa with my family. I ate 4 bowls of udon.
— You were 3?
Sakamoto: It’s just a hazy memory, but I loved udon so much I couldn’t stop eating. It could be because I went overboard, but after that, I missed a step in the big staircase and injured my foot. (laughs) I’ve been eating a lot since I was a kid. When my parents worked, they often had grandma and grandpa babysit me at their house. They pampered me a lot, so even as a kid, I’d have a pack of strawberries and a full watermelon for myself…
— You were born a glutton… (laughs)
Sakamoto: I’ve had a big appetite for as long as I can remember. I’d have a lot of food, and mom would tell me dinner is over and I’d cry like there’s no tomorrow. (laughs) I always wanted to have something in my mouth, so my favourite thing to say was: “I want to grab a bite.“ I was a kid who wasn’t satisfied unless she had something to eat.
— So you’d keep eating unless someone told you to stop?
Sakamoto: Yes, if there were three packs of strawberries, I’d eat all three. That’s why I was chubby until the age of 3 or so. I was so big, it made a thump when I sat down on my chair. You wouldn’t believe I was born basically yesterday.
— Now you can control yourself, right?
Sakamoto: Even today I have a huge appetite! But eating makes you gain weight, and I know this now so I eat just a bit more than other people. Still, if I’m hungry and someone tells me I can eat as much as I want, I go all in until there’s no food anymore. It doesn’t mean I’m fast at eating, though. After an hour of eating, I might still have space left in my stomach. It’s always empty. (laughs)
— I have a feeling this interview would be all about eating a lot so I’ll change the topic. (laughs) So, how did your parents raise you?
Sakamoto: I was overprotected for sure. Before I even asked, they’d have something planned. If I didn’t know what to eat, they’d have choices for me. So I was a child who never thought about what to do at all. Mom did everything for me, and as I was raised this way, I don’t know what I want now. She was so kind to me. Dad was kind too. When mom would be busy at work, he’d care after me instead. He brought me to places during days off at the daycare. He’d invite relatives over and we’d go together to theme parks and pools. For dinner, he cooked fried rice and yakisoba for me.
— How are they treating you as an adult?
Sakamoto: Mom is more of an older lady than a mom now. I can tell her anything and she can tell me anything, and we sometimes fight. She’s different with me than with other people. She’s very affectionate and always wants to hang around, go to places and eat food together, but when other people are around, she doesn’t talk at all. Dad is shy too and hides behind her. (laughs) But when he’s angry, he turns into a scary monster. His Kansai dialect might play a part in this too, but his face has so much impact. When he was upset, he wouldn’t listen to me, so I’d blurt out “NO!” without thinking about his feelings. I was a selfish kid, so yeah.
— How did they handle you wanting to get into the entertainment business?
Sakamoto: They pushed and supported me a lot. When Wasuta toured in the Kansai area, mom looked up all the sightseeing spots in my hometown of Kobe so she’d recommend places we should visit and which restaurant is good, and dad did a lot too. My parents were the ones who made me join the entertainment business in the first place. Dad sent my application for the audition and told me: “Hope to see you sing later.“ It was so sudden. I couldn’t sing and never listened to music all that much. I didn’t know what song to sing. Of course, I failed the audition. (laughs)
— Was it the 2010 Avex Idol Audition?
Sakamoto: Yes, but then they asked me if I wanted to be a Streetsei, an Idol Street debut candidate. I wasn’t really interested in the entertainment business. I was more on the bad side at singing and dancing. My dad said: “You don’t get to experience a lot of things if you live your life normally, and you only live once. If it isn’t fun, you can just quit. Why not try it? We’ll support you, mom and dad will do whatever they can. I had no clue what I was getting into, so I just tried.
— Why did your dad want you to debut so badly?
Sakamoto: He’s a doting parent. (laughs) Even today, he sends the pictures I post on social media to our family’s LINE group and says: “This one looks good.“ Even mom goes like, “You were so cute here,“ and I just reply, “Thank you.“ (laughs)
— I believe you applied for the audition when you were in the upper grades of elementary school. Do you have memories from your school life?
Sakamoto: Elementary school… was when my personality was the weirdest? You know, there are small groups of girl friends in a class, and they always flock together. In my case, I wanted to be in every group. I didn’t understand why girls made small groups like that. Why are they always together? Do they get along that well? So I moved from group to group and talked to them. I would play with boys outside too. I wanted to be friends with everyone if possible and didn’t feel like joining a specific group.
— You wanted to be friends with everyone, but it made you a lone wolf in the end.
Sakamoto: Right, they thought I just kept going around, that Hazuki was weird. (laughs) But I didn’t let it bother me. The girls said stuff like, “Hazuki, you only play with boys,” and I would just go, “So what?“ Even if they were sarcastic, I didn’t understand their sarcasm. My mom would ask me if I was fine as she was worried about me, but I personally didn’t feel anything about it. Still, having this personality got me in a bit of a trouble… I was kind of a devil.
— You were a devil?
Sakamoto: A love devil?
— A sweet devil?
Sakamoto: Yeah, that’s what I meant! (laughs)
— Were you popular with boys?
Sakamoto: Not that I was popular, but I wasn’t interested in love at all. So, when people were gushing like, “Isn’t this guy hot?,“ I had no idea what they meant. Or when they said, “Hazuki, do you like this guy?,“ I didn’t know they meant “like“ as in “romantic love“. I answered as a friend, like: “It’s fun playing with him, I like him!“ Then, they’d say: “Hazuki loves all the boys. She’s willing to give everyone a try.“ (laughs) I didn’t understand so I didn’t have a problem with it myself at all, but the boys would go: “It seems Sakamoto likes you!“ —”Really? But I heard Sakamoto likes my friend too…“ They made a fuss about it among themselves…
— What a messy situation. (laughs)
Sakamoto: So the boys would confess to me, “I like Sakamoto too,“ but I took “like“ as a friend. “What, well, I didn’t think you hated me or something, but what happened, what made you say that in the first place?“ (laughs) And later when I understood what I did, I realized that I caused much trouble.
— So, when did you first fall in love? When did you first feel, “This guy is hot, I like him.“?
Sakamoto: It hasn’t happened yet…
— You still haven’t fallen in love, at 21? But I’ve been listening to you so far, and I had a hunch. (laughs)
Sakamoto: If I hadn’t started idol activities around the time I entered junior high, I might have had a first love experience. I’ve been active in the entertainment business since my first year of junior high and I’ve lived a carefree life. I was a serious girl, too. In elementary school, I’d get 100% on nearly every test and I thought I was smart.
— Oh, so you did well in school.
Sakamoto: I started getting bad grades in junior high. I was in an all-girl school and at the beginning, I did well. It tricked me into thinking I was really smart so I stopped listening in class. Then, my grades fell like a rock and I became bad at studying ever since. In my second year, I pushed my luck and my teacher kept chasing me around.
— You went from being a straight “A” student to being a problem child. (laughs)
Sakamoto: I didn’t hand in assignments and my grades were so bad. Even when they asked me to go to remedial class, I didn’t show up. I’d run away from my teacher and they’d get mad at me and kept yelling: “Sakamoto!“ (laughs) I also fooled around in class. When the teacher asked me for an answer, I’d think about a silly one. I understand it was bad on my part, but I thought it was more fun than bad! I just wanted to have fun anyway! And the classroom was filled with laughter.
— At the end of the day, it made you happy so it was a good thing.
Sakamoto: Either way, if you can’t answer a question, it’s more fun if you say something silly. Just answering, “I don’t know“ isn’t fun.
— Usually, when you don’t know the answer, you dread having your name called, but in your case, hearing, “Sakamoto!“, must have made you think like, “Yes, finally!“?
Sakamoto: “My turn! Time to say something!“ (laughs)
— Did you feel you weren’t in class, but on a variety show? (laughs)
Sakamoto: Definitely! What I had in mind was: “Let’s go! I’ll make them laugh! I’ll leave my mark!“
— You were more motivated than anyone else. (laughs)
Sakamoto: The more serious and strict the teacher, the more I wanted to make them laugh. I would get scolded for that, but I really liked the teachers so I’d go and chat with them happily. I wasn’t good at studying, but I was confident. I still am.
— What do you mean?
Sakamoto: I don’t know where I get this confidence from. I basically never listened in class so my grades were bad of course, but I didn’t leave any question blank on tests. For example, in a math test, I’d do calculations in my own way.
— Did you get them right?
Sakamoto: I didn’t! Teachers were confused, like, why does this girl who doesn’t listen in class, can’t study and might get zero on the test, have this much confidence and find answers? (laughs) But it all came to me somehow. I’d go, “Yes that’s it! Boom,” and write down. The other kids in remedial class would be told to use specific formulas like normal people, but for me, teachers would just say: “Sakamoto, I know you’re enthusiastic. But you got everything wrong.“ (laughs) On my answer sheet, they’d write the same generic comments like: “Sakamoto is enthusiastic.“ “Where did you get this formula from?“”I don’t think that’s what happens when you add this and divide it by that.“ “This is wrong. “
— This reminds me of Edison, when he wrote 1+1=1. His reasoning was that when you put two pieces of clay together, you don’t get two pieces of clay, but one. Maybe your way of thinking was similar.
Sakamoto: Well, maybe I’m Edison!
— You might come up with amazing innovations in the future. (laughs)
Sakamoto: My Japanese classes were like this too, “How did the author feel?“ Aren’t you the author when you write something, though? So I’d answer, and every single time, my teacher would say: “Sakamoto, that’s not how the author felt, but how you felt!“ (laughs) I’d reply: “I’m the author of these words, and this is how I felt!“ I’d fill all the lines too, but they were all wrong as actual answers. If I was asked, “In the text, who said this?“, I’d write “This person!,“ but they’d say, “Sakamoto, this person doesn’t appear in the text. There’s no such character.“ I know for a fact that I’m “this person”.
— You might actually be a genius.
Sakamoto: Really? I feel confident, though, when I do all this and manage to get zero. When I do get a good grade, I lose confidence because I got like 20%.
— Perhaps you think doing good work is better than having good grades.
Sakamoto: Maybe. (laughs) It depends if I’m satisfied with the answers I wrote.
— While going to school, you were also starting idol activities. How did you feel about debuting as an idol?
Sakamoto: I thought singing, dancing and hearing all that music on stage was very exciting, but off the stage, I was so shy with the members that I didn’t know what to say to them.
— You weren’t your natural spontaneous self.
Sakamoto: I was just shy. In school, we’re all the same age, but in an idol group, there are seniors and people of different ages. I couldn’t act as usual, like when I was doing MCs. I wondered why I was supposed to introduce myself, when all these people were there listening and looking at me? (laughs) Or when we had special events, I shook people’s hands and didn’t speak a single word. I knew I was weird, but this made me realize I was even weirder than I thought. I’d talk to the other members and I was the one who stood out. I had to fit in…
— You had to face the real world and couldn’t have as much freedom…
Sakamoto: I managed to fit in, but by doing that, I couldn’t say what I thought anymore. I believed that whatever I would say, I was wrong and no one would agree. Speaking worried me, but with my personality, it didn’t bring me down all that much because I do like Wasuta and the members and the work itself is fun. Only after a year did I finally start speaking even if I thought other people wouldn’t agree. Before, when something didn’t sit right with me, I’d keep it to myself because it was just my own opinion. Now I just say what I think. For example, if the members were hesitating between two options, we’d talk it out and picked one, but I didn’t agree with either. Before, I’d pick the one that sounds a tiny bit closer to what I want, but now I just say, “I’m not down with these, I’d rather do this instead.“
— So you bring a third option to the table.
Sakamoto: They may not go with my option, but since I brought it up, it may be considered a little in the solution, and that’s what I want. What pushed me to think this way was when live show staff asked every member for their opinion and ideas and they were intrigued by mine. I was under the impression that my opinion was always wrong, but staff would tell me:“Now that’s something that didn’t cross my mind. Sounds fun, let’s do it.“ They acknowledged me. There’s no right or wrong answer; I can say whatever sounds fun to me!
— You have a vivid imagination and were acknowledged for it. That was definitely a big turning point for you. What may be “wrong“ and overlooked on a test may be “fun” in the art world.
Sakamoto: Right, and that’s how I started forming my own opinions. I have a lot of fun thinking about ideas for live shows. If I were to perform in a bigger venue, I’d love to sing on a trolley. I’d make it move with my feet, all the way!
— Did you know Oda Kazumasa sang while riding a bicycle?
Sakamoto: Ah! I’d want to sing while riding a tricycle myself. (laughs) And with Wasuta, my dream is doing a world tour. I’m studying Spanish right now and I’d like to work overseas more often. I want us to be able to hold solo concerts overseas. If we’re performing in Spain, I’d like to get a laugh from the audience by speaking Spanish. Then, in Japan, I want us to hold solo concerts in every prefecture… My head is full of dreams. Every member has her own style, so I want us to shine separately too, and I’ll support all four members if possible! I love all the members and I’m glad I can spend time with the four of them. I have a lot of ideas for myself and I want to keep having fun with Wasuta. Coming up with ideas doesn’t cost a thing, but I’d be great if I could bring each of my ideas to life too.
— What kind of idol would you like to be?
Sakamoto: An idol who’s like an average person. No matter how popular I get and how well I sell, I want to buy food at the supermarket. I love sales and stuff. (laughs) I want to keep buying clothes in stores as I wish. I’d like fans to say: “Whatever she does, Hazuki is like an average person.“ I’d like to be on people’s side no matter how far my work takes me. I’ll hear and answer fans’ concerns, chat with them and be friends with everyone. Actually, fans come to me to talk and they feel like friends. So I don’t believe we should have an idol and fan relationship. We’re all people just the same, so it’s only right that we should be friends. That’s very important to me and I’ll hold on to this thought no matter how big I get.
World Wide Wota 
