Hayato Sano is an actor and member of the five-member vocal and dance group M!LK. While Sano has made a name for himself as an actor in a variety of productions, he is also experiencing a period of rapid growth in his musical career. At the 67th The Japan Record Awards(TBS), broadcast on December 30th, M!LK's song "Ii Jan" was selected as the top award winner. He will also make his long-awaited debut as a member of M!LK on the 76th NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen, which will be broadcast on New Year's Eve. It's safe to say he's on a roll. Let's take a look back at Sano's accomplishments in 2025, along with his own comments.
◇ "It's great!" and "I love it so much!" are all the rage
Sano is 27 years old and was born on March 23, 1998 in Aichi Prefecture. He made his acting debut in the 2015 film "Sing a Song to Your Lips." Since then, he has appeared in a number of popular works, including "TOKYO MER: Running Emergency Room" (TBS), "The Real Culprit Flag" (NTV), "Trillion Game" (TBS), and the NHK morning drama "Omusubi."
M!LK was formed in 2014 and made its CD debut in March 2015. After some members graduated and joined, the group became a five-member group in February 2020, consisting of Sano, Yoshida Hitoshi, Shiozaki Taichi, Jyutaro Yamanaka , and Sono Shunta.
The song "Ii Jan," released in March this year, became a huge hit, especially on social media. The phrase "Biju Ii Jan" became a huge buzz, being selected as one of the 30 nominees for the 2025 T&D Insurance Group New Words and Buzzwords Awards. The latest song, "Suki Sugite Metsu!", released digitally on October 27th, has also attracted a lot of attention, with the music video having been viewed over 21.8 million times on YouTube, captivating many people as a catchy "silly song."
In an interview conducted at the end of last year, Sano stated that his goals for 2025 were to "make everyone aware of (M!LK's) songs and perform at the Kohaku Uta Gassen." He has truly "walked the talk," and while talking about his passion for M!LK, Sano also spoke about his outlook for the future.
"(My future goals) are to star in a prime-time drama, for M!LK to perform the theme song for that drama, and for us to win an Academy Award. These are goals I've had for a long time, so I definitely want to make them come true. I definitely want to do a dome tour by the time I'm 30."
◇A year of great success as an actor
Meanwhile, looking at Sano's acting career, he played the role of Yotsugi Shoya, a former high school baseball player who becomes the husband of the heroine Yoneda Yui, played by Kanna Hashimoto, in the morning Asadora"Omusubi " in the second half of 2024, which aired until March, and this performance increased his popularity among viewers.
In the NHK drama series "I Want to Die Alone," which began airing in June, he played the role of Nasuda Yuya, a "complicated man" who is a colleague of the main character, Yamaguchi Narumi (Ayase Haruka), and who actually has feelings for her, with a sensitive and expressive performance, proving his excellent acting ability.
In the October drama series "ESCAPE: It Was Supposed to be Kidnapping" (NTV), Sano will star alongside Sakurada Hiyori for the first time in a prime-time drama slot on a commercial broadcasting network. Sano plays Hayashida Daisuke, a young man who kidnaps the daughter of a large company's president, Yagami Yui (played by Sakurada), but for some reason ends up teaming up with her to go on the run. Despite his aggressive behavior and appearance, he charmingly portrays a simple, honest character who cannot lie, demonstrating the breadth of his acting skills.
In 2026, he will be appearing in the TV drama series "Okome no Onna - National Tax Agency Materials Investigation Division, Miscellaneous Country Room" (TV Asahi), which will start on January 8th. M!LK will also be holding an arena tour attracting approximately 60,000 people until February 11th, and will release a double A-side single, "Bakuretsu Aishiteru/Sukisugite Metsu!" on February 18th. It looks like he will continue to be active both as an actor and as a member of a group in 2026.
