In the "Fateful Encounters" segment, we ask today's most popular actors and artists about the people who influenced them. This time, we asked Ami Touma, who plays the lead role of Sakurai Moe in the currently-showing film "Strawberry Moon: A Love with Six Months to Live" (directed by Sakai Mai), to talk about the encounter with her agency manager that led to her entering the entertainment industry.
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For me, my "fateful encounter" was with my agency manager. I was scouted in my hometown of Okinawa and started this job, but without that, I certainly wouldn't be here now and I would have pursued a completely different career.
I was in my second year of junior high school when I was scouted. I wasn't originally interested in the entertainment industry, and I never thought I'd go down that path. When they approached me, I was like, "No way, it's me!" It was like a fictional story from a manga or drama, and I was very surprised.
Right now, I'm having a lot of fun every day. I find acting fascinating because it allows me to live a different life through a role. I can quickly switch my mindset between projects, and I'm naturally mentally tough, so perhaps this job is what I'm suited to.
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Touma Ami was born on November 2, 2006, in Okinawa Prefecture. She made her debut in a commercial in 2021. In 2022, she made her TV drama debut in "My Wife Became an Elementary School Student" (TBS), and became the 14th commercial character for "Calpis Water" (Asahi Soft Drinks). She was selected for the lead role in the animated feature film "Lonely Castle in the Mirror" through an audition, marking her debut as a voice actress. She attracted attention for her role as Tokugawa Ieyasu's eldest daughter, Kamehime, in the 2023 NHK Taiga drama "What Will Ieyasu Do?". She has since appeared in numerous popular dramas, including "The Best Teacher: One Year Later, I Was Killed by My Student" (NTV), and will star in her first drama role in 2024 in the NHK drama "Ke no Hi no Kekeke" (24). She also starred in the July 2025 drama "Chihayafuru: Meguri" (NTV), and has now starred in her first feature film, "Strawberry Moon: A Love with Half a Year Left to Live." Her upcoming films include "The Girl at the End of the Line" (directed by Yoshida Kota), which will be released on January 23, 2026, and the animated feature film "Paris ni Saku Etoile" (directed by Goro Taniguchi), which will be released on March 13, 2026.
"Strawberry Moon: A Love with Six Months to Live" is based on the novel of the same name by Nao Akutagawa (published by Subarusha), which became a hot topic on TikTok as "the most tear-jerking story of the Reiwa era." It tells the story of Moe Sakurai (played by Touma), who is told she has only six months to live, and who falls in love with Hinata Sato (played by Jun Saito) for the rest of her life in the spring of her first year of high school. Hinata 13 years later will be played by Yosuke Sugino, and Takato Rei, Hinata's childhood friend and Moe's best friend, will be played by Ayami Nakajo 13 years later.
