Aju Makita

Aju Makita (蒔田 彩珠, Makita Aju; born 7 August 2002) is a Japanese actress.^[1]

Aju Makita
蒔田 彩珠
Born	(2002-08-07) August 7, 2002 (age 23) Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Occupation	Actress
Years active	2009–present
Website	www.stardust.co.jp/talent/section2/makitaaju/

Early life

Makita is the youngest of three siblings and has two older brothers.

Career

Born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Makita made her acting debut at age 7.^[1] In 2012, she appeared in the TV drama Going My Home directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda and has since acted in his films After the Storm (2016), The Third Murder (2017), and Shoplifters (2018).^[2] She won the best newcomer award at the Hochi Film Award in 2018 for Shino Can't Say Her Name, directed by Hiroaki Yuasa.^[1][3] She then won the 2020 Mainichi Film Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Hochi Film Award for best supporting actress for her role as a pregnant teenager in Naomi Kawase's True Mothers,^[4][5] which was selected for the 2020 Cannes Film Festival.^[6] Her performance in the film garnered praise from such reviewers as those in The Guardian,^[7] the Los Angeles Times,^[8] The Hollywood Reporter,^[9] and the South China Morning Post.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2016	After the Storm	Aju		[11]
2017	The Third Murder	Yuka Shigemori		[2]
	The Light Dances	Nagisa	Lead role; short film	[12]
2018	Shoplifters	Sayaka Shibata		[13]
	My Friend "A"	Yui Shiraishi		[14]
	The Cat in Their Arms			[15]
	Shino Can't Say Her Name	Kayo Okazaki	Lead role	[16]
2019	Strawberry Song			[17]
2020	True Mothers	Hikari Katakura		[18][7]
	#HandballStrive	Kurosawa		[19]
	Under the Stars	Mah-chan		[20]
2021	Child of Kamiari Month	Kanna (voice)	Lead role	[21]
	DIVOC-12		Lead role; "Yen" segment	[22]
	99.9 Criminal Lawyer: The Movie	Eri Nagumo		[23]
2022	Pure Japanese	Ayumi		[24]
	To Me, the One Who Loved You	Shiori Satō (voice)		[25]
	To Every You I've Loved Before	Shiori Satō (voice)		[26]
2023	In Love and Deep Water	Shiori Hagiwara		[27]
2024	Happiness	Yuma Yamagishi	Lead role	[28]
2025	Dwindling World	Amane	Lead role	[29]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2012	Going My Home	Moe Tsuboi		[30]
2016	Daddy Sister	13-year-old Tamaki Mizuta	Asadora	[31]
2018	An Invisible Cradle	Chie Nakamoto	Episode 2	[32]
2020	Kotonoha	Kaori Itō	Lead role; TV movie	[33]
2021	Welcome Home, Monet	Michi Nagaura	Asadora	[34][35]
2022	If My Wife Becomes an Elementary School Student.	Mai Niijima		[36]
2023	The Makanai: Cooking for the Maiko House	Ryōko		[37]
	My Worst Friend	Hotaru Kasamatsu	Lead role	[38]
2024	House of Ninjas	Nagi Tawara		[39]
	Someone in This Town	Maki Mochizuki	Miniseries	[40]
2025	Mr. Mikami's Classroom	Aoi Tominaga		[41]
	Doctor Price	Aki Yonaga		[42]

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2018	La Strada	Gelsomina		[43]

Music videos

Year	Song	Artist	Ref.
2018	Mizuiro no Hibi	Shishamo
2020	Canary	Kenshi Yonezu	[44]
2022	Koi-kaze ni Nosete	Vaundy	[45]

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work(s)	Result	Ref.
2018	43rd Hochi Film Awards	Best New Artist	Shino Can't Say Her Name	Won	[3]
2020	45th Hochi Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	True Mothers	Won	[46]
	33rd Nikkan Sports Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	True Mothers and Under the Stars	Nominated	[47] [48]
		Best Newcomer		Nominated
2021	42nd Yokohama Film Festival	Best Supporting Actress		Won	[49]
	75th Mainichi Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress	True Mothers	Won	[50]
	63rd Blue Ribbon Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Nominated	[51]
	94th Kinema Junpo Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Won	[52]
	44th Japan Academy Film Prize	Newcomer of the Year		Won	[53]
	15th Asian Film Awards	Best Supporting Actress		Won	[54]
2022	25th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix	Best Supporting Actress	Welcome Home, Monet	Won	[55]