On the bayfm radio program “Tonight, Under Sakura’s Tree” (every Wednesday from 24:00 to 24:30), broadcast on Wednesday, June 17, 2020.
IZ*ONE’s Miyawaki Sakura spoke about Yabuki Nako, whose birthday was on June 18.
Listener email: Good evening, Sakura.
Miyawaki Sakura: Good evening.
Listener email: This is my first email. I’m a high school boy from Fukuoka, WIZ*ONE.
I’ve always loved Sakura, Nako, and Hii, but I’ve never been able to attend their events because I’m a student, so I’ve decided to definitely go to their next live show.
As for the main question… When you first met Sakura and Nako, Nako was still in elementary school, right? So, are there any areas where you think “you’ve changed in this way,” or “you haven’t changed in this way”? Please let me know if you don’t mind.
I’ve liked you for five years, and I look forward to meeting you at an event someday. Take care of yourself and do your best.
Miyawaki Sakura: Now, about Nako… it’s her birthday today (June 18th)!
She’s 19 in Japan, but 20 in Korea… Nako, happy birthday.
Nako is 20 in Korea. I can’t believe it.
I mean, I was 11 when I first met Nako.
I was in sixth grade, so I was 11 or 12… wow, isn’t that crazy? No, really (laughs).
But to me, Nako is still the same as she was then, if I had to say. So there aren’t many parts where she’s “changed”… well, there are. There are parts where she’s “changed in a good way,” but there are also many parts where she “hasn’t changed in a good way.”
To me, she’ll always be Yabuki Nako.
To me, Nako has always been that little sister-like, childish girl…the one they used to call “Kinako.”
I guess “to a parent, a child will always be a child,” right?
I really feel that way (laughs).
But since I joined IZ*ONE, I’ve definitely become a lot closer to Nako.
We’ve started talking about all sorts of things, and asking for advice too.
Also, we wrote the lyrics for the Japanese version together this time, right?
Before I joined IZ*ONE, Nako was probably a little careful around me. I suppose she’s a senior, so she’s a little careful around me (laughs).
But now, in a good way, she’s become a lot more relaxed around me, which makes me really happy. She’s “considerate,” but I really like how she doesn’t make me feel awkward around her.
When I ask her “What do you think of this?” she’s like, “I think that’s true, but what do you think about this?” Even when we’re writing lyrics together, it’s really easy.
That’s why I trust Nako a lot, and to be honest, Nako has had a much higher mental age even since we were in elementary school. So, just like back then, I still think of her as a “reliable little sister.”
But Nako being 20 is a tough number. Of course, I’ll be growing up too.
But then, I’m 23 in Korea, right? That means we’re only three years apart, right? When I first met, I thought, “There’s a huge age difference between us,” but now that I think about it, it’s not that big of an age difference…it’s strange.