Kentaro Ito official photo - Japanese Tristone Entertainment actor, star of The Boy and I Who Will Break Up in 100 Days

Kentaro Ito

BIOGRAPHY

Kentaro Ito (Japanese: 伊藤健太郎, born 30 June 1997) is a Japanese actor and model from Tokyo, with close to eighty screen credits before the age of thirty. For most of his early career he worked under his given name alone, as Kentaro.

He started as a model at fourteen, in 2012, and signed with the modelling agency Bonn Image in 2014, initially for advertising work. Acting followed almost immediately. A supporting role as a high school student in the late-night drama Hirugao brought him attention, and in 2015 he appeared on screen for the first time in the film My Love Story!!. Through 2015 and 2016 he worked steadily in The Girl’s Speech, Transit Girls, Brass Dreams and Good Morning Call.

Two leading roles arrived in 2017. He played Masaki Sata, the head of a motorcycle gang, in the film Demekin, and Tadakiyo Hagi, a young Warring States lord, in the time-travel romantic comedy Ashi Girl. That year also brought Let’s Go, Jets!, both parts of Sagrada Reset and My Teacher. On his twenty-first birthday, in 2018, he stopped using the single name Kentaro and began working under his full name. His fans know him as Icchan.

2018 brought Cafe Funiculi Funicula, Room Laundering, Suits, From Today, It’s My Turn!! and Lock-On Love among the credits. He then played Takao Kasuga in the 2019 adaptation of The Flowers of Evil and Kanji Nagao in the 2020 remake of Tokyo Love Story. He also played Shunsuke Imaizumi in Yowamushi Pedal (2020) and voiced Wasabi Kawamura in the animated film Ride Your Wave (2019).

His recent work includes Winter Rose (2022), The Brightest Roof in the Universe (2022), the stage-derived When They Cry productions, Till We Meet Again on the Lily Hill (2023) and all four chapters of The Quiet Don (2023) as Shizuya Kondo. He joined the agency Tristone Entertainment on 1 November 2024.

He plays Yuma Kasuga in The Boy and I Who Will Break Up in 100 Days.

Kentaro Ito plays Yuma Kasuga in a six episode adaptation of a novel by Asahara Naoto.

The novel is published by KADOKAWA, and the drama itself is The Boy and I Who Will Break Up in 100 Days.

Several of his earlier credits also start from existing material: The Flowers of Evil and Yowamushi Pedal from manga, and Tokyo Love Story from an earlier television drama.

In my view, the pattern worth noticing is that the name change and the change of weight arrived together. He dropped the mononym at twenty one, and the roles that followed, Cafe Funiculi Funicula, The Flowers of Evil and Tokyo Love Story, gave him heavier ground. For a first look I would start with Cafe Funiculi Funicula, and then turn to The Quiet Don for his later range.

What I appreciate is the distance between his parts. A motorcycle gang head in Demekin, a Warring States lord in Ashi Girl and a voice in an animated film sit far apart from each other, and each one gave him something different to do. That is my viewpoint as an editor.

PROFILE DETAILS

Native Name
伊藤健太郎
Real Name
Kentaro Ito (伊藤健太郎)
Former / Birth Name
Kentaro (健太郎), used as a stage name until 2018
Nickname
Kentaro (formerly credited mononymously, 2012-2018)
Born
(Age 29)
Birthplace
Tokyo, Japan
Gender
Male
Western Zodiac
Cancer ♋
Chinese Zodiac
Ox 🐂
Profession
Nationality
Debut
2014 · Hirugao: Love Affairs in the Afternoon (Fuji TV, 2014), acting debut credited as "Kentaro"; modeling debut in 2012
Agency / Label
Tristone Entertainment (トライストーン・エンタテイメント), joined November 1, 2024
Years Active
2012-present
Skills
Screen acting, Voice acting, Modelling

FUN FACTS

  • He chose his full name as a stage name after his character in From Today, It’s My Turn!! turned out to share his real surname.
  • In Winter Rose (2022), directed by Junji Sakamoto, he played a young delinquent looking into an attack on a friend.

TRIVIA

  • He won Newcomer of the Year at the 42nd Japan Academy Film Prize for Cafe Funiculi Funicula.
  • He won Best Supporting Actor at the 47th Japan Academy Film Prize.

NOTABLE AWARDS

  • 2019 to 42nd Japan Academy Film Prize, Newcomer of the Year and Topic Award, for Cafe Funiculi Funicula (2018).
  • 2023 to 47th Japan Academy Film Prize, Best Supporting Actor, for Ano Hana ga Saku Oka de, Kimi to Mata Deaetara.

CAREER AT A GLANCE

Kentaro Ito holds one record across the site: one leading role.

It dates from 2026.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Who is Kentaro Ito?

Kentaro Ito (伊藤健太郎) is a Japanese actor and model, born 30 June 1997 in Tokyo, with close to eighty screen credits. In The Boy and I Who Will Break Up in 100 Days he is Yuma Kasuga.

Why is he sometimes credited as just Kentaro?

That was his stage name for the first years of his career. On his twenty-first birthday, in 2018, he switched to working under his full birth name.

How did he start?

As a model, at fourteen, in 2012. He signed with the agency Bonn Image in 2014 for advertising work, and a supporting role in the late-night drama Hirugao brought him his first attention as an actor.

What were his first leading roles?

Two, both in 2017: Masaki Sata, a motorcycle gang leader, in the film Demekin, and the young Warring States lord Tadakiyo Hagi in the drama Ashi Girl.

What are his best-known roles?

Takao Kasuga in The Flowers of Evil (2019), Kanji Nagao in the 2020 remake of Tokyo Love Story, Shunsuke Imaizumi in Yowamushi Pedal, and Shizuya Kondo across all four chapters of The Quiet Don.

Has he done voice work?

Yes. He voiced Wasabi Kawamura in the 2019 animated film Ride Your Wave.

Which agency represents him?

Tristone Entertainment, which he joined on 1 November 2024.

How old is he?

He was born on 30 June 1997, which makes him 29 in 2026. His zodiac sign is Cancer.

Which NHK morning serial was Kentaro Ito in?

Scarlet (2019), as Takeshi, the son of Kimiko Kawahara, who was played by Erika Toda.

Which awards has Kentaro Ito won?

Two Japan Academy Film Prize honours. At the 42nd ceremony he took Newcomer of the Year and the Topic Award for Cafe Funiculi Funicula, and at the 47th he won Best Supporting Actor.

What is Winter Rose?

A 2022 film directed by Junji Sakamoto, in which Kentaro Ito plays a young delinquent looking into an attack on a friend.

What is The Boy and I Who Will Break Up in 100 Days based on?

It is a six episode drama adapted from a novel by Asahara Naoto, published by KADOKAWA.

What is Kentaro Ito's fan nickname?

Fans call him Icchan.

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