Chiaki Kuriyama, best known in the West for her role as Gogo Yubari, is joining the cast of the next Yakuza game, Yakuza: To The End.
Kuriyama will be playing the role of Misuzu Asagi. "Because I've long loved Yakuza," the actress said, "I was really happy when I got the part." She says that since she knew the series, she felt pressure. Kuriyama says that she is looking forward to the time when she can control her character in the game.
The actress has appeared in ads for Resident Evil 5 and commercials for a movie rental service for the PS3.
Kuriyama was rumored to be appearing in the Tekken film as Ling Xiaoyu, something she dispelled when I interviewed her for my book Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential.
"I'm not in the Tekken," she said at the time. "Everyone's been saying to me, 'Hey, Tekken! You're in Tekken?' And I'm like 'bwah?' People have been saying this to me for a while - is the movie done yet? I don't know where this rumor is from."
She also told me she was a fan of Zelda and the Ace Attorney games.