Sasaki Rikako

"I want to aim for the top with this line-up."

- Sasaki Rikako, October 2014

Sasaki Rikako (佐々木莉佳子) is a Japanese pop singer under Hello! Project as a third generation member of ANGERME. She first joined Hello! Project in March 2013 as a member of Hello Pro Kenshuusei, being introduced as a member during the March 2013 recital concert.

Prior to joining Hello! Project, she was a member of the local idol group SCK GIRLS. She graduated from SCK GIRLS on March 31, 2013.

Early Life
Sasaki Rikako was born on May 28, 2001 in Kesennuma, Miyagi to Sasaki Toshishige and Estella.

2011-2012
On March 11, 2011, Sasaki and her family lost their home to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. After the earthquake, her father sent an application in for her to join the local idol group SCK45, now called SCK GIRLS, because he thought it would cheer her up.

In summer 2012, Sasaki participated in the Morning Musume 11ki Member "Suppin Utahime" Audition for an opportunity to join Morning Musume, but was not chosen to enter the group.

2013
On March 1, Sasaki joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei. She was introduced as the sole 18th generation member at the Hello! Pro Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2013 ~3gatsu no Nama Tamago Show!~ event on March 31. On the same day, she graduated from SCK GIRLS. She blogged on April 2 thanking staff members of SCK GIRLS for supporting her.

On June 13, Sasaki participated in a release event for Ten Made Nobore! at Ikebukuro Sunshine city with Juice=Juice, Tanabe Nanami, Hamaura Ayano and Murota Mizuki.

2014
From March 14 to March 23, Sasaki participated in the musical Bokutachi Karen na Shounen Gasshoudan along with Yasuda Kei, Ogawa Makoto and 7 other trainees. On opening day, the Hello Pro Kenshuusei single "Karen na Gasshoudan" was released to promote the musical.

On May 31, it was revealed that Sasaki had won the Pichi Lemon audition for new models. She was first featured in the fashion magazine on June 30.

From June 5 to June 15, Sasaki participated in the musical LILIUM -Lilium Shoujo Junketsu Kageki- along with selected Morning Musume '14 members, S/mileage, and fellow trainees Tanabe Nanami and Kaga Kaede. She played the role of "Mimosa", one of the followers of Princess Marguerite (played by Sato Masaki).

On October 4, it was announced that Sasaki was selected to join S/mileage as the 3rd generation, along with Murota Mizuki and Aikawa Maho, subsequently leaving Hello Pro Kenshuusei.

2015
On February 28, Sasaki released her first solo e-Hello! Blu-ray, Greeting ~Sasaki Rikako~.

On June 1, Sasaki celebrated her 14th birthday at a special birthday event titled ANGERME Sasaki Rikako Birthday Event 2015. The event featured two performances in Tokyo.

On July 20, she released her first solo photobook, titled RIKAKO.

On October 31, Sasaki was featured as model for Pichi Lemon for the last time, with the fashion magazine discontinuing its publication.

2016
Sasaki was featured in the March issue of fashion magazine Seventeen, released on February 1. In the issue, it was announced that that she was chosen to become a ST model.

On June 3, Sasaki celebrated her 15th birthday at a special event called ANGERME Sasaki Rikako Birthday Event 2016. The event featured two performances at TOKYO FM HALL.

2017
On February 21, Sasaki held a talk event at the Hello! Project Shop in Akihabara.

On March 2, Sasaki was featured in the Graduation2017 Chuugaku Sotsugyou published by TOKYONEWS magazine&mook, a collection of interviews and gravure photos commemorating her and other idols' graduation from middle school.

On May 29, Sasaki will celebrate her 16th birthday at fanclub event titled ANGERME Sasaki Rikako Birthday Event 2017, featuring two shows as TOKYO FM HALL.

Personal Life
Family= Her father, Toshishige, works in the fishing industry in Sendai. Her mother, Estella, is a Filipino who immigrated from the Philippines to Japan 19 years prior to the day her daughter joined Hello Pro Kenshuusei. She has an older sister named Aiko and an older brother named Yousuke.

After losing their home to the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, the Sasaki family lived in temporary housing. As of April 2013, she is living in Tokyo with her mother and sister.

When Sasaki was introduced as a Hello Pro Kenshuusei member on March 31, 2013, she was about to begin her 6th year in elementary school. When she debuted in S/mileage in October 2014, she was a first year middle school student. She graduated from middle school in March 2017.
 * -|Education=

The following list are notable friendships Sasaki Rikako has acquired:
 * -|Friendships=
 * Murota Mizuki: She gets along best with ANGERME member Murota Mizuki since Hello Pro Kenshuusei.
 * Katsuta Rina: She is good friends with ANGERME member Katsuta Rina.
 * Makino Maria: She is good friends with Morning Musume member Makino Maria since their trainee days.
 * Kaga Kaede: She holds a Love/Hate relationship with Morning Musume member Kaga Kaede since their trainee days.
 * Uemura Akari: She is good friends with Juice=Juice member Uemura Akari.
 * Inaba Manaka: She is good friends with former Country Girls member Inaba Manaka.


 * Other
 * MaRiKaedy (まりかえでぃー): Sasaki Rikako, Makino Maria and Kaga Kaede are referred to as "Marikaedy" a combination of their names "Maria", "Rikako" and "Kaede".

Here is a list of nicknames that was used to refer to Sasaki Rikako:
 * -|Nicknames=
 * Rikako (りかこ): Official nickname, given her since Hello Pro Kenshuusei.
 * Rikako-tan (りかこたん)
 * Ricchan (りっちゃん)

Profile
Stats=
 * Name: Sasaki Rikako (佐々木莉佳子)
 * Official Nickname: Rikako (りかこ)
 * Birthdate:
 * Birthplace: Kesennuma, Miyagi, Japan
 * Height: 162cm
 * Blood type: A
 * Hello! Project Status:
 * 2013-03-01: Hello Pro Kenshuusei Member
 * 2014-10-04: ANGERME Member
 * ANGERME Member Color:
 * Yellow (2014-)
 * Hello! Project Groups:
 * Hello Pro Kenshuusei (2013-2014)
 * ANGERME (2014-)
 * Hello! Project Station Dance Club (2015-)
 * One-Shot Units
 * Date Shimai (2015)
 * NakaZYXtai!!! (2017)
 * Other:
 * SCK GIRLS (2011-2013)
 * -|Q&A=
 * See Also: List:Sasaki Rikako Pocket Morning ANGERME Weekly Q&A & List:Sasaki Rikako Other Q&As


 * Specialty: Break an egg with one hand, Dancing, Foot race, Running
 * Hobbies: Listening to music, sports, collecting Koibito Dukan goods
 * Motto: "Shoshi kantetsu" (初志貫徹; Carrying out one's original intention)
 * Favorite Colors: Orange, Pink
 * Favorite Food: Sticky rice cakes
 * Favorite Subject: Physical Education, Music
 * Worst Subject: Arithmetics, Mathematics
 * Favorite Sports: Volleyball, Athletics, Soccer (Football)
 * Favorite ANGERME Song: "Watashi, Choito Kawaii Urabanchou"
 * Other Favorite Songs: "Bokura no Kagayaki"
 * Looks up to: Kudo Haruka, Matsuura Aya

Discography

 * See Also: List:Sasaki Rikako Discography Featured In

Solo Songs

 * Hanako no Uta (from MODE)

Solo Blu-rays

 * [2015.02.27] Greeting ~Sasaki Rikako~

Publications

 * See Also: List:Sasaki Rikako Publications Featured In

Solo Photobooks

 * [2015.07.20] RIKAKO

Theater

 * [2014] Bokutachi Karen na Shounen Gasshoudan
 * [2014] LILIUM -Lilium Shoujo Junketsu Kageki- (LILIUM －リリウム 少女純潔歌劇－)
 * [2016] MODE

TV Programs

 * [2012] Tsuntube
 * [2012.07.19] Sakigake Ongaku Banzuke Eight
 * [2012.08.16] ZIP!
 * [2012.12.04] Star☆Draft
 * [2013–2014] ~Onedari Entame!~ Hapi★Pure
 * [2015.01.01] Bakushou HIT PARADE

Internet

 * [2013.06.16–08.16] Hello! Pro Kenshuusei no Tadaima Kenshuuchuu!
 * [2014–] Hello! Project Station (ハロ！ステ)

Radio

 * [2015-] AS1422 (アンジュルムステーション１４２２)

Music Videos

 * [2014] Wonderful Hachikun

Magazines

 * [2014–2015] Pichilemon (ピチレモン)
 * [2016–] Seventeen

Trivia

 * She was the first Hello Pro Kenshuusei member who came from an idol group outside of Hello! Project.
 * She gained media attention, and a following for resembling Maeda Atsuko and Oshima Yuko.
 * She was invited to the television show Star☆Draft where she danced to AKB48's "Heavy Rotation" and "Flying Get".
 * She is a fan of rock and metal music, and has a collection of band T-shirts which includes AC/DC, Def Leppard, Guns N' Roses, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, KISS, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Motley Crue, Slash, Slayer and The Misfits. She also has a jacket with Black Label Society, Green Day, Iron Maiden, Slipknot and The Misfits patches. In an interview, she has also mentioned liking Whitesnake.
 * She wants to try singing "Jishin Motte Yume wo Motte Tobitatsu Kara" by Takahashi Ai.
 * For her, the hardest thing about being a Hello Pro Kenshuusei was not receiving any lines in Oheso no Kuni Kara Konnichiwa.
 * Her rival in Hello Pro Kenshuusei was Murota Mizuki. She says that Murota is good at singing and dancing and is very energetic and emotional during MCs, so she wants to be like her and someday exceed that.
 * Her dream is to become a top idol. She wants her name to be spoken whenever someone mentions "Hello! Project" or "idol".
 * She's always dreamed of being an idol or being on TV, and she thinks that it's important for idols to have actual skill.
 * She is the fourth Hello Project member of Filipino decent (along with Chelsea Ching, Lehua Sandbo, and April Barbaran)
 * She wants to work as a model and idol at the same time.
 * Tsunku's comments: "Your dancing has gotten better. Because of that, I want your singing to get better, too. Within that, the details in feeling the rhythm, like we always say, and the feeling of conscientiously putting your heart into it. That feeling might be the part you're lacking the most. Your expressions are big, like "look at me!" and that's a good thing."
 * According to an interview in JUNON Magazine released in July 2014, Sasaki hoped on getting an orange member color.
 * She said that she was often scolded for her trouble by Kaneko Rie.
 * She admires Kudo Haruka because even with her husky voice she does her best to sing.
 * She is the first ANGERME member to be born in the 21st century.
 * The first CD she ever bought was "The☆Peace!" by Morning Musume.
 * She bought a copy of "Wakuteka Take a chance", "Help me!!" and "13 Colorful Character".
 * She brings a bar of soap with her everywhere.
 * She'd like to go to a haunted house with Kudo Haruka.
 * She and former Morning Musume Member Sayashi Riho are born on the same day.
 * In Fukuda Kanon's final interview before her graduation, she had this to say about Sasaki: "She’s just so cute. Just having Rikako around brightens up a room. She has a rare gift and I hope she continues to invigorate ANGERME from her (sic) on, too."
 * She learned volleyball during 5 years.