TOKYO (TR) – Former adult video (AV) star Saori Hara is returning to the entertainment industry under the performing name Miyabi Matsunoi, reports Nikkan Sports (Apr. 7).
In the April 21 issue of Weekly Playboy, Matsunoi, 26, appears in a photo spread under the headline “Rebirth.”
Matsunoi made her debut as an idol in 2004. As Saori Hara, she entered the AV industry five years later. Her debut shipped more than 100,000 units and received praise from former Livedoor president Takafumi Horie.
In 2010, Hara was crowned Best Actress at the Sky PerfecTV! Adult Broadcasting Awards. Just prior to being cited in January of that same year on charges of “indecency” for an appearance in Kishin Shinoyama’s photo book “No Nude by Kishin 1 20XX Tokyo,” she released her memoir “My Real Name is Mai Kato: Why I became an AV Girl.”
After the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011, the actress disappeared from the public’s view. Four days before the earthquake, Hara made an appearance at the Sky PerfecTV! Adult Broadcasting Awards.
In October of 2012, she got married to a man 24 years her senior.
According to a person close to the actress, her new start will not involve the AV industry. “She wants to engage in entertainment activities that her mother approves,” the source is quoted.
In June, Matsunoi is expected to begin filming a television drama.
