Sana Minatozaki, known mononymously as Sana, is a Japanese singer based in South Korea. She is a member of the girl group Twice, formed by JYP Entertainment. Sana is one of Twice's three Japanese members.
Sana began training with EXPG in Osaka in 2009, originally planning to be a singer in Japan, rather than South Korea. During her middle school years, she was scouted by a JYP Entertainment employee at a shopping mall and was invited to participate in the annual JYP Japan audition held the following day. Sana passed the audition and joined the JYPE trainee program in South Korea in April 2012. She trained for over three years with JYP before her eventual debut with Twice. At one time it was expected that Sana would become a member of a new JYP girl group. However, this new project was cancelled and the group did not debut. Sana is fluent in Korean, having studied it since moving to South Korea.
2015–present: ''Sixteen'', Twice, and solo activities
In 2015, Sana participated in the music survival show Sixteen, a reality television series designed to select the founding members of Twice. Out of the sixteen contestants, Sana was selected as one of the nine members of the newly formed girl group. She debuted with Twice in October 2015 with the title song "Like Ooh-Ahh" from their debut extended playThe Story Begins. Sana is known for her energetic and cheerful personality and has received recognition in South Korea and abroad. Her popularity – in conjunction with that of fellow Japanese members Momo and Mina – has been credited with improving relations between Japan and South Korea. In Gallup Korea's annual music poll for 2018, Sana was voted the 17th most popular idol in South Korea, making her the highest-ranked Japanese individual in that poll. She ranked 15th in the 2019 poll. In 2019, Sana was also ranked as the most popular female K-pop idol in a survey of soldiers doing mandatory military service in South Korea. Outside of Twice, she has done work promoting various brands and products.
Discography
Songwriting credits
Year
Song
Album
Artist
With
Ref.
2018
"Shot Thru the Heart"
Summer Nights
Twice
Momo, Mina
2019
"Turn It Up"
Fancy You
Twice
Earattack
2019
"21:29"
Feel Special
Twice
All Twice members
Filmography
Television shows
Reactions
On the eve of Japan's transition from the Heisei era to Reiwa on May 1, 2019, Sana posted a message on Twice's Instagram account bidding goodbye to the era in which she was born, and welcoming the next. According to one translation, Sana said: "I was born in the Heisei era so am sad to see it end. I would say 'Good job' to Heisei. Toward the first day of the new Reiwa era, I will spend the last day of Heisei with a fresh mind." Sana's comments drew some online criticism from those who saw them as lacking in sensitivity toward South Korea because Japanese eras are named after the reigning emperor. This is perhaps because the notion of Japanese emperors remains inseparable in the minds of some Koreans from the history of Imperial Japan and the Japanese colonial rule of Korea. On the other hand, some fans defended her as someone commenting on current events, making no reference to the contentious past.
