Originally a musumeyaku at the Takarazuka Revue, she had a struggling career as a television actress and idol singer, and after spending a few years acting in Nikkatsu's Roman Porno pink films, became popular in supporting roles.
[5] On 30 October 1972,[5] she left the Takarazuka Revue at the age of 19,[6] and made her debut as an actress the same year under the alias Jun Kobayakawa.
[1] She also had a short-lived idol career where she released three singles under the name Junko Asahina, with her debut being "Ren'ai Gakkō" (1974), and made some appearances in Japanese music shows.
[3] Film critic Naofumi Higuchi [ja] said that the reason her career failed was because "pop music [was] lively [at the time] and there were tons of beautiful idols, so she didn't stand out at all".
[3] Higuchi said in a 2021 retrospective that "looking back at her in later years, Asahina was a very beautiful girl and acted with bravery, but she left a rather plain impression", and that she "once had a vivid image of lively and sexy".