CNNGo.com, the international portal for CNN.com, just compiled a list of the top 20 people to watch out for in the Japanese entertainment industry. Surprisingly enough, Erika Sawajiri topped the list over other artists such as Exile and AKB48. The list hit across all genres of entertainment, including television and sports, including the likes of DJ Mademoiselle Yulia and Soccer player Keisuke Honda. For more about Sawajiri, hit the jump.

[Source: CNNGo.com]

The singer/actress/model’s first claim to fame was in the 2005 drama, 1 Liter of Tears, which began her steady rise in popularity. It all plummeted in 2007 after a press conference in 2007 where she was notably cold and rude toward reporters, leading to her release from management company Stardust Promotions.

This year, she’s slowly making a return. She announced her divorce in March, began her own management firm, and stunning performance at the Girls Awards 2010.  The video definitely shows a strong contrast to her image in the past, where she seems much more western and sexualized now. It'll be interesting to see where she will go in the future and how the negative press from the past will affect her, if at all.