Haruka Sawamura

Haruka Sawamura (Japanese: 澤村 遥, Hepburn: Sawamura Haruka) is a fictional character in Sega's action-adventure game series Like a Dragon (formerly known as Yakuza in English localization). She is introduced in the first Yakuza game as a young child searching for her missing mother, while being mysteriously pursued by multiple yakuza clans, including the Tojo Clan. Kazuma Kiryu, the main playable character throughout most of the series, protects and assists her during her search for her mother and Haruka is later adopted by him at the end of the first game. Over the course of the series, Haruka grows up alongside her adoptive father, debuting as a playable character in Yakuza 5 working as an idol and eventually starting a family of her own in Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Haruka is voiced by Rie Kugimiya in Japanese, by Debi Derryberry in the English version of the first game, and by Xanthe Huynh in English releases from Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name onward.

Haruka was created by Toshihiro Nagoshi as an alternative protagonist to Kiryu due to her growth in her debut. Although initially absent from Yakuza 6, Nagoshi wrote the narrative to mark the appearance of her son Haruto as the center of Haruka's past once again. Critical reception to Haruka has been positive based on her relationship with Kiryu and her growth in Yakuza 5.