Akiko Hatsu(波津 彬子Hatsu Akiko) is a Japanese manga artist born on December 16, 1959, in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. From the time she was in high school, she assisted her older sister, professional manga artist Yukiko Kai. After graduating high school, she began working for a printing company in Kanazawa City, but she soon quit in order to become a full-time assistant to her sister. She also began to assist other professional artists, most notably Moto Hagio.