Michiko Sanderson

This article is about Kei Arasaka's daughter. For Saburo Arasaka's wife, see Michiko Arasaka (Saburo's wife).

Michiko Sanderson(née Arasaka)
Biographical Information
Status	Alive
Date of Birth	Late 2000s
Place of Birth	Night City, USA
Home	Night City Tokyo, Japan
Physical Information
Gender	Female
Hair Color	Blue (dye) Black (natural)
Eye Color	Brown (2045) White (2077)
Cyberware	See Cyberware
Equipment	See Equipment
Family
Partner(s)	Marc Sanderson (husband)
Relative(s)	Unnamed great-great-grandfather Sasai Arasaka (great-grandfather) Yui Arasaka (great-grandmother) Saburo Arasaka (grandfather) Kei Arasaka (father) Unnamed mother (deceased) Yorinobu Arasaka (uncle) Hanako Arasaka (aunt)
Faction Information
Affiliation	Danger Gal Arasaka (Hato)
Occupation	Corporate CEO Arasaka board member
Appearances
Game(s)	Cyberpunk RED Cyberpunk 2077
Literature	Danger Gal Dossier (Danger Gal Dossier+)

I remember the day my whole world changed. I kind of knew in a vague way that there was a war going on, but it was very remote. My father never wanted to talk about it. And then, suddenly, my father was gone, my world was gone, the City I'd grown up in was gone — everything was gone. And it was all our fault.

 — Michiko Sanderson (née Arasaka), Cyberpunk RED

Michiko Sanderson (née Arasaka) (Japanese: 荒坂 美知子), is the head of the Hato faction of the Arasaka corporation and founder and CEO of Danger Gal. Unlike the rest of her family and corporation, she allied with the US government after the Fourth Corporate War.

Daughter of Kei Arasaka, most of her life was kept secret from the rest of the family, especially her grandfather Saburo. Born in the United States, she held a dual citizenship for both Japan and the US, however her descent is pure Japanese. She also had access to Kenichi Zaburo, one of Arasaka's top solos and her personal bodyguard since she was four. By 2077, Michiko was on the board of directors of the Arasaka Corporation.

Biography

2000s - 2020s

Michiko Arasaka was born in the late 2000s in Night City, in the United States, to Kei Arasaka and an American citizen mother of Japanese descent. Due to Kei's status as CEO in the Arasaka Corporation, she and her mother were kept secret and hidden in Night City to avoid them becoming a target. Kei also wanted to avoid Michiko from meeting her grandfather Saburo, who would be displeased that his granddaughter was half-American. At the age of four she was assigned a personal bodyguard, Kenichi Zaburo, a highly trained Arasaka solo. Due to all this, Michiko had a sheltered early life, being unaware of her family's darker side and the company's schemes while growing up.

After the death of her father in 2023 during the Fourth Corporate War, Michiko was suddenly faced with her family company being hated worldwide due in part by being one the instigators of the a terrible war, as well as having a reputation for mass-murder based on the accusation that they had detonated a nuclear device in the center of Night City. As a result of this, after the war ended in 2025, Arasaka was not welcomed to the Americas, and the sheltered seventeen-year-old high schooler Michiko faced deportation to Japan, a distant nation that, as an American-born and raised teenager, was utterly alien to her. To prevent this, Michiko, utilizing her youth, cuteness, high IQ, and thousands of fans who believed in her innocence, traveled to Washington, D.C. to meet with President Kress and apologize for her family's participation in the conflict, as well as pleading her case to remain an American citizen. It's unknown exactly what both discussed, but Michiko's meeting proved successful and she was able to remain in Night City and finish her studies.

After finishing high school, Michiko was admitted into Stanford University, where she majored in criminology. When she graduated three years later, she started her own business as a detective, establishing Danger Gal, a private investigation firm.

In late 2020s, when Arasaka broke into three factions, a small group of the corporation chose Michiko as their figurehead in hopes of giving them legitimacy, and started the Hato 鳩 (Dove) faction, even though she did not want to affiliate herself with her family and the corporation at the time. The faction was the liberal wing of Arasaka, and unified those who sought deeper reforms. They were the least powerful among the three factions (Hato, Kiji and Taka) within the corporation.

2030s - 2040s

Over the following years, Michiko's company increased in size and influence. On the surface, the firm specialized on cases for socially prominent clients. As the perky, unstoppable head, Michiko was a staple of parties and events from New Hollywood to the hotspots of the recovering European continent. Her visible naivete and irrepressible charm disguised the fact that she was also a highly competent criminologist. It also obscured the fact that behind the scenes, she was fulfilling one of the directives she agreed to perform as part of her deal with Elizabeth Kress to remain in the United States; locate and dismantle any Arasaka operations in and around her country. To help her, Michiko had access to both a slush fund provided covertly by President Kress, and to much of the covert databases left behind in the Arasaka estate in New Westbrook. Additionally, her bodyguard Ken Zaburo kept working under her directive, the only man who was rumored that could take on Morgan Blackhand himself.

Michiko married detective Marc Sanderson, her partner, after a "particularly exciting case," and took his surname. While in her thirties, Michiko kept her bubbly, enthusiastic charm, and was a constant sight at almost any important social gala. She also grew Danger Gal into a highly successful firm with her string of successful cases, making the headlines of many important news outlets. Michiko had grown into an elegant, lovely woman who could read a room like a book and yet never revealed anything to her suspects other than her happy, cheerful facade she kept up. If you ever saw her wink at you, it was advised to run away.

At some point in the Time of the Red, Michiko heard the movement of the Arasaka nuke that had been salvaged from the wrecked Arasaka Towers by Samantha Stevens. She followed the group of edgerunners tasked with moving the device for some time but had to delay meeting them to deal with a group in Night City who wanted to recover the nuke from the edgerunners. Finally catching up with them, who were facing a panzer tank, Michiko and her escort helped them by destroying it with two attack AV-9s. She then met with the group and explained to them the nuke's backstory, and how responsible she felt about everything despite not considering herself part of the Arasaka family anymore. Her girlish voice changed into a sharp staccato after being shown the trigger codes. She wanted to make sure no one would use that bomb, and since all of them wanted to dispose of it, Michiko offered the edgerunners her help and followed their vehicle with her AVs to their destination of Los Alamos Labs in New Mexico. Once she was sure they had reached the facility's gates, Michiko wished them good luck over the comms before returning to Night City.

Michiko tasked Puma Squad to be the company's public face in Night City to faster the goodwill of Danger Gal, though they were also her personal spearhead in covert operations against Arasaka. By 2045, Puma Squad was one of the most famous groups in the metropolis, and Danger Gal was well established in Night City. Michiko had also partially dyed her hair blue.

2050s - 2070s

At some point, Michiko became an official member of the board in the Arasaka Corporation, although her faction still held the least amount of power of the three.

After the death of her grandfather in 2077, Michiko, like the rest of the Arasaka board, was quick to accept her uncle Yorinobu as the new CEO, who wanted to sabotage the corporation from the inside. In the memorial parade for Saburo during the Aratama Matsuri at Night City, she complied with her uncle's wishes.

If V took Hanako's offer in Nocturne Op55N1:

Michiko attended the board meeting setup by Yorinobu at Arasaka Tower. The meeting was interrupted by her aunt Hanako, who brought V, a witness of Saburo's murder. The mercenary testified to the board of directors of Yorinobu's betrayal. Michiko was reluctant to believe V, until Hanako showed the board the engram of Saburo, who explained the situation and scolded them for their cowardice. Michiko asked Saburo for his orders, who told the board to follow Hanako's orders as if they were his own. Yorinobu's troops interrupted the meeting, killing most board members with the exception of Michiko who managed to hide behind one of the chairs. After V and other Arasaka soldiers handled the attackers, Michiko stayed behind with Hanako while V left to confront Yorinobu.

Stats & Equipment

Cyberpunk RED

Type	Items
Cyberware	Left cyberarm, Cyberaudio Suite (Sensor Array (formerly)), EMP Threading
Armor	Black armor, Pink beret

Development

Mike Pondsmith first mentioned Michiko Arasaka while in a Poland panel where he had a live Cyberpunk 2020 session. Later, when asked about the scenario on Reddit, Mike answered it was known as "Michiko's Night Out."

The name of the scenario is "Michiko's Night Out." It involves the granddaughter of Saburo (Kei's youngest daughter) leaving the Arasaka compound on her 18th birthday in the company of her personal bodyguard, the super solo Kenichi Zaburo (Morgan's Arasaka nemesis). While she's out barhopping in Night City, she runs into (and causes) enormous amounts of chaos, culminating in a wild fling with --get this--Adam Smasher, the cyborg.

I ran this scenario for my own players and extended it over several months. It's a favorite of mine, because the external threats are far less troublesome that the ones the players bring with them to the table. And Michiko is a wonderful NPC to play--she's like Battle Angel Alita crossed with a mad Girl Genius. You will meet a somewhat older Michiko in the Time of the Red, and she might be showing up in 2077.

We're holding off on publishing [the scenario] since Michiko continues to exist in the 2077 timeline. Have to sort all that out first.

Upon release of the Cyberpunk RED Jumpstart kit, it was finally made clear that Michiko had become a canon character in charge of a faction of the Arasaka Corporation and also had her own company, Danger Gal.

Since the date event has not been added to the story, it's not considered canon for the time being.

Trivia

• Mike Pondsmith described Michiko as Battle Angel Alita combined with a mad Girl Genius.

Gallery

Michiko in 2023 in Cyberpunk RED

Michiko in the 2040s

Michiko and Puma Squad in Danger Gal Dossier

In Cyberpunk 2077