Mina was born on March 24, 1997 in San Antonio, Texas, and grew up in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. She moved to Japan when she was a toddler. Mina trained in ballet from a young age, having practiced it for over a decade before debuting with Twice. She attended Obayashi Sacred Heart School in Takarazuka, Hyōgo. In 2017, it was reported that Mina held dual Japanese and American citizenship. However, as of 2019, she no longer holds U.S. citizenship, as confirmed by the Quarterly Publication of Individuals Who Have Chosen to Expatriate published by the United States Internal Revenue Service, which lists the names of individuals who have lost citizenship in or before the previous quarter.

Mina was shopping with her mother in Osaka when she was approached and offered an audition by a JYP recruiter. She later departed for South Korea in 2014 to become a K-pop idol by becoming a trainee under JYP Entertainment. In 2015, Mina participated in the South Korean reality television show Sixteen, hosted by JYP Entertainment and co-produced by Mnet. As one of nine successful participants, she went on to join the newly formed girl group Twice. In October 2015, Mina officially debuted as a member of Twice with their first extended play, The Story Begins. The lead single “Like Ooh-Ahh” was the first K-pop debut song to reach 100 million views on YouTube.

On July 11, 2019, JYP Entertainment announced that Mina would sit out the remainder of Twice’s ongoing World Tour Twicelights due to sudden extreme anxiety and insecurity problems regarding performing on stage. She was later diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. In February 2020 it was reported that Mina’s condition had improved and that she had returned to performing live with Twice.