Tono's father was Japanese rock musician and singer-songwriter Atsushi Sakurai.[3] His parents divorced when he was a year old.[4] Tono graduated from Komayose Elementary School[2] and Ohba Junior High School[5] in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefectural Hakuyo High School, and the Faculty of Law at Keio University.[6][7] He did not read a lot in school and was rather more into sports. For a short while he was in a high school band.[2] He later moved to Tokyo.[2]
In 2020, Tono won the Akutagawa Prize for his book Hakyoku (破局).[8] He also won the Bungei Prize in 2019 for his work Kairyō (改良).[8][9] In 2021, his work Kyōiku (教育) was shortlisted for the Noma Literary Newcomer Award (野間文芸新人賞).[10]