Aya Ueto: Live life to the fullest, and your experiences will eventually become treasures.

Aya Ueto

■ Profile
Born September 14th, 1985. Entered the entertainment industry after winning the 7th All-Japan National Beauty Contest in 1997. Appeared in numerous dramas, including "3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei," "Hanzawa Naoki," and "Hirugao: Love Affairs in the Afternoon." Won the Best Supporting Actress Award at the 47th Japan Academy Awards for her role in the film "Shylock's Children." She will appear in the film "Silent Service: Battle of the Arctic Ocean," which will be released on September 26th.

Aya Ueto is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her debut as an actress. She has been active at the forefront since her teens, and continues to shine even now, even after getting married and giving birth. She is glamorous, yet natural and attentive in everything she does. We spoke to Ueto about her approach to work, turning points in her life, and the highlights of her first memorial photo book in 15 years.

■ When I was a teenager, I was desperately focused on the work in front of me

I entered the entertainment industry after winning the All-Japan National Beauty Contest, and initially debuted as part of a four-member idol group. When I first debuted, it felt more like I was hanging out with friends than like I was working. Things changed completely when I left the group and started working alone.
After appearing in "3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei," I became busy, my emotions were overwhelmed, and I suddenly began to feel lonely. I was smiling when I was in front of people, but when I got home, the contrast was so painful that I would sometimes spend the day crying. There were times when I wanted to run away, but I thought that running away would only make things worse, so I overcame them by clearing each task in front of me one by one.
As my work became increasingly busy, it became difficult to balance it with high school. My agency told me that my schedule was packed for the next three years, so I decided to quit high school.
There were times when I regretted not going to school, but the experiences I had back then are now treasured. I am still close with the friends I made during my school days, and we go on trips together and spend holidays together.

■ Treat everyone and every job with care

When I turned 25, I played the role of a prostitute in the drama "Shooting Star," starring Takenouchi Yutaka. This role was a major turning point for me. Up until then, I had simply performed the roles I was given, but this time the company asked me, "How do you like this role?" I had also wanted to act with Takenouchi, so I immediately replied, "I'd love to."
Up until then, I hadn't really cared much about the ratings or what people thought of the dramas, but because it was a show I chose, the ratings and the comments of people who watched it like "It was great" resonated with me more than ever before. Also, being shown a drama proposal for the first time and learning about the process of making a show, and being able to choose the shows I would appear in, gave me a greater sense of responsibility and enjoyment, and completely changed my attitude towards my work.
My core value in my work is that I want to be honest with everyone. I want to be polite to everyone and do my best in any job I do. These are the things that I always value and will never change.
Also, when I got married and had children, I felt like I might not be able to continue working. Now, even though I'm mainly raising my children, I'm very grateful that I'm still able to work. I'm the type of person who gets pulled along by the role, so I was worried that if I took on a heavy role, I'd bring it home with me, and so I couldn't take on the role as much as I used to, but recently I've been wanting to try roles that I've never taken on before. I'm looking forward to having more time to devote to work once my children are independent, and I want to keep that in mind in my work so that when that time comes, I'll still have a place for myself, even if just a little.

My first photo book in 15 years, filled with my current self

When I was approached about doing a photobook, I was mostly anxious and lacking in confidence. However, I was grateful that it would be released in the milestone year of my 25th anniversary since my debut as an actress, and I also felt that it was a good opportunity, so I decided to take on the challenge.
Photobook title"Midday Reverie"means "midday reverie." With three children, it's difficult to be away from home all day, but with the cooperation of my family, we shot in Taiwan, a place a little ways from Japan, and as the title suggests, it was an incredibly fun, dreamlike few days for me. With a huge typhoon coming, we had to shorten the shoot by one day, but everyone was so determined to "do what we could now," and I think that ultimately had a positive effect.
My favorite photo is the one I took of the ocean in Tainan. I was traveling from Taipei to Tainan in the rain, but when I arrived it was sunny and I was able to take photos of the sunset. The shot I took after waking up is a photo I took in my room without any makeup on, just after I'd just woken up.
I also took photos while traveling, so I think of it as a documentary photo book. I haven't had the opportunity to work at night recently, so shooting at a night market in Taiwan was a little exciting, like a kid staying up late.
I didn't want to make a photo book that shows me looking cool or beautiful, so I think it turned out to be something more memorable, like "This is who I am now." It's a photo book like a self-introduction book, filled with various photos and different sides of myself. I hope you'll pick it up.
I spent most of my time as a student working, but because I have where I am now, I can consider myself happy back then.
Those who are suffering now will surely be able to laugh at themselves in a few years, so I hope everyone will cherish the present.

Student Newspaper Special Edition AI Special October 2025 Issue Toyo University 10rd Year Student Rinno Koshiyama

■INFORMATION

Tokyo University of Pharmacy and Life Sciences, third-year student, Shoji Haruna / Toyo University, fourth-year student, Ota Fuuka / Toyo University, third-year student, Koshiyama Rinno / Hosei University, first-year student, Watanabe Aoi

Costume credits: Blouse 93,500 yen, skirt 99,000 yen (2 pieces, Sacai)