Hikaru Utada, now 40 years old, has been “glorious 25 years” as seen by this magazine.

I’ve turned 40. I’ve lived this long! I’m going to tighten my loincloth again and do my best.”

Hikaru Utada (40) held a free live video streaming event “40s are Various ♫” on January 17, her birthday, and shared her enthusiasm. Utada appeared in a close-up wearing a white sweatshirt. While talking with guest stars Takeru Sato (33) and Yuriko Yoshitaka (34) over the monitor, she said, “I’m going to take care of myself.

I’m going to take good care of myself, so please continue to support me. I am proud of my fans of all ages. Some of them are like my grandfather.”

He then performed a total of three songs, including “First Love,” “I’m crazy about you,” and, in honor of the Year of the Rabbit, a cover of a song by Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny in the original Spanish. Needless to say, the Internet was in raptures over this huge service delivery.

“I’m surprised she’s 40, but she’s so beautiful…”

I was in high school…! I was in high school…”

The comments were filled with fans who were surprised by Utada’s still strong voice and the speed at which time had passed. It has been 25 years since the release of her debut single “Automatic,” which is said to have changed the course of Japanese music history, when she was still in high school. This magazine has witnessed Utada on several occasions. We would like to take a look back over the past 25 years with some of her treasured photos.

A superstar, but in her “real” life, Utada is a 16-year-old high school girl in her “raw Hikaru” form (April 30, 1999 issue).

Her debut album “First Love,” released in March of that year, sold more than 5 million copies in total for both initial shipments and pre-orders, and fans and press flooded the radio programs and live venues where she appeared. Everywhere Utada went, chaos ensued. Yet, she is still a high school student. In early April, Utada came out of an American school in Tokyo, ran to her friend waiting outside, and hugged him enthusiastically. In private, Utada appeared to be a normal girl with the innocence of a teenager.

First hot scoop was a celebrity date with a tour member DJ in New York on Christmas Eve (Jan. 26, 2001 issue)

On her first Christmas Eve in New York, 17-year-old Utada, who moved to New York in September 2000 to attend Columbia University, was enjoying a date with a man she had started dating four months earlier. That boyfriend was DJ UPPERCUT (then 19), who had been on the turntables for Utada’s live tour. The two spent the evening shopping at a brand-name store in Manhattan, and enjoyed some time alone together in the evening at the hotel where the boyfriend was staying. After the magazine’s report, Utada wrote on her website.

After the magazine’s report, Utada wrote on her website, “This week, a friend of mine saw the weekly magazine at a convenience store and said, ‘Too many pictures of me! （I’m already getting criticism from my friends who saw the magazine at a convenience store this week. I guess that means I’m just a normal ’17-year-old girl,’ right?

In her comments after the love scoops, she also showed her big personality, which is hard to believe she is 17 years old.

Too luxurious celebrity drinking party with handsome actors (December 9, 2005 issue)

On a night in mid-November 2005, many big-name celebrities gathered at a celebrity restaurant in Daikanyama, Tokyo. They included Toshiaki Karasawa, Mitsuhiro Oikawa, and Takaya Kamikawa, and Utada joined them around 10 pm. It was a sight to behold when they came out of the restaurant just before 1:00 a.m. and walked side by side. Utada went home, but Eisaku Yoshida and Hideaki Ito joined her and the men drank until 6 am.

Drinking until morning at the launch of the drama “Last Friends” (July 11, 2008)

On this day, while the drama “Last Friends” (Fuji TV), which had reached its final episode, was on air, the cast and crew were enjoying a launch party at a restaurant in Ebisu. Along with the main cast members including Masami Nagasawa, Juri Ueno, and Asami Mizukawa, Utada, who sang “Prisoner Of Love,” the drama’s first theme song in six years, was also in attendance. The audience enjoyed a big karaoke contest without seeing the final episode. Utada also sang the theme song, and the party went on until the early morning breakup.

Since she declared her “human activity declaration” in 2010 and moved her base of activities to London, she has had fewer opportunities to appear in this magazine since then, but many fans are encouraged by her ever-shining figure and her songs. We look forward to seeing more of her in the future.