Still Captivating at 45: Yada Akiko, the Everlasting Queen of TV Dramas and Commercials, Charms Men with Skirt-Lifting CMs

Co-starring with Toyoetsu, she has skyrocketed to stardom!

Akiko Yada, now 45 years old, plays the role of a marriage counselor who used to be a nurse in TV Tokyo’s drama “Nurse ga Kekkonkatsu,” which is based on the theme of “marriage activity,” an issue that is now a social concern. In this drama, Akiko, who herself has been married and divorced, plays a charismatic woman who leads a group of lost marriage activity seekers to successful marriages one after another with her blunt and direct mannerisms. In addition to her experience as an actress, Yada’s life experience is also put to good use in the drama.

Born in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture in 1978, Yada was scouted in Harajuku when she was 14 years old and in her second year of junior high school, and later began her full-fledged performing career at the age of 16. She started her career in show business at the age of 16, when she became a high school student. “I didn’t join an agency right after I was scouted, and I think I was in my first year of high school. In 1995, she made a strong debut as Toyokawa’s younger sister in the drama “Tell Me You Love Me” (TBS), starring Etsushi Toyokawa.

The response to this drama was so great and so remarkable that the sports newspaper reported Toyokawa and Yada’s passionate love affair. Although the love affair itself was a false alarm, her appearance in this drama led to her subsequent appearances in “The Eldest Son’s Wife 2” (TBS), “Tsubasa wo Kudasai! (Fuji Television Network), and “Bokura no Yuuki: Miman Toshi” (Nippon Television Network).

In 2002, she played the leading role in “My Little Chief” (TBS) for the first time, and appeared in “Shiroi Kyotou” (Fuji TV) and “Last Christmas” (Fuji TV) as the heroine in the “Tsuki 9” drama series starring Yuji Oda. (Fuji Television Network), in which she appeared as the heroine in a “Tsuki 9” drama series starring Yuji Oda.

Around that time, she started dating Kazuhiro Hiramatsu, who had played for the Giants before moving to Chunichi (FRIDAY, December 28, 2001). The “Yada” was seen visiting Hiramatsu’s camp training camp, and the relationship lasted for as long as three years. Since then, there has been talk among those close to her that it was probably for marriage (a source close to the entertainment industry)” (Josei Seven, December 16, 2004 issue). It is clear that she was fulfilled in both her work and private life.

In addition to dramas, she appeared in numerous commercials, including “UHA Taste Gifts Pippin C,” in which she captivated many men with her dancing skirt, “Aflac,” in which she sang “Yo~Kezou~Kezou~Money is important,” and “Georgia,” in which she appeared with Ryoko Yonekura, Eriko Sato, and others in neckties. As reported in the May 15, 2005 issue of the Shukan Koso Rinzasu, she was so successful that she was called the “queen of commercials” at the time.

CM But her relationship with and marriage to Oshio turned her image into a scandalous one.

Yada’s turning point was her relationship with Manabu Oshio, with whom she co-starred in the drama “Yume de Aimasho” (TBS) in 2005. She was attracted to Oshio, who was a returnee from Japan, spoke fluent English, had a good physique, and gave the impression of being mischievous, and they began dating. After her return to work, her career was cut short.

Furthermore, “Yada’s office has been strongly against the marriage so far, but she is crazy about Oshio and won’t listen to them. (Asahi Geino, November 30, 2006 issue)” (Asahi Geino, November 30, 2006 issue). At the time, they were hailed as a big couple of a beautiful man and a beautiful woman. ……

After their marriage, they moved to Los Angeles. Yada took some time off from work here and said, “I bought a bicycle, and we routinely go cycling in Santa Monica as a couple. We would go for walks and watch the sunset every day. We were enjoying our lives.” (CLASSY, March 2009 issue) At first, married life seemed to be going well, but in later years, “We only lived together for three months. But in later years, she commented, “We only lived together for three months. We went to the U.S. right after we got married, and due to visa issues, only I came back to Japan after about three months, and after that I lived my own life in Japan and abroad” (FRIDAY May 14-21, 2010 issue). It seemed that their married life was not going well from the beginning.

Despite the damage caused by the “Oshio Incident,” her work has been uninterrupted since her return to the workforce.

After that, he planned to make his debut in Hollywood, but he could not get any good results, and perhaps he got tired of Oshio’s attitude that he was not aggressive in his work. Around that time, Oshio was having some problems with women, and he said, “I had the divorce papers for a long time. But it was around May of last year (2009) that we finally decided to divorce” (same editor’s note). On August 2, 2009, “the incident” occurred. In a room of an apartment in Roppongi Hills, Oshio took MDMA, a synthetic drug, with a hostess in Ginza, and the hostess died. Oshio was arrested on August 3 for violation of the Narcotics Control Law, and was also arrested on the charge of manslaughter by a person responsible for the death of the hostess, and sentenced to two years and six months in prison.

Yada announced her divorce afterwards, and her eldest son, born in November 2007, became a source of support for her during this time of great physical and mental trauma. The moment I gave birth to my son, I thought, ‘Oh, this is how I can become a mother! (Weekly Bunshun, January 15, 2009 issue), “I used to be self-centered, but now I put myself second and third. I am the second or third priority. I put myself on the back burner in everything. （As if to wipe out the negative image of Manabu Oshio, nine months after his divorce was finalized, he appeared in “Detective Ryo Narusawa: The Worst 24 Hours in History” (Fuji Television). ～(Fuji TV) nine months after his divorce was finalized, followed by appearances in “Fugitive Lawyer” (Kansai TV) and others. Although she played fewer leading roles on terrestrial TV after that, she showed her presence by supporting numerous dramas with the acting skills she had cultivated while raising her children as a single mother.

In “Nurse no Kekkonkatsu,” which started in January 2012, she was chosen to play the leading role for the first time in a long time. In addition to the acting ability that her career of almost 30 years has shown, she has also attracted attention for her outstanding style that she shows in dramas and on Instagram, showing that even at the age of 45, her good looks are still going strong.

Yada suffered a serious injury in the middle of her career, but she overcame it and has made a full recovery. Now that she is about to shine brighter than ever, the times are beginning to demand Yada again.