<figure id="attachment_399495" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2007px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399495"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a2f18adc"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/6db9ed463dff3b949c604f75c885b955.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399495" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato showing off her beautiful legs at a new shoe launch event (September 17, 2010 issue).</span></figcaption></figure>
<h2><b>As Ryoko Hirosue&#8217;s successor</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato (41) made a public appearance for the first time in eight years.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kato attended the interactive exhibition &#8220;MaxMara Jacket Circle -To Shining Women-&#8221; by the fashion brand &#8216;MaxMara&#8217; in Tokyo. Amidst glamorous members like Haru (33), Hana Kuroki (34), and Rio Uchida (33), Kato, dressed in a full white outfit, captivated the press with her remarkable style and presence. The eight-year break seemed completely unnoticeable.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Kato made her acting debut in 1997 at the age of 14 in the drama &#8216;Gift&#8217; starring Takuya Kimura (51). The following year, she was chosen as a &#8216;NTV Je-nic&#8217; and became the successor to Ryoko Hirosue (44) in the NTT DoCoMo pager commercial. Her popularity skyrocketed as a &#8216;beautiful girl talent&#8217; with a charming smile. Since then, she has been the image character for NTT DoCoMo for 8 years. Around the year 2000, she appeared in more than 10 commercials and became the &#8216;CM Queen.&#8217;</b></p>
<p><b>In the &#8216;Umi-Zaru&#8217; (Fuji TV) series and the &#8216;Team Batiste&#8217; (Fuji TV) series, she played cool roles. In &#8216;Haken no Hinkaku&#8217; (NTV), she portrayed a clumsy office lady, and with her wide range of acting, she worked mainly as a supporting player&#8221;</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (TV magazine writer).</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&#8216;FRIDAY&#8217; first took note of Kato when she became popular as a beautiful girl talent in 1999 and began working as a radio DJ at the age of 16. They have reported various aspects of Kato, including her first photo essay handshake event, where she showed her best smile in front of 1800 fans, and her expression at a photo book event she held to commemorate her 20th birthday. One of the most memorable moments was when Kato, at the age of 27, appeared at the &#8216;Uniqlo&#8217; original shoes launch event in a mini skirt, showcasing her alluring appearance. We would like to reflect on the article published in the September 17, 2010, issue.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Ai Kato in her &quot;beautiful girl talent&quot; days"></div>
<h2><b>Praised for her priceless enameled legs</b></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On August 31, 2010, Ai Kato made an appearance in a mini skirt, showcasing her beautifully long legs. That day, she attended the autumn new product launch event for Uniqlo&#8217;s original shoe brand. Kato, the first image character for Candyish, wore a pair of patent leather pumps. To highlight the shoes, she appeared in a mini skirt, but the press couldn&#8217;t take their eyes off her stunning legs. At that time, Kato was 27 and single. When asked about marriage, she responded:</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;I&#8217;m not thinking about it at all right now, but if I can, I hope it happens someday.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">She responded casually, with ease.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Three years later, in 2013, she married a man who was seven years older and a tombstone company president. Afterward, she dedicated herself to raising her three children. Now, after focusing on motherhood for a long time, she made her public return to a fashion event after eight years. When asked about the woman she admires, Kato said:</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;I really admire women who have a strong core, who stay true to themselves, and live gracefully.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even after more than 20 years since her days as a beautiful girl talent, Kato revealed her unchanging beauty, and we look forward to her future endeavors.</span></p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Ai Kato in her &quot;Bishojo Talent&quot; days"></div>
<figure id="attachment_399496" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2841px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399496"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="65ad7b85"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/3ae0b92919c9adb7b33812da54c7839f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399496" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato, a 16-year-old radio DJ for the first time (199/4/16 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_399498" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2988px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399498"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="94e1db11"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/39b16d8aeaf8855f1b6044a5ad2668a2-1.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399498" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1,800 fans packed the event to celebrate the release of her first photo essay collection (May 21, 1999 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_399499" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1943px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399499"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="66fceeb2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/822bc07ee4619b3fcc3e278d26f68d82.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399499" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The publication event for her photo book &#8220;Nijusai&#8221; held on her 20th birthday (December 27, 2002 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_399500" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2521px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399500"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="73a6f943"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/a1635f486d56fb8305221bd6f5e2927d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399500" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato looking mature even though she just turned 20 (December 27, 2002 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Images of her first two-shot date with a J-League player, etc."></div>
<figure id="attachment_399507" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 850px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399507"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="f1de76e5"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/33a55a017742e8becc9b730e0c23114f.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399507" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A date at night with Koji Nakata, a member of Japan&#8217;s national soccer team who was rumored to be in love with her at the time (July 13, 2007 issue).</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_399509" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1412px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399509"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2c7f1a80"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/2d14c37fc8343204bb0f852ebb2aae65.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399509" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The two went on a date in Ginza the day after the photo above (July 13, 2007 issue).</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_399510" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1695px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399510"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="36d1f566"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/c4cafc1625373a91984c9ae94cfd94db.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399510" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato&#8217;s aura cannot be hidden even if she hides her face with sunglasses (July 13, 2007 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_399512" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2473px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399512"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8627efd9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/c48279bd39f43b6167a3252833667756.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399512" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the May 7, 2010 issue, Ai Kato (left) is seen with her co-stars from &#8220;Team Batiste 2: General Rouge&#8217;s Triumph&#8221; (Fuji TV) — Takayuki Kinoshita (right) and Junji Ito (center) — at a nighttime dinner party.</span></figcaption></figure>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Image of Ai Kato, who still looks young."></div>
<figure id="attachment_399513" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2007px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399513"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="5d800d51"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/d9fb645218b2c7595dde35ab8e137cfa.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399513" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato showing off her beautiful skin at a new shoe launch event (September 17, 2010 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_399515" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1952px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399515"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b21e0e30"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/1b64a10a438c52f9720ea55a1e51b637.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399515" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato at a VIP-only sale of brand-name products (May 13 and 20, 2011 issue)</span></figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_399517" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1168px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399517"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="b8743c99"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/a64314f54fe181833a20c483fe62f63c.png" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-399517" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ai Kato in public for the first time in eight years (from her Instagram @ai_kato1212)</span></figcaption></figure>
<figure id="attachment_399518" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1166px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-399518"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d9d7ffda"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/11/8698535f38d3f2e15e9eb7465b9b801e.png" alt=""></a>Even at 41 years old, she still retains her outstanding style and youthfulness (from her Instagram @ai_kato1212)</figure>


 Kazuhiko Nakamura (1st, 10th), Takehiro Shigumura, Masaharu Uemoto (6th), Shoichiro Tsuboi (7th, 8th), Akifumi Yoshida, Kojiro Yamada

 Ai Kato appeared at an event for the first time in eight years, showing off her outstanding style with a youthfulness that belies her age of 41. FRIFAY" has been paying attention to her since she was 16 years old. Here is a collection of images from her "beautiful girl talent" days to the present.


Ai Kato Returns After 8 Years at Fashion Event Reflecting on Her Legacy as Ryoko Hirosue’s Successor

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