Aya Ueto Radiates Mature Charm at First Photobook Launch in 15 Years: “I Wanted a Nice Body”

A mother of three, turning 40 this September. It’s almost hard to believe.

On July 13, a release event was held in Tokyo for Aya Ueto’s (39) new photo book Midday Reverie, commemorating the 25th anniversary of her acting debut. Dressed in a summery outfit—a white dress embroidered with yellow accents and matching yellow sneakers—Ueto appeared with a cool and composed expression. Her incredibly youthful appearance left the press visibly astonished. When asked about how she was feeling at the start of the event, Ueto said with a smile:

“This might be the last time I get to release a photo book at such a milestone, so I decided to take on this adventure after being approached to do it.”

“In 1997, at the age of 12, she won the Special Jury Prize in the 7th All-Japan National Beautiful Girl Contest organized by Oscar Promotion. She made her acting debut in the October 2000 drama Namida o Fuite (Fuji TV). In 2001, she played a student with gender identity disorder in the 6th season of Kinpachi-sensei: Class 3B (TBS), which catapulted her to fame. She went on to star as the heroine in dramas like Aim for the Ace! and Attack No.1 (both on TV Asahi), gaining idol-like popularity,” says a TV magazine writer.

In her personal life, she married EXILE’s HIRO (56) in 2012. She is now a mother raising three children. When asked about reaching her 25th anniversary as an actress, Ueto replied

“I don’t really pay attention to how many years it’s been since my debut. When I was approached with this project, I was full of doubt— ‘Huh? Me, now? Who would even want to pick this up?’ and ‘Is it really okay for me, as I am now, to release something like this?’ But I thought, maybe this is my last chance to put out a photo book at a milestone like this. So I decided to take the leap and accept the offer.”

She answered clearly and confidently.

Apparently, the photo book features many shots of Ueto laughing heartily, and when asked about it, she explained:

“The whole shoot was just so much fun because the team was full of such great people. I laughed so hard, it felt like my abs were going to split!”

She added, jokingly:

“I wanted to have a great body for this.”

Her words drew laughter from the press as well, who were clearly captivated by Ueto’s mature charm.