Actress, entrepreneur, and now university professor—Maiko Ito, 60, has added a new title to her diverse career. As she stepped into the classroom for her very first lecture, she surprised students by opening up about her difficult experiences in the entertainment industry, including manipulated contests and inappropriate demands from people in power.

ABEMA’s documentary program NO MAKE followed Ito as she began her new role at the Professional University of Information and Management for Innovation in Tokyo’s Sumida Ward, where she will spend the next year teaching a unique new subject called Human Tuning.

“Just like a finely made instrument needs tuning to sound right, people also need to realign themselves when things feel off,” Ito explained. “This course is about helping students develop the skills to do that—especially when they’re feeling overwhelmed or lost.”

For her self-introduction, Ito reflected on the moment her career began—when she was crowned the winner of a magazine’s gravure contest in her teens. However, she revealed that the victory wasn’t as straightforward as it seemed.

“They told me after the shoot, ‘Thanks for coming, but the winner and runner-up have already been decided.’ I was shocked. It made me realize how fake some parts of the industry were,” she said. Months later, she got a call claiming she had actually won based on votes. “It was my debut, but the whole thing felt like it was already scripted.”

Ito also shared how she faced darker sides of the industry, such as being propositioned under the guise of work-related meetings. “They’d invite you to dinner and then say, ‘Spend the night with me.’ When I refused, the job disappeared the next day,” she said. “It wasn’t anger—it was sadness. I kept wondering, why do these things keep happening?”

She told her students that she overcame these painful experiences by reevaluating her mindset. Around the age of 30, she changed her name, let go of others’ expectations, and began living life on her own terms—thanks, in part, to her dog Atom. “Looking at Atom, I felt like he was telling me it’s okay to be myself. That was when I realized: real living isn’t about pleasing others.”

Ito hopes to share the emotional tools she gained through adversity. Her class includes thought exercises like a puzzle involving drawing connected lines in one stroke—a metaphor for breaking out of rigid thinking.

“I love reframing,” she told students. “If I meet someone unpleasant, I think, ‘Wow, I usually meet such good people—this person is here to remind me of that.’ That shift in perspective makes the negativity disappear.”

Student reactions to the first class were positive and deeply reflective. One noted that they were surprised by how openly Ito shared painful memories, admiring her strength. Another said the class helped them begin thinking about what it really means to be happy.

While Ito admitted that she alone can't change the entertainment world, she hopes her teaching can empower others—especially those who may face similar situations. “If I can share this knowledge with people before they fall into those traps, maybe they’ll recognize the signs. Even if they lose one job, another will come.”