Kana Kurashina and Shohei Miura to star in TV Asahi 2017 Winter drama

Kurashina Kana and Miura Shohei will be starring in the TV Asahi Winter 2017 drama "Ubai Ai, Fuyu" (Seizing love by force, Winter) which will begin its run from January in the Fridays 11.15pm timeslot. The drama will be produced by the staff which made 2016's "Fukigen na Kajitsu" and is an original story written by Suzuki Osamu.

Kurashina plays the role of Ikeuchi Hikari who works at a design company. Although she was not raised in a rich family, she is a gusty and clever woman who is engaged to a rich guy and her junior at the same company Okugawa Kouta (Miura). Kouta quit his previous job when he found out that he got it through his family's connections and went to work at Hikari's company. Just when things seem to be going well for Hikari, she reunites with her former boyfriend who she used to love a lot and begins an intense affair with him even though he is married and she is engaged. As a result of this, Kouta becomes very jealous and becomes a different person when he realises that Hikari is drifting away from him.

Kurashina commented that as she has very little experience acting in love stories, she feels rather embarrassed about playing a woman caught between two men. However, she hopes to get over this uncomfortable feeling and show the dilemma of Hikari's feelings for both men and be able to handle the intimate scenes in the drama. As for Miura, he remarked that his character this time is very different from his usual image so he will try his best to go up to the maximum level allowed in broadcasting standards. He is eagerly anticipating to see how he will look like as he shows how Kouta changes due to the jealousy consuming him from within. Besides the two of them, the other characters include Hikari's former boyfriend, his wife, Kouta's colleague who likes him and Kouta's over-protective mother where the cast will be announced at a later date.

Suzuki said that the viewers will be surprised many times as the story heads towards unexpected directions in this high-speed drama about fighting for love. Although there is no justice when it comes to this, the characters may find true love at the end of the drama.

Filming begins in the middle of December.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo / Oricon

Tori Matsuzaka to star in NTV 2017 Winter drama

Matsuzaka Tori will be starring in the NTV Winter 2017 drama "Shikaku Tantei Higurashi Tabito" (Detective of Sight Higurashi Tabito) which will begin its run from January next year in the Sundays 10.30pm timeslot. The drama series follows on the heels of the drama SP also starring Matsuzaka which was shown in November 2015. Tsutsumi Yukihiko who directed the SP, will continue to be the director for the drama series.

The drama which is based on the novel "Tantei Higurashi Tabito" by Yamaguchi Kouzaburo, features Matsuzaka in the leading role of Higurashi Tabito who was involved in an incident when he was young and lost all his five senses except for his sight. Since then, Higurashi relies on his sight to solve various cases by observing other people's feelings and clues left behind. Co-stars include the heroine played by Tabe Mikako who is a nursery teacher, Tabito's buddy played by Hamada Gaku, Tabito's doctor Kitaoji Kinya and child actor Sumida Moeno.

Matsuzaka commented that the previous SP did not manage to describe Tabito's past but the drama series will touch on that and show how he interacts with the people around him and changes as a result. He is looking forward to working with the same team again. As for Tabe, she is excited about the mysteries left unresolved in the SP which will be explained in the drama series.

Source: Nikkansports

Mikako Tabe and Issei Takahashi to star in Fuji TV Christmas drama special

Tabe Mikako and Takahashi Issei will be starring in the upcoming FujiTV / Kansai TV Christmas drama SP "Watashi ni unmei no koi nante arienaitte omotteta" (I didn't think that it would be possible to have the love of my life) which will be shown at 9pm on 20 December. This is the first time in 18 months that Tabe is taking on the leading role in a drama since last year's "Do S Deka" and her first direct collaboration with Takahashi in this love story written by Oshima Satomi and directed by Hatano Takafumi.

Tabe plays the role of Shirono Riko who is a romance simulation game programmer. However, she does not pin any hopes on a real-life romance and would rather spend her time planning the ideal romance through the love scenarios in the games to fulfill her fantasies. One day, she is asked by Kurokawa Soichiro (Takahashi), the president of a mobile app company who approaches to design a new game. Despite being perfect in terms of looks and career, Kurokawa does not understand women and even insults Riko during the project meeting which leads to them becoming enemies. Just then, Kurokawa who is troubled over his secret love for his subordinate Momose, asks Riko for help and teach him about romance which she agrees to on the spur of the moment. While moulding him into the perfect guy in her romance simulation games and bringing Kurokawa and Momose together, Riko discovers that she has already fallen for Kurokawa.

Tabe commented that her character is looking for things in men which are hardly found in reality so Riko is not actually resistant to the idea of romance but rather thinks of love and her life as separate things which don't mix well. However, Riko is actually someone who craves for pure love so she hopes to be able to convey her feelings in this drama. Takahashi revealed that he had worked with Tabe before in the past although their characters did not have any direct interaction. As such, he always thought of her as a cool beauty but found out that she is actually a cute and feminine person. He also called upon the viewers to watch the drama SP to see the cheerful side of Riko and the silly side of Kurokawa as they fumble their way on the path of love which will be enjoyable to watch during Christmas.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

Sadao Abe and Kyoko Fukada to star in TBS 2017 Winter drama

Abe Sadao and Fukada Kyoko will be playing a married couple in the upcoming TBS Winter 2017 drama "Gekokujou Juken" (The exam to overthrow those above you) which will begin its run from January 2017 in the Fridays 10pm timeslot. The drama which is based on the non-fiction novel published in 2014 by Sakurai Shinichi, talks about how a father who only has junior high qualifications tries to prepare his daughter for entry into a top school with his own efforts instead of sending her to a cram school.

Abe plays the role of Sakurai Shinichi who comes from a family where every generation had junior high qualifications only. After marrying his wife Kanako (Fukada) who also graduated from junior high only, Shinichi is working as a salesman in a real estate company. Due to his lack of education qualifications, he encounters many difficulties and setbacks in his life. As such, he decides to make sure that his only daughter Kaori (Yamada Mikuu) who is in Primary 5, doesn't go through the same hardship as he did and takes action to prepare her for the junior high entrance exam of the top junior high school for a period of 500 days while juggling his work despite Kanako's reservations and objections about doing this.

Abe who did not know that the novel was based on the author's own story, said that it is not just a tale about preparing for the entrance exam and that it will be very interesting and full of passion like a sports-themed drama. With regard to Yamada who was selected from 250 hopefuls during an audition, Abe praised her for being quick to catch on and thinks that it will be fun to play a family with her and Fukada.

In order to pray for the success of the drama and that all those taking their entrance exams can be successful, the trio went to Yushima Tenmangu on 17 November which is famous for its knowledge god to pray and wrote their wishes on the ema tablets.

Other co-stars include Kaname Jun who plays Tokugawa Naoyasu, Shinichi's ex-classmate who has the complete opposite background as he graduated from University of Tokyo, Kazama Shunsuke who plays Shinichi's junior at work named Narasaki Tetsuya, Kobayashi Kaoru who plays Sakurai Kazuo i.e. Shinichi's father who is a carpenter, Koshiba Fuuka who plays Kaori's form teacher, Wakadanna (Shonan no Kaze), Minagawa Sarutoki, Okada Koki and Kawamura Yosuke.

Sources: Sanspo / Sponichi / Oricon / Eiga.com

Kenichi Endo, Ren Oosugi, Tomorowo Taguchi, Susumu Terajima, Yutaka Matsushige, and Ken MItsuishi to star in TV Tokyo 2017 Winter drama

Six of Japan's most indispensable supporting actors will be sharing the limelight in TV Tokyo's upcoming Winter 2017 drama "Byplayers ~ Moshimo rokunin no meiwakiyaku ga sharehouse de kurashitara ~" (Supporting actors ~ what if 6 famous supporting actors live in a sharehouse ~) which will be shown in the Fridays 12.12am timeslot from January 2017. The six of them are (in alphabetical order) Endo Kenichi, Oosugi Ren, Taguchi Tomorowo, Terajima Susumu, Matsushige Yutaka and Mitsuishi Ken and they will be appearing as themselves in this almost-like-reality drama which features six middle-aged men living in a sharehouse together for three months.

The six of them were first selected in a feature article published in 2002 that named them as the six supporting actors which supported Japan's movie scene. Since then, they have talked about doing a movie together but it was only until now that they finally got the chance to do so in a drama. This drama will be written and directed by Matsui Daigo whose latest film "Azumi Haruko wa yukue fumei" which will be screened soon. The six of them will be showing their principles and preferences as actors as well as offer a look into their lifestyles through this drama. Matsui commented that to be able to assemble such a wonderful cast will definitely make this drama very interesting and encouraged viewers to watch this late night drama while enjoying some alcohol.

The setting of the drama describes how the six of them receive a request from an internationally-known director that they live together for three months so as to get closer to one another for the filming of a blockbuster drama which will be shown overseas. They will have to work out schedules for tasks such as doing housework and preparing the breakfast menu and squabble over every little thing possible. Actually, the six of them had some issues with one another due to a work project 10 years ago and their relationships get even rockier when they hear that the lead of their drama has left the project and discover the secret behind the drama offer to them.

Source: Oricon

Takako Matsu, Hikari Mitsushima, Issei Takahashi, and Ryuhei Matsuda to star in TBS 2017 Winter drama

Matsu Takako, Mitsushima Hikari, Takahashi Issei and Matsuda Ryuhei will be appearing in the upcoming TBS Winter 2017 drama "Quartet" which will be shown from January 2017 in the Tuesdays 10pm timeslot. The romance and suspense drama is an original story written by Sakamoto Yuji which will be set at Karuizawa in winter. This will be Matsu's first appearance in a drama since TBS drama "Unmei no Hito".

The story features two men and two women in their 30s who meet by "chance" and form a quartet to play music together at a bungalow in Karuizawa for the winter only. They all have dreams which they didn't manage to realise and are on the downward path in their life. However, their meeting is not by chance at all and a big secret is waiting to be unravelled...

Matsu plays the lead character Maki Maki who is responsible for playing the first violin in the quartet. As Maki has a family of her own, she lives in Tokyo during weekdays and goes to Karuizawa on the weekends. Being someone who has a very negative thinking and not an assertive person, she somehow takes a step back from the others but sometimes says things which hit the nail on its head so the rest of them are unable to fathom what kind of person she is.

Matsuda plays the role of Beppu Tsukasa who plays the second violin in the quartet and was born in a family of musicians. However, he chooses to work at a doughnuts company while playing the violin. Among the four of them, he assumes the role of the leader and is calm and able to communicate with the others. He provides the bungalow at Karuizawa which belongs to his grandfather for the quartet's activities. Although he looks like he has no issues in life, he has an unspeakable secret.

Mitsushima plays Sebuki Suzume who is responsible for playing the cello and lives at Tsukasa's bungalow because she is unemployed. Most of the time, she sleeps her day away but when she plays the cello, she transforms into another person. She is usually relaxed and does things at her own pace but has a motive for joining the quartet.

Last but not least, Takahashi plays Iemori Yutaka who plays the viola and is an argumentative guy who has a lot of principles which he insists on sticking to.

Sources: Sponichi / Cinemacafe / Oricon

"Kodoku no Gurume" to return in January 2017 as New Year's Special

Kodoku no Gurume" will be back as a New Year drama SP which is due to be shown via TV Tokyo on 2 January 2017 with the title "Kodoku no Gurume Oshogatsu SP ~ Inogashira Goro no Nagai Ichinichi" (The solitary gourmet New Year SP ~ A long day of Inogashira Goro).

The one-hour SP to be shown from 11.20pm to 12.20am will feature the lead character Goro (Matsushige Yutaka) on his working day in Tokyo. To date, the SPs showed him on business trips to places like Kyushu, Hokkaido and Tohoku but this time, he will be based at "home" and visit various places for food during the day. In addition, the author of "Kodoku no Gurume" Kusumi Masayuki will also be back in his usual segment "Furatto QUSUMI" where he visits the restaurant featured in the drama at the end of the episode.

Matsushige commented that it has been 5 years since the series began so it won't be surprising if they revisit any of the restaurants before which were featured in the past. As for the guest lineup, it will be announced at a later date.

Sources: Natalie / Oricon

Koichi Sato to star in TBS drama special "LEADERS 2"

Sato Koichi will be starring in the upcoming TBS drama SP "LEADERS 2" which will be shown in March 2017 and is the sequel to the earlier SP "LEADERS" shown in 2014 set around WWII that described how the lead character Aichi Saichiro (Sato) spent much of his lifetime trying to develop domestically-produced cars. The original SP was produced with the full support of Toyota and the story was based on the company's history.

In the sequel, the focus of the story will be on how Aichi Jidosha tries to sell its domestically-produced cars to overseas markets. Aichi Saichiro will work with the people in the sales and production department who are at loggerheads but united in their goal to sell Japanese-made cars to the world. Appearing in the new SP for the first time include Uchino Seiyo who play Yamazaki Wataru, the manager of the first showroom under Aichi Jidosha and Yamazaki Tsutomu who plays Oshima Isokichi from Oshima Press Kogyo and the future chairman of Kyoaikai. Other co-stars include Yoshida Eisaku, Hagiwara Masato, Takahashi Kazuya, Hida Yasuhito, Enari Kazuki, Maeda Atsuko, Suda Kunihiro, Jinbo Satoshi, Yamaguchi Tomoko and Hashizume Isao who participated in the previous SP.

Filming begins in the middle of December.

Sources: Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Eiga.com

Koyuki and Atsushi Itoh to star in FujiTV 2017 Winter drama

Koyuki and Ito Atsushi will be appearing in the upcoming FujiTV Winter 2017 drama "Daibinbou" (Great Poverty) which will begin its run from 8 January 2017 in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. The human comedy drama which is an original story, features Koyuki as a single mother Nanakusa Yuzuko who struggles against the irrationalities regarding money, power and love happening around her while Ito plays her "buddy" Kakihara Shinichi who is an elite lawyer.

After being betrayed by her husband, Yuzuko is raising her rowdy son and tomboyish daughter alone and leads a hectic life. One day, the company that she works for suddenly goes bankrupt and she loses her salary and savings overnight. Just then, Kakihara who has an annual turnover of JPY 10.7 billion contacts her to reveal that there is more than meets the eye with regard to her company's collapse. While unsure of Kakihara's intentions and unaware that he was in love with her when they used to be senior high school classmates, Yuzuko decides to find out the truth and fight against the evil forces responsible for her plight in order to protect her children and herself.

In order to prepare for the filming, Koyuki interviewed a friend who is a single mother and did research on the various issues that they face in daily life. As such, she hopes that through this drama, it can highlight their problems and show they try to live on in a positive manner. Given that she is also a mother of three in real life, she commented that while interacting with children, parents are always surprised by the things the children say which are beyond their imagination. Thus, every day is a new discovery as the children change while they grow up. With regard to working with Ito whose appearance is quite different from her especially in terms of height (Koyuki is 1.7m tall while Ito is 1.62m tall), Koyuki commented that although they may not seem like a good combination on the surface, she thinks that this gap is what makes the story more exciting and interesting. As for Ito, there are scenes where his character gets nervous around his former crush and he actually feels the same way in real life when facing Koyuki so he hopes to show this in the drama as well.

Coincidentally, Koyuki's husband Matsuyama Kenichi will be appearing in the TBS Winter 2017 drama "A LIFE ~ Itoshiki Hito ~" starring Kimura Takuya which is shown in the same timeslot as her drama.

Sources: Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2 / Sponichi / Oricon

Ryohei Otani and Miki Mizuno to star in TV Asahi 2017 Winter drama

Otani Ryohei and Mizuno Miki will be joining the cast of TV Asahi Winter 2017 drama "Ubai Ai, Fuyu" which stars Kurashina Kana as the lead. The drama which will begin its run from 20 January in the Fridays 11.15pm timeslot, is an original story written by Suzuki Osamu.

Kurashina plays the role of Ikeuchi Hikari who works at a design company. Although she was not raised in a rich family, she is a gusty and clever woman who is engaged to a rich guy and her junior at the same company Okugawa Kouta (Miura Shohei). Kouta quit his previous job when he found out that he got it through his family's connections and went to work at Hikari's company. Just when things seem to be going well for Hikari, she reunites with her former boyfriend who she used to love a lot and begins an intense affair with him even though he is married and she is engaged. As a result of this, Kouta becomes very jealous and becomes a different person when he realises that Hikari is drifting away from him.

Otani will be playing Hikari's ex-boyfriend Moriyama Shin (former surname Oda) who used to be Hikari's superior at work and had plans to get married with her. However, something unexpected cropped up and he initiated a breakup with her before disappearing. He lives in Fukuoka now after marrying his childhood friend Moriyama Ran (Mizuno) and works at a design company now. Due to a work assignment to Tokyo for three months, Shin gets to see Hikari again which re-ignites their romance. On the other hand, Ran has a strong possessive streak and would try to control her husband all the time especially when she is in a bad mood due to her right leg acting up after it was injured during an accident. She is described as a woman who is like a snake and would sneak up behind her prey in order to make sure she gets what she wants.

Otani remarked that he is currently acting in a light-hearted drama "Nigeru wa haji daga yaku ni tatsu" so he is looking forward to switch from that to an emotionally-heavy drama like this and will do his best to show the happy and painful sides of Shin. As this is the first time that he is playing a man who is so dependent and reliant on the women around him, he hopes to be able to show the sexy and dark sides of Shin as well. As for Mizuno, this is the first time that she is playing a baddie role like this who is so obsessed with the man she loves so the viewers will probably imagine her to be the one who will lead every character in the drama to a bad ending thus she hopes to be able to match that kind of expectation.

Other co-stars in this drama include Sakakibara Ikue who plays Misa i.e. Kouta's mother and loves her son so much that she keeps making trouble for Hikari, Kimura Midoriko who plays Maki i.e. Hikari's mother who wishes for her happiness, Miyake Hiroki who plays Takeda Gen, Hikari's superior and used to like her, Akimoto Sayaka who plays Toyono Hideko and pretends to be a good friend of Hikari while trying to snatch Kouta away and Darenogare Akemi who plays Onoue Reika, the childhood friend of Kouta and used to date him during their university days. Nishime Shun will play Shin's junior at work Kato Kiyoshi.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon

Masataka Kubota to star in new WOWOW drama

Kubota Masataka will be starring in the new WOWOW drama "Hitoya no Toge" (The thorns of the prison) which will begin its run from 19 March 2017 in the Sundays 10pm timeslot.

The drama which consists of 6 episodes and is based on the same-titled novel by Daimon Takeaki, features Kubota in the role of Takeshima Ryota who is a newbie prison warden like his father and is newly assigned to the Kita Kanto Prison where bullying and illegal acts such as gambling are ignored by his corrupt colleagues who are supposed to be upright and partial. One day, a new prison chief Nakui Souichi (Ozawa Yukiyoshi) arrives at the prison and tries to eliminate the unacceptable behaviour by the wardens and makes a suggestion to Takeshima in order to achieve his aim.

Kubota commented that just like Takeshima, this is the first time that he is "working" in a prison so he hopes to be able to convey that feeling in the drama. Be it good and bad things, he hopes to convey the ugliness, gentleness and harshness from the people and incidents happening in such an environment.

Co-stars include Ikeda Narushi who plays the assistant chief warden Iwamoto Yasutaka, Izumiya Shigeru who plays Kamiya Korekiyo, a gang leader and commands power among the prisoners and Hagiwara Masato who plays Takeshima's senior Akimura Shigeharu and used to be a police officer.

Sources: Sanspo / Eiga.com

Koji Yakusho to star in TBS Fall 2017 drama

Yakusho Koji will be starring in the TBS Autumn 2017 drama "Rikuou" (King of the land) which will begin its run from October 2017 in the Sundays 9pm timeslot. This will be his first appearance in a drama in 15 years.

The drama which is based on the same-titled novel by Ikeido Jun, features Yakusho as the lead character Miyazawa Koichi who is the 4th generation president of Japanese socks manufacturer Kobaseya based in Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture, which has been in business for more than 100 years. With the decline in demand for its products, the small company which has only 20 employees, strives to rejuvenate its business by entering the field of producing running shoes which feel as if you are barefooted. However, as the industry is very competitive and the company does not have sufficient funds, Kobaseya is faced with various challenges along its journey but Miyazawa strives on with the help of the people around him as they take on the bigwigs.

In order to capture footage of a marathon needed in the drama where Miyazawa and his buddies want to study the running patterns of top runners needed to develop their shoes, filming will begin from New Year's Day as the staff and cast film alongside the 61st National Industrial Ekiden which starts from Gunma Prefectural Government's building.

With regard to his character, Yakusho commented that he doesn't think that he fits the image of a company's president but Miyazawa's power to attract people to work alongside him is something which he hopes to convey in the drama. The novel's author Ikeido also expressed anticipation at seeing how the cast including Yakusho will perform in the drama.

Sources: Sanspo / Eiga.com

Shun Oguri and Hidetoshi Nishijima to star in Fuji TV 2017 Spring drama

Oguri Shun and Nishijima Hidetoshi will be working together in the upcoming FujiTV Spring 2017 drama "CRISIS Kouan Kido Sousatai Tokusouhan" which will be shown from April in the Tuesdays 9pm timeslot. This will be their first collaboration in a private network drama which was conceptualised 5 years ago by writer Kaneshiro Kazuki who worked together with Oguri in the drama "BORDER".

The drama features Oguri in the leading role of Inami Akira who belongs to the secret team within the police force named Kouan Kido Sousatai Tokusouhan (special investigation unit of the public security department's riot squad). The team is tasked to handle the "dirty jobs" of the country and government and consists of police officers who have unspeakable pasts and secrets which they have to struggle with while handling the critical issues facing the country on a daily basis such as terrorism, new religious groups, military spies and drug peddling organisations. Nishijima plays his colleague Tamaru Saburo who also belongs to the same team. Inami is always resorting to unthinkable measures to overcome the criminals while Tamaru is the exact opposite and the epitome of calmness. In order to prepare for the action scenes in the drama, the two actors started to learn silat since a year ago.

Oguri said that a long time ago, he and Nishijima were talking about acting together in an interesting production with action scenes so this drama is like a dream come true for them. As the theme is something hardly seen in primetime dramas, Oguri was already quite keen to participate in this production even though it looked like there would be a lot of difficulties making this idea materialise. With regard to the action scenes, Oguri said that he will try his best to rise up to the challenge while Nishijma complimented his co-star for being a natural leader in pulling everyone else along. Despite the toughness of the filming, Nishijima also commented that this will in turn make the drama even more enjoyable to watch so they are all very proud to be able to participate in this drama.

Sources: Sanspo / Oricon / Eiga.com

Kyoka Suzuki and Koji Seto to star in TV Tokyo drama special

Suzuki Kyoka and Seto Koji will be starring in the new TV Tokyo drama SP "Touga no Hito" (The Winter Bud Person) which is based on the novel by Naoki Award winner Osawa Arimasa and will be shown in spring this year. The suspense drama features Suzuki as Maki Shizuri, a former police detective who is grappling with guilt after accidentally causing the death of her partner Maeda during an investigation. She meets Maeda's song Nakamoto Kisato (Seto) who is trying to investigate his father's death and finds out something surprising from him which leads them to join forces to uncover the truth.

Suzuki commented on her character that it was a tough one month filming period as she had to put herself into the shoes of Shizuri and bear with the emotional burden she was carrying. It even surprised her to see that she had immersed herself so much into the role that she was frowning unconsciously. As such, she hopes that her acting will show how Shizuri goes on this journey of self-redemption and how she becomes stronger to protect the people she loves. As for Seto, he pointed to the fact that this drama is not just a mystery drama but also includes the love between people who are far apart in terms of age and hopes that the viewers will enjoy watching the gradual progression of their characters' relationship.

Source: Eiga.com

^ And another special for Suzuki:

Kyoka Suzuki and Tatsuya Fujiwari to star in TV Asahi drama special

Fujiwara Tatsuya and Suzuki Kyoka will be starring in the new TV Asahi drama SP "Ningen no Shomei" (Proof of the Man) based on the same-titled mystery novel by Morimura Seiichi published in 1976. The drama SP which is due to shown in spring this year, will be set in the 70s as per the novel which is in contrast to the previous drama series in 2004 based in the modern era. Fujiwara and Suzuki last worked together in the 2004 NHK Taiga drama "Shinsengumi!".

The story is set at Tokyo in the year 1974 where famous beauty expert Yasugi Kyoko happens to take the same lift at a hotel that is holding a party with a black youth who is later found to be stabbed to death. Fujiwara will play the police inspector Munesue who investigates the case. With regard to their collaboration this time, Fujiwara referred to Suzuki as someone who he always wants to work with while she praised him for being good and charming at various genres including stage plays, dramas and movies. As for their respective roles, Fujiwara commented that he hopes to do a good job to the extent of making Matsuda Ryuhei exclaim why he didn't get the role instead (Matsuda's late father Yusaku had taken on the same role in the 1977 movie version). Suzuki revealed that her role is a desirable one to many actresses so she hopes that those who did not know of the original movie will come into contact with this story through their drama SP.

Co-stars include Ogata Naoto, Takuma Shin, Horii Arata, Nakahara Takeo and Kusabue Mitsuko.

Source: Sponichi

Yuina Kuroshima to star in WOWOW drama series

Kuroshima Yuina will be starring in the new WOWOW drama series "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan" (Tokyo Corner Meal) which will begin its run from May 2017 in the Saturdays 10pm timeslot. The human drama with a blend of delicious food, humour, tears and sadness is based on the same-titled novel by Narita Nariko and will be directed by Mishima Yukiko.

The story is set in a common kitchen named Sumikko Gohan at a suburban part of Tokyo where people facing various issues in their lives including a lonely senior high school girl who lost her parents when she was still a child, a housewife about to lose her family, a son from a bento shop who cannot confess to his parents about his true sexuality inclination, a boxer who escaped from his hometown and a female researcher who is eager to get married come to cook by drawing lots and eat together. Through their interaction with one another, they find the meaning to their lives while trying to resolve their own issues.

Kuroshima who plays the role of the senior high school girl Sawatari Kaede, commented that when she read the script, her first impression was how delicious food can bring smiles to people. Even though the people who gather at Sumikko Gohan have their own issues and lack self-confidence, she was touched by how they try to come to terms with their happiness and sadness. As such, she hopes to be able to present the two key themes of this drama i.e. how to convey your true thoughts to others and how to respect one another's dignity and is grateful for the chance to be able to participate in such a heartwarming drama. In addition, there are many cooking scenes in the drama featuring traditional cooking methods so this will be something worth checking out as well.

Sources: Nikkansports / Eiga.com / Oricon

Masataka Kubota and Kazuki Kitamura to star in NHK drama

Kubota Masataka and Kitamura Kazuki will be starring in the upcoming NHK drama series "Yongo Keibi" (No.4 Security Guard) which will begin its run from 8 April in the Saturdays 8.15pm timeslot. The drama which consists of 7 episodes, describes the lives of bodyguards who work in a private security company as they tackle various security issues facing their clients from stalkers, hatred from subordinates and colleagues and child kidnappers regardless of whether they are celebrities or ordinary people. However, as they are not the police, they do not have the power to arrest people nor have firearms in their possession. For the sake of their client, they must be on standby 24-7 and risk their lives so they are nicknamed as Yongo Keibi (No.4 Security Guard) by industry insiders.

Kubota plays the role of Asahina who works a security guard in the company Guard Keepers and is a cheerful young man boasting of great fitness. He used to be a police officer but quit due to an unknown setback thus leading him to enter the world of private security guards. One day, he is assigned to become a Yongo Keibi and told to team up with Ishimaru (Kitamura) who used to be the president of a company and is such a careful person who thinks before he acts that he is nicknamed as a coward by others now. Being totally opposites, the duo clash with each other but try to work together to protect their clients from danger. Through the course of their work, they find answers as to what it means to protect people and come to terms with their pasts.

Co-stars include Abe Junko who plays Ueno, a woman troubled over a stalker, Kataoka Tsurutaro who plays Ikeyama, the superior of Asahina and Ishimaru who paired them for a reason, Kimura Tae who plays the president of the security company as well as Hamada Mari, Takagi Wataru, Kanbe Hiroshi, Kubota Sayu and Maro Akaji. Guest stars include Mizuhashi Kenji, Speed Wagon's Ozawa Kazuhiro, Takahashi Mitsuomi and Ito Ran.

Sources: Oricon / Modelpress

Ken Matsudaira to star in NHK drama

Matsudaira Ken will be starring in the new NHK drama "PTA Grandpa" which will begin its run from 2 April in the Sundays 10pm timeslot. The drama which consists of 8 episodes, is based on the same-titled novel by Nakazawa Hinako and features Matsudaira in the leading role of Muso Tsutomu who enters the world of the PTA (Parent-Teacher Association) for the sake of his granddaughter.

Tsutomu is a retiree who used to work at a major electrical appliances manufacturer for 43 years and didn't get involved actively with his family matters nor took care of his children during those days. Although he thought that he would get to enjoy a leisurely life upon retirement, he finds that things are far from what he imagined with his wife Sachiko being busy with meeting with her friends and going for classes so she has no time to bother with him. Tsutomu's daughter Miyako (Matobu Sei) who is already divorced, moves back home with her daughter Yurina so the responsibility of caring for Yurina becomes Tsutomu's. When he attends the PTA meeting of Yurina's primary school for the first time, he ends up drawing a bad lot and becomes the vice chairman of the PTA which marks the start of his busy days.

Matsudaira remarked that as he also has a child who is in primary school, he has had the experience of attending a PTA meeting before so there is a sense of familiarity for him to act in this drama which depicts the issues and interpersonal relationship problems happening within the PTA. It will be worth checking out how a former salaryman would interact with the mothers in the PTA.

Co-stars include Adachi Yumi, Hasegawa Tomoharu, Sasaki Katsuhiko and Nakahara Takeo.

Source: Oricon

Haru and Masaki Okada to star in NTV drama special

Haru and Okada Masaki will be starring in the NTV drama SP "Kitakaze to taiyo no houtei" (The court of the northern wind and sun) which will be shown in March during the Friday RoadSHOW! timeslot at 9pm. In this era where it's said that 1 in 3 couples get divorced every 2 minutes and 19 seconds, most of them negotiate their divorce matters together but the remaining get third parties to facilitate the process. However, about 2.4% of the couples who have to resort to a trial if the mediation process does not proceed as planned. The title of the drama comes from the fable "Kitakaze to Taiyo" which describes the leads who are lawyers with exactly opposite characters helping couples face off in court.

Haru plays the role of Sakuragawa Fuuka whose motto is to win at all times and has never lost a divorce case. She is calm and seems to have an allergy when it comes to love so is regarded as the northern wind who doesn't hesitate to attack her opponents. On the other hand, Okada plays Kojiya Youta who is able to steer difficult cases towards an amicable resolution all the time and believes in love being able to enrich one's life. He is seen as warm like the sun and has feelings towards Fuuka.

Co-stars include Otani Ryohei who plays Fuuka's boss Isohata Koichiro at Golden Wing Law Firm, Yamamoto Yusuke who plays Fuuka's client Hara Masaharu and has unsuccessfully attempted to enter medical school for 8 years. Masaharu's wife Kyoko will be played by Kawashima Umika and Uchida Rio will play Omura Mayuko who works at Golden Wing and is very eager to get married. Yashima Norito plays Shibayama Naomichi who is a repeat student aiming to pass the bar exam and keeps attending trials at the courts. Fuuka's mother Shoko will be played by Kimura Midoriko while Youta's boss Tezuka Rokuro will be played by Ichimura Masachika.

During an interview session held at the filming studio, Haru commented on her character who doesn't hesitate to dismiss love as a meaningless thing and would analyse love in a logical manner. As for playing a lawyer for the first time, she felt that she isn't suited to be one as a lawyer because she believes people too readily unlike a lawyer who has to question every point in a testimony. Likewise, Okada echoed the view that he can't be a lawyer because he is not good enough to help other people. As for his character Youta, Okada felt that he is such an innocent person who doesn't think about his own benefits when helping others so he hopes to become someone like that. Okada also revealed that he didn't think that Haru would be someone who he could chat a lot with so he was surprised to find out that she speaks her mind like Fuuka.

Source: Nikkansports / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon
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Tatsuya Fujiwara and Erika Toda to star in TBS 2017 Spring drama

Fujiwara Tatsuya and Toda Erika will be starring in the TBS Spring 2017 drama "Reverse" based on Minato Kanae's same-titled novel which will begin its run from April 2017 at 10pm on Fridays. This will be the first time in 11 years that the two of them are working together since the 2006 movies "Death Note" and "Death Note the Last name".

In this drama, Fujiwara plays the lead character Fukase Kazuhisa who is an ordinary salaryman while Toda plays his girlfriend Ochi Mihoko. The couple's happy life is thrown into disarray when an anonymous letter sent to Mihoko states that Fukase is a murderer and Mihoko's trust in Fukase is shaken. This forces Fukase to have to face up again to the death of his buddy Hirosawa Yuki (Koike Teppei) 10 years ago during a snowboarding holiday along with his other friends Asami Kosuke (Tamamori Yuta) who is a senior school teacher now, Murai Takaaki (Miura Takahiro) and Tanihara Kosei (Ichihara Hayato). Murai's sister Asuka who is also Tanihara's wife will be played by Kadowaki Mugi while YOU will play the wife of the master who owns the coffee shop frequented by Fukase. Hirosawa's parents will be played by Shiga Kotaro and Katahira Nagisa and Takeda Tetsuya will play the freelance journalist who is investigating Hirosawa's case.

Fujiwara expressed his anticipation at acting in a Minato work for the first time and it was exciting to begin the filming on the snowy mountains. He hopes to be able to deliver a good work along with his co-stars. As for Toda, she is happy to work with Fujiwara again especially since he usually has a sharp and smart image but will be playing a slightly less reliable and cute guy this time. Tamamori who is only 26 now but has to play a 32-year-old man in the drama, commented that although he is the youngest in the cast but will try to learn from his seniors and work hard for this drama.

Sources: Sanspo / Natalie / Eiga.com