Thursday, June 08, 2017

Shinohara Ryoko to star in yet-untitled FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama as an aspiring city councilor

Shinohara Ryoko will be starring in the yet-untitled FujiTV Autumn 2017 drama which begins its run from October in the Mondays 9pm timeslot. The drama features Shinohara as the lead character Sato Tomoko who lives with her husband and only child attending nursery. When Tomoko was in senior high school, her parents disappeared one after another which led to her quitting school. She then switched jobs many times before deciding to live a serious life unlike her parents. Tomoko got married to her husband who she met at her part-time job but he continues to keep switching jobs as a freeter. As such, she has to chip in to the household finances by taking on part-time jobs. Unfortunately, she got fired when she rebelled against rules in her company. Now in her 40s without a decent education and qualifications, Tomoko becomes attracted to the prospect of becoming a city councilor after watching a feature on a corruption scandal and how much a city councilor earns. After conducting research on her chances of being elected are as high as over 80 percent, Tomoko decides to give it a shot despite being a greenhorn in politics and has no backing from a political party. Right from the start, she is faced with difficulties such as making her PR poster and writing her street rally speeches but with the help of her husband and fellow mothers at the nursery, Tomoko gradually begins her journey to stand for election. Her rival in the election Toudou Makoto will be played by Takahashi Issei who comes from a family of politicians and highly regarded to become a potential Prime Minister while Ishida Yuriko will play Hirata Kazumi whose child also attends the same nursery as Tomoko's and her biggest support who graduated from a top-notch university and was a reporter covering political news at a news agency.

With regard to playing a politician for the first time, Shinohara admitted that she does feel pressurised but will tap on the support of everyone around her to make an entertaining drama. The producer also suggested that she can focus on showing how an ignorant housewife like Tomoko grows as a result of this journey rather than think about how to convey the difficult concepts in politics. Meanwhile, co-stars Ishida commented that she is very excited to work with Shinohara for the first time and hopes to see how she will play Tomoko and Takahashi also expressed his anticipation about working with his charming co-stars.

Filming begins in early July.

Sources: Oricon / Nikkansports / Sanspo

No comments: