It has been announced that actor Seishirō Kato will be making a guest appearance in the extended special "Police Officer A" of "AIBOU season 23" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9pm) on October 16th. Kato has a deep connection with "AIBOU", having previously appeared twice as a main guest. This time, he will reprise his role as "Boy A", also known as Takada Hajime, from episode 19 of "season 16", "Boy A" (broadcast in March 2018).
Kato's first appearance on "AIBOU" was at the age of 12, when he played a brave boy who cared deeply for his parents in episode 18 of "season 11", "BIRTHDAY" (broadcast in March 2013). Five years later, in "season 16", he played the role of Hajime, an "unregistered child" who had been neglected by his mother and who struggled desperately in the margins of society to protect his younger siblings.
Hajime was saved by the Special Task Force's Ukyo Sugishita (Yutaka Mizutani) and others, and entered a child protection facility with his younger brother. In the first special episode, it is revealed that Hajime had become a police officer without Ukyo's knowledge, and the reason why he wanted to become a police officer is revealed. He then investigates the stabbing death of former National Public Safety Commission Chairman Mitsuru Ashiya (Shiro Namiki) together with the Special Task Force. Then, together with Ukyo and the others, he becomes embroiled in a situation that seems to trace the assassination that occurred 150 years ago in the early days of the police... and so on.
Kato, who was offered the role of Takada Hajime for the first time in about five and a half years, commented, "I was surprised and thought, 'I never thought something like this would happen!' In fact, on the set of 'Boy A,' I was talking with the staff about how it would be interesting if Hajime aimed to become a police officer in the future, but I never imagined that the moment when that dream would come true would actually come. When I think about the life Hajime has led, it was very moving."
Regarding playing the role of Hajime again, he said, "I thought a lot about why he decided to become a police officer, and where his fierce strength of 'I'll survive' will lead after becoming a police officer."
In his two previous appearances, he co-starred with the duo Ukyo & Kai Toru (Narimiya Hiroki) and Ukyo & Kanjo Wataru (Sorimachi Takashi), but this was his first time meeting the duo Ukyo & Kameyama Kaoru (Terawaki Yasufumi).
Looking back on the filming, Kato, who has loved "Aibō" since he was a child, said, "Ukyo and Kaoru are the golden duo from Aibō that I watched when I was a child, so I couldn't believe that I would be joining their conversation, and every time I came to my senses I would tremble and say, 'I'm scared!' (laughs). Those were precious days that made me realize once again how much I love Aibō!" He added happily, "This time, Ukyo-san had a different expression than he did in 'Boy A,' and there were moments when his affection for Hajime was conveyed, which made me very happy."
The official trailer for the first extended special was also released on the same day. It shows a violent explosion occurring in front of the gathered crowd, making for a tense scene.
