Mikami Sensei:[Student Introduction] Student number 25 "Nao Haruyama" Nako Yabuki The most cheerful and popular student in the class. Active, proactive, and feminine.

The Sunday Theatre drama " Mikami Sensei " (TBS, Sunday 9pm) starring actor Tori Matsuzaka will begin airing on January 19th. The drama will introduce the 29 unique students of class 2, year 3, of Rintoku Gakuen, where Mikami (Matsuzaka) is the homeroom teacher, in order of their attendance numbers. Here we will introduce Nao Haruyama (Nako Yabuki), attendance number 25. A video introducing the students is also available on the drama's official SNS.

Haruyama is the most cheerful and popular girl in her class. She is lively, proactive, and feminine. She wants to go to Yokohama National University, but her grades are dropping and she is worried. She is a former member of the dance club and likes social media and K-POP. She is good friends with Ayase Tomoka (Moka Otsuka) in her class.

Yabuki, who plays the role, commented, "I was really surprised when I heard I passed the audition, and I was happy to be able to take part in such a long-established Sunday Theater production. Haruyama Nao, who I play, is a cheerful character with a very different personality from me, so since we started filming I have been making a conscious effort to actively talk to everyone in my class. On set, I am doing my best to make the most of this time, learning and absorbing as much as I can from Tori Matsuzaka, Riho Yoshioka, and the 28 other student actors so that I can grow as a person. I would be happy if this work leads to more opportunities for people to face and think about problems together."

"Mikami Sensei" is about a Ministry of Education bureaucrat, Takashi Mikami (Matsuzaka), who wants to change the Japanese education system, being ordered to transfer to a private high school, Rintoku Gakuin. In reality, it was a demotion, but Mikami himself takes to the podium and leads 18-year-old high school students living in the Reiwa era while standing up to authority... This is a "great reversal education revival story."

This completely original work will be written by Shimori Roba, who will be teaming up with Matsuzaka for the first time since the film "The Journalist," and will be writing the script for a prime-time drama series for the first time. Kazutaka Iida, who has been in charge of popular Sunday Theater dramas such as "Anti-Hero" (2024) and "VIVANT" (2023), will serve as producer.