The drama series "Himitsu ~THE TOP SECRET~" (Kantele/Fuji TV, Mondays at 10pm) starring actor Rihito Itagaki and Yuto Nakajima of the popular group " Hey! Say! JUMP " will begin airing on January 20th. This will be the first time the two have acted together, and Itagaki's first time starring in a prime-time terrestrial drama series. Nakajima will be taking on the challenge of playing two roles for the first time.
The drama is based on "Secret - Top Secret -" by Shimizu Reiko, which was published in the manga magazine "Melody" (Hakusensha) and won the Excellence Award in the Manga Division of the "Japan Media Arts Festival" in 2012, and its spin-off work "Secret Season 0". The script will be written by Sato Tsumako, who has worked on the "Unfair" series, the serial drama "Siren: Detective x Girlfriend x Complete Villain" (same station), and the movie "Onmyoji 0" (2024).
The story is set in the National Research Institute of Police Science's Forensic Science Laboratory No. 9, commonly known as "No. 9." Itagaki plays Maki Tsuyoshi, the head of No. 9, while Nakajima plays Suzuki Katsuhiro, a former member of No. 9 who lost his life in an incident, and Aoki Ikko, a rookie investigator who looks exactly like Suzuki and is later assigned to No. 9.
In the first episode, Tsuyoshi Maki (Itagaki), who possesses an incredible memory and sharp insight, is appointed head of the department known as "The Ninth," and takes on new duties together with his best friend from university, deputy head Suzuki Katsuhiro (Nakajima).
In the 9th, when victims and perpetrators of heinous and serious crimes die, their brains are placed in a special MRI scanner to visualize their memories from the time they were alive. This technology, developed by brain scientist Kiyotaka Kainuma (Jun Kunimura), has increased the possibility of uncovering the truth, but it also raises ethical issues, so the 9th is kept secret.
One day, Maki and Suzuki are ordered by the National Police Agency Commissioner General to examine the brain of the ninth death row inmate. The defendant, Koichi Tsuyukuchi (Mitsuishi Ken), stabbed his wife, second daughter, and mother-in-law to death six years ago. His eldest daughter, Kinuko (Natsuko), was accused of dumping her body in the ocean after the murders, and his death sentence was confirmed. However, Tsuyukuchi's MRI scan showed an unbelievable scene and an unexpected truth... At the same time, a woman in her 20s was rescued at a certain police station... and so the story unfolds.
