Takuya Kimura appeared at the "Shochiku 130th Anniversary 2025-26 Lineup Announcement" held in Tokyo on January 23rd. Kimura will appear alongside Baisho Chieko in director Yamada Yoji's new film "TOKYO Taxi" (released November 21st). This will be the first time Kimura and Yamada have teamed up in 19 years since "Samurai's First Minute" (2006). It will also be the first time they have worked together in 21 years since the animated feature film "Howl's Moving Castle" (2004).
Kimura plays the role of a taxi driver with a daughter and a wife in love, who lives his life to the fullest every day. One day, he picks up an 85-year-old woman with a past, played by Baisho... and so the story unfolds. Director Yamada said of Kimura, "When his true face, which he doesn't show to others, suddenly appears, he is very charming," and added, "I want to portray what I sense from Kimura's true face as if I'm stealing it. I want to somehow steal, to take away, a charm that has not been seen in Takuya Kimura's previous films."
Kimura was excited to be working with Yamada again, saying, "I had no hesitation at all. There was some tension, but the atmosphere on set was really warm. He's a director who carefully guides the characters' emotional flow and intonations, so I can't wait to spend that time with him again."
"TOKYO Taxi" is based on the French film "Paris Taxi" (2023). The screenplay was written by Director Yamada and Yuzo Asahara, and Baisho Chieko will also star. One day, taxi driver Koji Usami is tasked with driving 85-year-old Sumire Takano from Shibamata, Tokyo to a senior care facility in Hayama, Kanagawa. Sumire asks Koji to make some detours. Gradually opening up to her, Sumire begins to tell the story of her grand past...
