The third episode of the Sunday Theatre drama " Mikami Sensei " (TBS, Sunday 9pm) starring Tori Matsuzaka Tori was broadcast on February 2nd. The scene featured former idol group "Hinatazaka46" member Yuka Kageyama, who plays Kurayoshi Yume, a student in class 3-2, speaking in English, which became a hot topic on social media.
◇The following contains spoilers
The story is about a Ministry of Education bureaucrat, Mikami (played by Matsuzaka), who is trying to change the Japanese education system, and is seconded to a private high school, Rintoku Gakuin. He takes to the podium himself, guiding 18-year-old high school students living in the Reiwa era, while standing up to authority.
Kurayoshi is a bilingual returnee who was born and raised in the U.S. She returned to Japan to start high school and began attending a Japanese school for the first time.
In episode 3, Kanzaki (Daiken Okudaira) says, "I'll answer any questions you want to ask," and the classmates ask him questions. Kurayoshi raises her hand and says, "I want to ask!", but Migami enters the classroom. When Migami says, "Sure, continue," Kurayoshi asks, "You said you were going to figure out the identity of the Vulture, but does that mean you'll have to go head-to-head with the chairman?" and "What did Kanzaki ask, and how did the chairman respond?" After Kanzaki answers each question, Migami's lesson begins.
After class, Sakurai (Riko Nagase) protested to the emperor, "Why don't you stop going off on tangents during class?" Kurayoshi replied, "I'm a returnee. In America, I'm often forced to give my opinion in class or whatever."
"I was taught that it's important to listen to the end in discussions... that's what I kept saying after I came back to Japan. But it's no good. If you don't keep what you want to say to yourself, people will dislike you for not being able to read the mood. I was made to realize that this is a country of true feelings and pretenses, and it scared me," Kurayoshi said. "So the more important something is to me, the more I get into the habit of swallowing it. I grew to hate myself for being like that. But... I wanted to hear Kanzaki's story," she continued, revealing her true feelings.
Furthermore, Kurayoshi expressed her gratitude to Mikami in English, saying, "Thank you for the opportunity. English is my precious mother tongue, but I was feeling embarrassed to be able to speak it." Mikami responded in English, saying, "That's right. Do your best."
On social media, comments were posted such as, "Yuka Kageyama's English is the best," "Yuka Kageyama's halting Japanese and her fluent English is amazing," "Kurayoshi-chan's English was so cool that my heart lurched," "Kage-chan is good at using facial expressions," and "Kurayoshi-chan's words, 'You have to keep what you want to say to yourself,' really hit home."
