The 2025 Elan d'or Awards, which recognize actors and producers who have made outstanding contributions to movies and TV dramas, was held in Tokyo on February 6th. Actor Sadao Abe appeared three times as a celebratory guest, drawing laughter from the audience.
This was Abe's first appearance following the awarding of the Producer Encouragement Award to Isoyama Akira and Amamiya Saeko, producers of the TV drama series "Fukakute mo Hokugo ga Aru!" (TBS), in which Abe starred.
Abe smiled and said, "It's amazing that 'Futehodo' won the Buzzword Award," and then, "The other day, when I was having dinner, a customer next to me said, 'Hodo ga aru, I'm watching it.' I had no idea what he was talking about." He then showed off his "joke." It didn't seem to go over well, so he said with a wry smile, "I thought it would be a bit more popular. As expected of the Elan d'or Award, it's tough. I'll try again."
Afterwards, Abe appeared for the second time as the presenter for Yuumi Kawai, who co-starred with Abe as mother and daughter in the film and won the Newcomer Award. He congratulated her, saying, "I've come back. I knew you'd win. I knew you'd win for sure," and joked, "You won some award yesterday, didn't you? You're always winning, aren't you? But maybe you should tone it down a bit."
Furthermore, Koji Mizukami, winner of the Newcomer Award, took the stage and said, "I think you've probably guessed it, but I wonder if that person will be our guest," and the host, Nippon Television announcer Yoshido Tsujioka, introduced him as "Sadao Abe, who co-starred with me in the movie 'The Sickness of the Death Penalty.'" Abe appeared on stage at a brisk pace, and the audience was abuzz at his unexpected third appearance.
However, Abe seemed dissatisfied with Mizukami's reaction and asked for a do-over, saying, "Wait a minute. It's supposed to be a surprise, isn't it? I'll try again." When Abe reappeared with his chest held high, Mizukami responded with a surprised reaction. The two shared a warm embrace, drawing laughter from the audience.
The Elan d'or Awards are an awards system that began in 1956. This year, the Newcomer Award went to Takahashi Fumiya, Kawai, Mizukami, Shuri, Wakaba Ryuya, and Wakana Matsumoto. The Producer's Award went to Arai Junko from the movie "The Last Mile," Ozaki Hirokazu from "The Tiger and Her Wings," Mizuki Yuta from the movie "True Identity," Isoyama and Amamiya from the drama series "Inappropriately Too Much!" (TBS), and the Special Award went to the movie "Samurai Time Slipper."
