Actor Yuumi Kawai was selected as the winner of the Newcomer Award for the 2025 Elan d'or Awards, which recognize actors and producers who have been active in movies and TV dramas, and attended the awards ceremony held in Tokyo on February 6th. Last year, Kawai made headlines for playing Junko, the daughter of Ogawa Ichiro, played by Abe Sadao, in the TV drama series "Fukakute mo Hodo ga Aru!" (TBS), and commented, "The Elan d'or Newcomer Award is an award for TV dramas, so I would like to dedicate this award to Junko. Thank you."
The Elan d'or Award for Newcomers is given to actors who are "prominently active and expected to make great strides in the future." Kawai appeared in films such as "April Will Be My Life" and "An no Koto" last year, as well as TV dramas such as "Inappropriate Mode!," and "It's Not That I Loved Her Because She Was My Family, It Was My Family That I Loved Her" (NHK BS Premium).
Kawai said, "Last year was a year in which I continued to come across works that I could truly cherish. After works that I felt were like a reward to me were broadcast or released, many people reacted to them in ways I never imagined, and I felt like I was caught up in a big whirlpool. I would like to thank everyone."
On this day, Abe, who co-starred with Kawai in "Inappropriately Too Much!", rushed over to congratulate him. Abe said, "I think the first time I worked with Kawai, he was in his teens, and I thought, 'This actor is a little different, he'll be a hit.' Everyone said the same thing. He's been winning awards, hasn't he? It's amazing. He has a great sense of comedy and can do anything. I think he's amazing. I look forward to seeing him grow even more. I look forward to working with him in the future."
The Elan d'or Awards are an award system that began in 1956. This year, Kawai, Takahashi Fumiya, Mizukami Koji, Shuri, Wakaba Ryuya, and Wakana Matsumoto were selected for the Newcomer Award.
