It has been announced that an emergency special program, "Thank you, Nishida Toshiyuki - Rest in Peace, a once-in-a-lifetime actor...", tracing the life of actor Nishida Toshiyuki, who passed away on October 17th last year at the age of 76, will be broadcast on TV Asahi from 6:30pm to 9pm on February 18th (excluding some areas).
In addition to broadcasting the "farewell ceremony" to be held in Tokyo that afternoon, the program will also look back on Nishida's career in showbiz with a number of valuable video materials and Nishida's own words, from his childhood to his final film, "Doctor-X: The Movie FINAL."
Born in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture in 1947, Nishida loved Fukushima throughout his life and worked hard to rebuild the country after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The program will introduce Nishida's figure by playing his signature song, "If I Could Play the Piano." The performer will be violinist Chisako Takashima, who is a self-proclaimed big fan of Nishida. The program will collaborate with the Fukushima Prefectural Koriyama High School choir in Nishida's hometown of Koriyama City, and will dedicate a beautiful one-night-only harmony to Nishida in heaven.
Nishida's signature role in his later years was as Hiruma Shigekatsu, a role he played from the second series of the popular TV drama "Doctor X." He himself said during his lifetime that "it was one of the top five roles I liked in my acting career." The program will feature interviews with his co-stars in "Doctor X," including Ryoko Yonekura and Kenichi Endo, as well as introducing Nishida's career in the show. As a special edition, the second episode of the second series (broadcast on October 24, 2013) will also be shown.
