On March 6th, TV Asahi held a briefing on their April schedule changes at their headquarters (Minato Ward, Tokyo). General producer Nobuyuki Hattori of the drama series "PJ ~Air Rescue Team~" (Thursdays 9pm), which starts on April 24th, took to the stage and explained the reasons for casting Masaaki Uchino in the lead role.
The drama is an original story that focuses on the Air Self-Defense Force Aviation Rescue Wing, commonly known as PJ (pararescue jumpers), who carry out rescue operations under harsh conditions during accidents and disasters. The story depicts trainees who passed the extremely difficult selection test to become PJ members facing extremely harsh "hellish" training under the strict and unconventional chief instructor Seiji Usami (Uchino).
This will be Uchino's first lead role in a drama series in 15 years since "Rinjo" which aired from 2009 to 2010. General Producer Hattori said, "This is a drama that depicts life-risking rescue scenes, and it's also a story about nurturing the people who carry out life-risking rescues, so when I thought about who could give the most serious performance, Uchino came to mind," and revealed the inside story behind the casting, saying, "However, there is the physical training as well, which is difficult, so it took six months to persuade Uchino."
While saying he had "no idea at all (laughs)," Uchino decided to appear in the film, he revealed, "During the six months we had meetings to discuss the details of the character and the script. Then finally he said, 'I'll do it.'"
The filming was done with the full cooperation of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and "we actually used a UH-60J helicopter, which is used by the Air Rescue Team," he explained. He said that the harsh rescue scenes were "almost entirely without CG," and appealed, "For the snowy mountain scenes, we put on snowshoes and climbed for 30 minutes. We think we can deliver footage that feels realistic."
