Actor Tori Matsuzaka stars in the Sunday Theatre drama "Mikami Sensei" (TBS, Sundays at 9pm). Masaki Okada plays Makino, a Ministry of Education bureaucrat who is a colleague of Matsuzaka. Okada, who is also friends with Matsuzaka in private, said, "Recently, Tori has been to many different locations and experienced many different things, so he's not the same ' Tori Matsuzaka' that we've co-starred with in the past." We asked Okada about his co-starring with Matsuzaka and what to look forward to in this drama.
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The drama is an original story about a Ministry of Education bureaucrat, Mikami Takashi, who wants to change Japan's education system, and who takes on the challenge of authority while teaching 18-year-old students at a private high school.
Okada, whose appearance in this film was decided after Matsuzaka's lead role was decided, said, "I was genuinely happy that someone of my generation was going to be the lead in a Sunday Theatre production. I could say I was able to be a part of it. I'm good friends with Tori in private, so I thought I could support him in some way."
Unusually for a drama series, the filming started with the script almost complete. "There are a wide variety of drama series out there, but I knew when I read the script that this would be a different Sunday Theatre production that would set itself apart from the rest, so I got more and more excited. I was very grateful to be able to appear in it," he revealed.
While filming with Matsuzaka, the scene where Mikami and Makino talk at the beginning of the first episode left a lasting impression on him. "It's been a while since I acted with Matsuzaka, and maybe it's because this is ' Mikami Sensei,' but I was really impressed by how much pressure I felt. Tori's passion for this drama and the extraordinary passion that the staff had about 'making this drama' all overlapped."
There is also a sense that he is not the "Tori Matsuzaka" that we have worked with up until now. "I felt that when I was watching him on set and acting with him. He gives me a really good sense of tension, and I feel like I'm having a conversation with him through the acting, so I think it was great."
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Regarding Makino, various opinions have been raised on social media as to whether he is an ally or enemy of Mikami. The exchanges between Mikami and Makino's superior, Tsukada (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), Director-General of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's General Education Policy Bureau, are also attracting attention, but Okada says, "This time, we are both unable to see each other's true intentions, so in the scenes where the two of us confront each other (with Oikawa), we are able to act using the space with a very exquisite sense of distance. It's not to the point of being tense, but we are filming while valuing the space that is born between the two of us."
He also senses the unfathomable fear in Tsukada, played by Oikawa. "I think it's good that he's acting like that. Makino himself has things he's carrying inside, so I'm showing him little by little, calculating each episode."
Regarding Makino, he said, "Fundamentally, he thinks about education as a character who thinks a lot about it." He revealed, "People have things that you can see on the surface and things that they carry inside, but in my mind, they're all pretty much connected. I'm acting without lying."
Regarding what to look forward to in the future, Okada said, "Because we can see what Makino was going through, I think it will have a bigger impact on those who have followed the series." He added, "I think the main focus this time is the students. Everyone's acting is so good, and I think the way they approach the work and their roles so sincerely has an impact on us adults too. I want everyone to see the students through to the end."
