Actor Atsuko Asano appeared at the premiere screening of the movie "Salaryman Kintaro [Akatsuki]" (directed by Ten Shimoyama, scheduled for release on January 10, 2025) held in Tokyo on December 9th. In relation to the contents of the movie, Asano was asked about her own unconventional side, and confessed, "This is just my own unconventional thing, but I quit smoking." She said that she will be quitting smoking for six months, and confessed, "Personally, I feel like I'm going crazy."
Asano, who is currently in the process of quitting smoking, revealed to lead actor Suzuki Nobuyuki, "He's also a heavy smoker, just like me," to which Suzuki was embarrassed. "I've never said this in public before," he said with a wry smile, "I don't know why, but it feels really good. I've been hiding it all my life, but now that Asano has quit smoking, my smoking has been revealed, which turned into a completely unexpected stage greeting." Also attending the event were Fumine, Kageyama Yuka, Enoki Takaaki, and director Shimoyama Ten.
The film is a new two-part movie adaptation of Hiroshi Motomiya's popular manga "Salaryman Kintaro," which has sold a total of 30 million copies. The first part, "Salaryman Kintaro [Akatsuki]," will be released nationwide from January 10, 2025, and the second part, "Salaryman Kintaro [Kamen]," will be released nationwide from February 7, 2025. The first part depicts Kintaro's "birth," while the second part depicts Kintaro's assault on the huge vested interests that control Japan.
