It was revealed on February 23rd that actor Uchino Masaaki will be starring in the April TV Asahi drama series "PJ ~Aviation Rescue Team~" (Thursdays 9pm). This will be Uchino's first lead role in a TV Asahi drama series in about 15 years since "Rinjo" which aired from 2009 to 2010, and he will play the chief instructor of the rescue training unit that trains members of the Air Self-Defense Force Aviation Rescue Team, commonly known as PJ (pararescue jumpers).
PJ is an organization made up of selected elite members who can be called the "ultimate rescue team" that carries out rescue operations in particularly harsh conditions during accidents and disasters. The training is extremely tough, as it requires a variety of skills, including first aid and nursing skills, parachute jumping, diving skills, and mountain rescue skills.
This film is an original story that depicts trainees who have passed the extremely difficult selection test to become members of such a project, facing a year of "hellish" training under the strict and unconventional chief instructor, Seiji Usami (Uchino). With the full cooperation of the Air Self-Defense Force, it is said to be a grand-scale production on par with a movie.
Uchino commented, "After reading the script, I'm still in the process of preparing for my role, but I thought it was a story about determination... I felt that this was a drama that required me to show my true spirit." In preparation for filming, he revealed, "Currently, I am training in the basic movements of the Self-Defense Forces, such as push-ups, chin-ups, squats, physical fitness exercises, swimming, treading water, rappelling training, and ``Attention! Rest!'' The young actors are currently undergoing training beyond the above."
"Their serious expressions are more beautiful than anything else. Even the older actors, all over 55, are working hard to convey to the viewers their pure souls, which go beyond acting - in fact, which lie deep within the ocean of acting," he said.
The director will be Yuichiro Hirakawa, who has worked on a number of popular works, including the drama "JIN -JIN-" (TBS), in which Uchino played the role of Ryoma Sakamoto, "ROOKIES" (TBS), "Stepmother and Daughter Blues" (TBS), and the Netflix drama "The Mitarai Family Burns." The script will be written by Izumi Takahashi, who has worked on the movie series "Tokyo Revengers" and the drama "Metropolitan Police Department Outsider" (TV Asahi).
