Actor Yoshihiko Inohara attended a roundtable discussion with co-star Michiko Hada at the TV Asahi headquarters (Minato Ward, Tokyo) on April Getsuku for the drama "Tokuso9 Final Season" (TV Asahi, Wednesdays at 9pm), which starts that evening. They talked about their memories with the late Tsunehiko Watase.
The drama is the successor to "Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Investigative Division 9 Unit" (2006-2017), in which Watase starred, and began airing in April 2018. It depicts the unique group of members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department Investigative Division 1 Special Investigation Unit (Special Investigation Unit) as they take on difficult cases. This season marks the 20th installment in the series, and will be the final season since "9 Unit."
Due to delays on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line that day, some reporters were unable to make it to the start time, so the meeting started about 10 minutes late. Inohara bowed his head and said, "I heard that there was a train delay, so thank you for coming despite that," and added, "Thanks to everyone, I was able to run this far. Today is a roundtable discussion, so I want to do it in a relaxed manner without any tension (laughs)," and the meeting began in a relaxed atmosphere.
Looking back on when "9th Division" first aired, Inohara said, "The producer at the time told me, 'I want to depict the fact that detectives also have everyday lives.' I remember that we were going to take on a detective story like nothing we'd done before. But at the time I thought it would be one season. Then, during the purification ceremony (before filming), the priest said, '9th Division series,' and my manager was surprised, saying, 'I've never heard of that' (laughs). And it went on for 20 years. It's amazing, isn't it?"
"9 Division" was Haneda's first time acting alongside Inohara. Looking back on their first meeting, he expressed his gratitude, saying, "I had heard from my friends that 'There's no one as nice as him,' but when I met him, he was really nice! The set was tense because Watase was there, but Inocchi made the atmosphere very relaxed. (At the time) I was the youngest, so I think it must have been hard for me to be considerate of everyone."
He also talked about an episode with Watase, who passed away in 2017. Inohara revealed, "At the time, (Watase's brother) Watari Tetsuya and Watase would exchange their impressions of the first episode. One time, Watase told me, 'My brother told me you're a good young man.' That really touched my heart, and that was the moment I thought it was okay for me to be here."
Then, Haneda-san said with a smile, "I think he was especially fond of me! I was the only one (among the cast) who got a shoulder massage from Watase-san." Inohara-san reminisced, "Wow, he had a lot of strength (laughs)! I've never been so touched by him before or since. He was very kind. He watched all of my works."
When asked again during the question and answer session about his feelings for Watase, Inohara said, "He taught me so many things. I was filming when he passed away, and ever since I thought I would never see him again, I feel like I've become closer to him. It may sound strange, but I now feel like I'm closer to him. I really have the feeling that he's there somewhere."
