Actor Seiyo Uchino appeared at a cast event for the drama "PJ ~Air Rescue Team~" (TV Asahi, Thursdays 9pm), which he stars in and which began airing that evening, in Tokyo on April 24th, along with the main cast.
Uchino, who plays the head instructor of the Self-Defense Forces' elite rescue training unit, said, "Filming began on the snowy mountains, and in temperatures of minus 7 or 8 degrees, I had to carry a 60kg person and walk through about one meter of fresh snow. It was a location that really tested my mental strength." About director Hirakawa Yuichiro, with whom he also worked on "JIN" (TBS), he said, "He's uncompromising and trustworthy, but he's a sadist (laughs)."
He and Kyoka Suzuki, who plays his wife, played a married couple in the NHK Asadora drama "Okaeri Mone" (2021), but in this work they play a divorced couple. Suzuki praised Uchino, saying, "Uchino always takes a stoic approach to his character development. I was wondering what kind of instructor he would be this time, but he was a very strict instructor. As an ex-wife, I think her ex-husband is cool. If I were 20 or 30 years younger, I'd like him to train me too." Uchino blushed and said, "Oh, really!" Those around her said, "Wait a minute, you're really embarrassed!"
Furthermore, when a staff member tipped him off, saying, "On the day Suzuki-san came, Uchino-san was in a very good mood," Uchino blushed and explained, "We are divorced, but it is an amicable divorce, so... I'm happy when he comes to visit." Yoshikawa Ai, who plays his daughter, further commented, "It was embarrassing to see you blushing (laughs)."
The drama depicts trainees aiming to become pararescue jumpers (PJs) of the Air Rescue Wing of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, an elite rescue unit known as the "last stronghold for saving lives," as they undergo rigorous training under the strict and unconventional head instructor, Seiji Usami (Uchino). The series will be produced and broadcast with the full cooperation of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
Also attending the event were Fuju Kamio, Anna Ishii, Kentaro Maeda, Aoto Watanabe, Ae! group's Kusuma Richard Keita, Atsuhiro Inukai, Maeda Oshiro, Hidekazu Mashima, and Hamada Gaku.
