The third episode of the Getsuku drama "Absolute Zero: Emergency Investigation of Information Crimes" (Fuji TV, Mondays at 9pm), starring Yasuko Sawaguchi, aired on October 20th. Riko Fukumoto, winner of the Grand Prix and Shueisha Award (Seventeen Award) at the 8th Toho Cinderella Audition held in 2016, made a surprise appearance, causing a stir among viewers.
◇The following contains spoilers
This fifth film in the series is set in the "Special Information Crime Unit" (commonly known as DICT), an investigative agency that pursues perpetrators of "information crimes" that abuse advanced information technology and threaten the lives and property of citizens, and confronts a variety of information crimes, including "special frauds" and "cyber terrorism," typified by anonymous, mobile crimes (commonly known as "tokuryu").
Fukumoto appeared as a passerby who passed by Nami (Sawaguchi), who was saddened by the closure of her dumpling shop, which had been in business for over 40 years, after it went bankrupt due to fraud. This was the first time Sawaguchi and Fukumoto had co-starred in a film since the NHK BS Premium period drama "Kokichi's Wife 2" (broadcast in 2021).
As Sawaguchi is also a Toho Cinderella Grand Prix winner, the event drew attention on social media with comments such as, "Toho Cinderellas co-starring!", "Sawaguchi Yasuko and Fukumoto Riko. They're Toho Cinderellas!", "Passersby...Fukumoto Riko, that's too luxurious," and "A co-starring performance by a senior and junior Toho Cinderella. I wonder if we'll see more of this in the future?"
