TV Asahi's Thursday drama "Okome no Onna - National Tax Agency Document Investigation Division, Miscellaneous Tax Office" (Thursdays 9pm), starring Nanako Matsushima, will begin airing on January 8th. Set in the newly established "Complex National Tax Case Processing Office" (commonly known as "Zakkoku") of the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau Document Investigation Division (commonly known as "kome" because of the character for "rice" in the character for "fee"), which boasts high information gathering and investigation skills in tax investigations, the story follows skilled investigator Seiko Yoneda (played by Matsushima) as she works with a group of unique individuals to punish unscrupulous tax evaders. The first episode will be extended by six minutes.
The members of Zakkoku, led by Masako, will be played by Hayato Sano, Neru Nagahama, Katsumi Takahashi, and Mao Daichi. Also appearing in the film are Shigeyuki Totsugi as Zakkoku's superior, Yudai Chiba as the second generation of the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, and Akira Terao as Masako's father.
In the first episode, Masako, a skilled investigator at the rice company, manages to establish a new department called Zakkoku to handle tricky cases that are difficult to tackle. Aiming to eradicate unscrupulous tax evaders under the motto of "collecting correctly and using correctly," Masako brings together Yuka Tawara (played by Nagahama), who values work-life balance; Toyosaku Furumachi (played by Takahashi), whose only talent is good luck; and Masako's former boss, Sakuko Iijima (played by Daichi).
Masako is confident that they are part of the "elite unit," but the other three, aware that they are not on the front lines, wonder, "Why me?" Furthermore, Koichi Sasano (played by Sano), a career Finance Ministry employee who is treated like a nuisance within the bureau, also joins the team.
At her favorite izakaya, Masako is approached by a woman who is a huge fan of Yoko Kurebayashi (Ann Mika), who is known as the "Pension Venus" and is in high demand in the media. She says that Yoko holds seminars on how to properly use retirement funds, such as "You have to use all of your money, whether it's your pension or your savings!", and has gained overwhelming support from the elderly.
Sensing something fishy, Masako begins investigating the company Yoko represents, "Beni Smile," and infiltrates a seminar to find out the truth.
