The sixth episode of NHK's "Drama 10: The Uncertain Court of Themis" (General TV, Tuesdays at 10pm), starring actor Matsuyama Kenichi, aired on February 24th, with Saito Asuka making her full appearance as Yoshizawa Aki, the daughter of a former death row inmate. Her tearful performance during the statement scene at the retrial hearing attracted the attention of viewers.
"The Uncertain Courtroom of Themis" is based on a unique legal mystery by Sho Naoshima. It is a courtroom drama about a judge with a developmental disorder who struggles with his own unique characteristics while taking on complex cases.
The subtitle of episode 6 is "Request for Retrial." The "Maebashi Family Murder Case" involved the brutal murder of a family of four. After being arrested, Kazuma Akiba was sentenced to death and the death sentence was carried out.
25 years after the incident, Akiba's daughter, Yoshizawa Aki (Saito Asuka), claims her father's innocence and seeks a retrial with new evidence. Ando (Matsuyama) is conflicted about whether to allow the retrial to begin and whether he should be involved in the proceedings, and bitter memories that he had suppressed are brought back to his mind.
It turns out that this was due to an indelible past with Yuki (Ogi Shigemitsu), the prosecutor who had once sought the death penalty against Akiba.
Towards the end of the trial, Aki gives her statement at the hearing for the request for a retrial. After watching a videotape of herself and her father as a child, Aki says, "It all came back to me." She tearfully pleads, "I was definitely with my father when the incident happened. I was there. This time, when I requested a retrial for the second time, my family stopped me. But even so, I want to tell my newborn son about his father properly. Only I can prove it. My father didn't do it. He's not the culprit. I know that. Please present the evidence the prosecution has. That should prove my father's innocence. Please."
Viewers responded to the approximately six-minute statement scene, which included flashbacks to the past. Many comments were posted on social media, such as "I empathize... it brought me to tears," "Tears...," "Aki's tearful plea moved me," "Amazing," "Saito Asuka is good," "Saito Asuka's acting is amazing," "Asuka is amazing," "Asuka's 'I'm the only one who can prove it' really touched me," and "Asuka's acting as both daughter and mother was so good I was in tears."
