"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (March 14-20), the hot topics included Takako Matsu 's first appearance in an NHK Asadora , " Blossom, " in the second half of 2026, and Kokoro Terada playing a 19-year-old university student volunteer staff member in "Tatsuki-sensei wa Amasugiru!" which starts on April 11. This will be covered in two parts.
On March 18th, it was revealed that Natsuki Deguchi will appear in the Fuji TV Getsuku drama "Saba-can, Going to Space" (Mondays at 9pm), starring Takumi Kitamura , which will begin airing on April 13th. The drama is an original coming-of-age story based on the true story of students at a fisheries high school in Fukui Prefecture who challenge themselves to achieve their big dream of "developing space food." Deguchi will play Nami Sugawara, a high school student of the protagonist, rookie teacher Shunichi Asano (Kitamura). She is one of the first students to launch the "space food development" project. This will be the first time Deguchi and Kitamura have co-starred in a drama. Nami Sugawara is always cheerful and a leader in her class who clearly expresses her opinions. Nami's daily life begins to change after Asano says, "You won't know unless you try..."
On the 18th, new cast members were announced for the TV Asahi drama series "Borderless ~Wide Area Mobile Investigation Unit~" (Wednesdays at 9 PM, starting April 8th), starring Tao Tsuchiya and Shori Sato of "timelesz". Yuka, Eiji Yokota, and Kotaro Tanaka will be joining the cast. Yuka will play Mio Amao, another female detective in the mobile investigation unit, working alongside Momoko Nakazawa (Tsuchiya). She is intelligent, cool, and theoretical, a "big sister" type character who is looked up to as "big sister" by rookie detective Tsubomi Kizawa (Sato). Yokota will play Hanji Suguro, a cynical veteran detective, and Tanaka will play Hiroshi Shiratori, the driver and mechanic of the investigation headquarters vehicle.
On the 19th, it was announced that Fumino Kimura and GACKT will appear in the WOWOW drama series "Consultant - The Man Who Writes Death," starring Kentaro Ito. This will be the first time that Ito, Kimura, and GACKT have worked together. It will also be GACKT's first appearance in a WOWOW drama. It was also announced that GACKT will be performing the theme song for the series. The theme song is "FALL AGAIN," a new song written specifically for this series, his first in nine years. Kimura will play Saki Mizuhata, a manager dispatched by the mysterious organization "Company" to monitor Yo Izaki (Ito), an aspiring mystery novelist. GACKT will play Akifumi Kurokawa, a mysterious man who recognizes Izaki's talent as a novelist but uses that talent for the benefit of "Company" and continues to manipulate Izaki.
On the 19th, it was revealed that Takako Matsu will appear in " Blossom ," the NHK Asadora drama series for the second half of 2026, starring Shizuka Ishibashi . She will play Yuko Fujikawa, the secretary of the protagonist, Tama Hano (Ishibashi). This will be Matsu's first appearance in a Asadora. Yuko, played by Matsu, is a character who lives with Tama both professionally and personally, and continues to support her. Matsu commented, "I may be an incompetent secretary, but I want to be there for Tama, harboring a deep admiration for her life." "Blossom" is a story modeled after Chiyo Uno, a writer who lived through the Meiji, Taisho, and Showa eras and constantly sought freedom.
It was also announced that Mariko Kaga will be appearing in "Blossom." This will be Kaga's first appearance in a Asadora in 22 years, since "Tenka" in the first half of 2004. Kaga will play Tama Hano, a popular author who became famous in the 1980s after turning 80. She is a character who continues to write every day and is very active. Kaga commented, "26 years ago in the Asadora'Watashi no Aozora,' I played the heroine's mother, a character called Tama-chan. This time, I'm playing Tama Hano again." She added, "Tama Hano is also a woman with a strong personality, but my plan is to make her a charming Tama, a slightly absent-minded 85-year-old who might suddenly start skipping. I hope to be protected by the name Tama!"
On the 19th, it was announced that Kokoro Kokoro Terada Keita Machida , which will begin airing on April 11th. Terada, currently 17 years old, will play Soya Kaido, a 19-year-old university student volunteer staff member. The drama tells the story of Tatsuki Ukita (Machida), the overly sweet head of the free school "Yukanai," who uses art and play to connect with children and help them discover the feelings they have kept hidden deep inside. Soya, played by Terada, is the volunteer staff member closest in age to the children, and is like an older brother who blends in with them on an equal footing.
On the 19th, it was Miho Nakazono , the screenwriter for the 2025 first-half NHK Asadora drama "Anpan, " and Ikue Nagata, the screenwriter for the 2023 first-half drama "Ranman," have been appointed as Kochi Prefecture Tourism Ambassadors. Both " Anpan" and "Ranman" are set in Kochi. Nakazono commented, "Kochi is fun, the food is delicious, and I really love it. It's the birthplace of Takashi Yanase, so I feel like I've also received Yanase's mission, and I'll do my best." Nagata said, "I'm very grateful to Kochi. The people are warm, and the relationship between people and nature is just right. 'Ranman' is a work that I was able to create because I received so much energy from Kochi. I want to continue to convey the charm of Kochi."
