"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (May Getsuku to May 15th), notable news includes Sae Okazaki playing the love interest of the protagonist in "Confession - The Secret of 25 Years," starring Hokuto Matsumura of the popular group "SixTONES," and Tomoya Oku and Kazuto Mokudai co-starring in "You Are in the Summer," which starts on July 1st. This will be covered in two parts.
On May Getsuku, it was announced that Sae Okazaki will play Mariko Nose, the heroine who has been harboring a 25-year unrequited love for Hokuto Matsumura, the protagonist played by Matsumura, in the drama "Confession - The Secret of 25 Years -" (NTV, Saturdays at 9pm), starring Matsumura of the popular group "SixTONES." This will be their first collaboration since the 2019 drama "Perfect World" (Kansai TV). Okazaki commented, "Even back then, I saw how sincerely he approached his role, so I have the impression that he is straightforward and honest." She added, "I want to enjoy the story myself and portray it carefully and thoughtfully." The drama is a love suspense story depicting the space between love and obsession. The feelings that began to sprout after an encounter with a certain girl in his childhood never fade, and eventually transform into a form that could be interpreted as either "pure love or madness." Behind it all lies a gruesome incident and secret from 25 years ago.
On the 11th, it was announced that Ano will star in the new drama series "Watashi no Sōsatsu Nikki" (My Counteracting Diary), which will begin airing on June 5th (TV Tokyo, Fridays at 12:52 AM). This will be Ano's first time starring alone in a terrestrial television drama. "Watashi no Sōsatsu Nikki" is a four-episode original story written by the team behind "Kodoku no Gourmet." It depicts the daily life of Sakuraba Moe (Ano), the protagonist who lives freely every day after mastering a special technique called "My Own Counteracting Technique." Moe's motto is "Live happily in the present," and she deliberately avoids a steady job, indulging in excessive eating and drinking, partying at night, sleeping in late, and shopping sprees, enjoying each day without thinking about the consequences. After a certain event, she finds a way to overcome the obstacles in front of her by using "counteracting," which is in a sense an "excuse," and she plays a character who "doesn't have to try hard, but hasn't given up either."
On the 12th, it was announced that Tomoya Oku and Kazuto Mokudai will co-star in the drama series "Kimi wa Natsu no Naka" (TV Tokyo, Wednesdays at 12:30 AM), which will begin airing on July 1st. The drama will sweetly and refreshingly depict the summer romance of two high school boys who share a common hobby. The original work is a manga of the same name by Nagisa Furuya, who has produced many popular works in the BL (Boys' Love) genre. It was also selected as one of the "46 Recommended BL Manga & Rankings for 2026" by the staff of the e-book store "BOOKWALKER," who have carefully selected works mainly from women who read more than 100 BL manga a year. Oku will play Wataru Toda, a second-year high school student who loves movies and is an ordinary high school student like any other, with a slightly clumsy but straightforward personality. Mokudai will play Chiharu Saeki, also a second-year high school student who loves movies. He is the most popular guy in his grade, who makes everyone turn their heads, but he actually harbors certain "feelings" and "secrets from the past" regarding Wataru.
On the 12th, it was announced that Ryosuke Yamada of " Hey! Say! JUMP " will star in the Yomiuri TV/Nippon TV drama series "Ichijigen no Sashiki" (One-Dimensional Cutting), which will begin airing in July (Sundays at 10:30 PM). The drama is based on the novel of the same name by Ryunosuke Matsushita, which won the 2025 Bunko Grand Prix in Takarajimasha's "Kono Mystery ga Sugoi!" (This Mystery is Amazing!). Yamada will play Yu Nanase, a graduate student studying genetics. He cannot forget his stepsister, Shiyo, who went missing in a torrential downpour, and believes she is still alive. One day, his mentor, Professor Iwamizaki, asks him to perform DNA testing on a 200-year-old human skeleton excavated at Lake Rupukund in India, and he discovers that the DNA of the skeleton matches that of his missing stepsister, Shiyo, 100%. The story revolves around how DNA matches, the mysterious deaths of those involved, stolen human remains, and vanished memories of the past—all of these elements are connected by a single thread.
On the 12th, it was announced that Meru Nukumi will appear in the live-action adaptation of "Kenka Dokugaku," a popular Korean webtoon that originated on the web service "LINE Manga." Nukumi will play the heroine, Kaho Asamiya. "Kenka Dokugaku" is a popular work that boasts a cumulative total of approximately 2.28 billion views and has also been adapted into a TV anime. The story follows Kota Shimura, a high school student at the bottom of the school's social hierarchy, who decides to "livestream his fights"... He trains his fists by himself using a mysterious instructional video, and together with Aki Yashio, a mysterious high school girl who doesn't attend school, and Kanegon, a strategist aiming for the top of the school's social hierarchy, he takes on formidable opponents with just a smartphone. Ouji Suzuka plays Kota Shimura, and Ai Mikami plays Aki, and Arata Sugo plays Kanegon, among others. It will be exclusively streamed worldwide on Netflix starting June 11th.
