"Drama Week" summarizes the main drama news of the week. This week (June 20-26), notable topics include Tamaki Shiratori, who gained high praise for her child acting roles in dramas such as "Nagi's Long Vacation" (2019) and "Theseus' Ship" (2020), taking on the role of a pregnant woman, and Shin Takuma, Ryo Fukawa, and Fuju Kamio playing the 12th to 14th shoguns of the Edo shogunate in the 2027 NHK Taiga drama " The Gyakuzoku no Bakushin ." This will be covered in two parts.
On June 20th, it was announced that the first episode of the drama series "Confession - The Secret of 25 Years -" (NTV, Saturdays at 9 PM), starring Hokuto Matsumura of "SixTONES," will air on July 11th. The main visual featuring Matsumura and the heroine, Sae Okazaki, was also released. The story follows Yukimura Sota (Matsumura), who works in the general affairs department of "Nose Cosmetics," and who has been secretly in love with Nose Mariko (Okazaki), the founder's granddaughter, for 25 years. Eventually, his feelings begin to change into something that could be interpreted as either "pure love or madness"... The released main visual is a striking design depicting Sota gazing at Mariko. As Sota's gaze suggests complex emotions, Mariko looks in a different direction.
On the 20th, it was revealed that all 10 episodes of the first season of the TBS Sunday drama "VIVANT," starring Masato Sakai, which will begin its sequel on July 26th, will be broadcast on TBS (Kanto local) for 10 consecutive nights starting June 27th. The final episode, airing on July 6th, will feature a scene used in the finale of the 2023 broadcast, which was not available for streaming and will be shown exclusively during this broadcast. It has also been revealed that the sequel will begin immediately after the scene in the previous season's finale where the "red bun" is once again placed in front of the protagonist, Yusuke Nogi (Sakai), and that extensive location shooting took place in Azerbaijan.
On the 21st, it was revealed that Shinya Kote and Phuong Chi, who played original members of the drama series, will appear in the third theatrical film in the popular "TOKYO MER: The Running Emergency Room" series, "TOKYO MER: The Running Emergency Room - CAPITAL CRISIS" (releasing August 21st), starring Ryohei Suzuki. Kote will play Jiro Fuyuki, an anesthesiologist who has supported the team as "Deputy Chief" since the establishment of MER, and Phuong Chi will play Hoang Lan Minh, a nurse from Vietnam. Both will appear as members of "Hakata MER" in this film. It was also announced that Atsushi Ito will appear. Ito appeared as Tatsuya Aoto, a bureaucrat with a medical license, in the 2023 special drama "Sumidagawa Mission." This time, he will appear as the second doctor of "Sendai MER."
On the 22nd, the 2014 NHK Taiga drama "Gunshi Kanbei," starring Junichi Okada, began streaming worldwide on Netflix. "Gunshi Kanbei" is the 53rd Taiga drama. It depicts the life of Kuroda Kanbei, who was hailed as a "genius military strategist" at the end of the Sengoku period, was highly valued by the three great figures of the time—Oda Nobunaga, Akira Terao Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu—and laid the foundation for the 520,000 koku Fukuoka domain in Kyushu. In addition to Okada, the cast includes Miki Nakatani, Akira Terao, Tori Matsuzaka , Tori Matsuzaka, Yosuke Eguchi, Tsurutaro Kataoka, Hitomi Kuroki, Naoto Takenaka, and Kyohei Shibata.
On the 23rd, new cast members were announced for the NHK Taiga drama " The Gyakuzoku no Bakushin ," starring Tori Matsuzaka, which will air in 2027. It was revealed that Shin Takuma will play Tokugawa Ieyoshi, the 12th shogun of the Edo shogunate, Ryo Fukawa will play Tokugawa Iesada, the 13th shogun, and Fuju Kamio will play Fuju Kamio, the 14th shogun. It was also announced that Takanori Iwata, a senior councilor, Kazuki Kitamura will play Kazuki Kitamura, the magistrate of Minami-machi, and Akira Emoto will play Tokugawa Nariaki, the 9th lord of the Mito domain. This will be the first Taiga drama appearance for Fukawa, Kamio, and Iwata. "The Gyakuzoku no Bakushin" centers on Oguri Tadamasa, a Oguri Kozukenosuke Tadamasa official who was said to be a rival of Katsu Kaishu.
On the 23rd, it was revealed that Tamaki Shiratori will play a pregnant woman in the NTV drama series "First Cry: Mother and Child Emergency Medical Team" (Wednesdays at 10pm), starring Manami Higa. Shiratori will appear in the first episode on July 8th, playing Megumi Shishido, a 17-year-old pregnant woman with no family who has not received prenatal care. After an unexpected pregnancy, she visits the NPO "HOME Ubugoe," headed by Misaki Hatori (Eri Tokunaga). After tests at St. Fiona Hospital, Mitsui (Higa) recommends hospitalization, but she has no money and no confidence in raising a child... This is the role she will play. The drama is a medical entertainment about obstetricians and gynecologists who protect new lives behind the scenes of a glamorous celebrity hospital.
On the 23rd, it was revealed that Rena Matsui will star in "Ao no Hana Utsuwa no Mori," which will air on NHK's "Night Drama" slot (NHK General, Monday-Thursday 10:45 PM) starting in the fall of 2026. In this live-action adaptation of Yuki Kodama's popular manga, Matsui will play the protagonist, Aoko Baba, who was born and raised in Hasami and works as a ceramic painter. The drama is a heartwarming adult love story that touches on the everyday life woven from the pottery making of Hasami Town, Nagasaki Prefecture.
