Haru to be the heroine for NHK's 2015 morning drama "Asa ga kita"

Haru was announced to be the heroine for NHK's 2015 morning drama in the second half of the year during a press conference on 12 March held in NHK Osaka. The drama titled "Asa ga kita" (Morning Comes) which will begin its run from 28 September, features Haru in the lead character Shiraoka Asa who is a sumo lover that comes from a merchant family in Kyoto and marries into a moneychanger family in Osaka. After that, she begins to dabble in various businesses and even sets up Japan's first women university.

Haru had gone for auditions for previous NHK dramas i.e. "Teppan" shown in 2010 and "Jun to Ai" in 2012 and "Ama-chan" (2013) but did not get the roles even though she was shortlisted in the final selection round. However, she did not want to give up and decided to try again the fourth time. Haru managed to win the role after multiple rounds of auditions involving 2,590 candidates. She commented that she hopes that this drama will be an opportunity for her to improve as an actress and vowed to work hard to play her character.

The cast lineup will be announced next month and filming which will begin in May, will be at places such as Osaka, Kyoto and Shiga Prefecture's Omihachiman.

Source: Sponichi