Morikawa Aoi to star in new NHK BS Premium drama "Princess Maison"

Morikawa Aoi will be starring in the new NHK BS Premium drama "Princess Maison" which will be shown in the Tuesdays 11.15pm timeslot from 25 October. The drama which consists of 8 episodes, features Morikawa as a 26-year-old woman who earns JPY 2.5 million annually and aims to buy a high-rise apartment of her own. This will be Morikawa's first leading role in a NHK drama.

"Princess Maison" is based on the same-titled manga by Ikebe Aoi which is published on Shogakukan's free manga site "Yawaraka Spirits" and features Morikawa as the heroine Numagoe Sachi who aspires to live in a high-rise apartment in Tokyo and will go to visit the gallery of new high-rise apartments on her off-days. While surrounded by couples and families at the galleries, Sachi is serious about the viewings and asks in-depth questions to the staff who finds her mysterious. The drama will reveal why Sachi wants to buy her own apartment and is bent on getting a high-rise one in Tokyo.

In this era where the rate of single Japanese women in their 20s is more than 60 percent and the average marriage age for women is 29.2 years old, the percentage of single women in their twenties is a mere 12.7% as most women tend to do so at an average age of 36.8 years old. While working in an izakaya and with no plans to get married, Sachi wants to get her own home which is reflective of the current trend.

Morikawa commented that when she was asked what is the biggest thing she must face up to, she cited a house since she is living alone and that's the most important thing which will support her. In addition, as buying a house is usually the biggest purchase in a person's life, she hopes to be able to learn how to live with other people around her and form meaningful connections with them rather than just pick up knowledge on how to buy a house through the filming of this drama.

Sources: Sponichi / My Navi / Oricon