Sato Koichi to star in new TBS drama SP "LEADERS 2"

Sato Koichi will be starring in the upcoming TBS drama SP "LEADERS 2" which will be shown in March 2017 and is the sequel to the earlier SP "LEADERS" shown in 2014 set around WWII that described how the lead character Aichi Saichiro (Sato) spent much of his lifetime trying to develop domestically-produced cars. The original SP was produced with the full support of Toyota and the story was based on the company's history.

In the sequel, the focus of the story will be on how Aichi Jidosha tries to sell its domestically-produced cars to overseas markets. Aichi Saichiro will work with the people in the sales and production department who are at loggerheads but united in their goal to sell Japanese-made cars to the world. Appearing in the new SP for the first time include Uchino Seiyo who play Yamazaki Wataru, the manager of the first showroom under Aichi Jidosha and Yamazaki Tsutomu who plays Oshima Isokichi from Oshima Press Kogyo and the future chairman of Kyoaikai. Other co-stars include Yoshida Eisaku, Hagiwara Masato, Takahashi Kazuya, Hida Yasuhito, Enari Kazuki, Maeda Atsuko, Suda Kunihiro, Jinbo Satoshi, Yamaguchi Tomoko and Hashizume Isao who participated in the previous SP.

Filming begins in the middle of December.

Sources: Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Sponichi / Eiga.com