Production press conference of TV Asahi Spring 2017 afternoon drama "Yasuragi no Sato"

The production press conference of TV Asahi Spring 2017 afternoon drama "Yasuragi no Sato" was held at Happoen in Tokyo on 16 March which was attended by the scriptwriter Kuramoto Sou and cast members Ishizaka Koji, Asaoka Ruriko, Kaga Mariko, Yachigusa Kaoru, Satsuki Midori, Arima Ineko, Kusakari Tamiyo, Tokiwa Takako, Nadaka Tatsuo, Fuji Tatsuya, Fubuki Jun, Matsuoka Mayu, Yamamoto Kei and Mickey Curtis. Only Nogiwa Yoko was absent due to scheduling conflicts. The drama which is targeted at the senior generation and will last for 26 weeks, will begin its run from 3 April in the Mondays to Fridays 12.30pm timeslot.

The drama is set in an old folks' home named Yasuragi no Sato La Strada where only those who had worked in the TV entertainment industry such as actors, writers, musicians and artists are allowed to live at. Ishizaka plays Kikumura Sakae who used to be a popular scenario writer and lives among the stars of yesterday together at the old folks' home where the problems they face are presented in a humourous manner. At the entrance of the home, the residents display their photos in mourning wear as if they are at a funeral of a fellow actor.

Kuramoto said that in order to fight against the golden timeslot targeted at the younger generations, he suggested having this silver timeslot and hopes to create a silver revolution in the TV industry. As for the script, Kuramoto who is well-known for creating characters which are close to the actors' personalities and charms, said that he has known most of the cast for the long time so he knows a lot of their secrets and weak points which he has used to inject humour into the story. Ishizaka echoed this and said that he felt as his own weak points were being exposed in the drama but he had fun just going with the flow while acting.

Ishizaka and Asaoka who were married from 1971 until they got divorced in December 2000, revealed that they had not met for the past 16 years and not acted together for 31 years. As such, the first scene in the drama described their characters as not having met for 20 years which was strangely in sync with their real life situations. Coincidentally, Ishizaka's former live-in girlfriend Kaga also appears in the drama so in that opening scene when Ishizaka and Asaoka were hugging after their reunion, he could somehow feel Kaga's "piercing" glances shooting at them which made everyone laugh at this remark.

Meanwhile, Fuji who plays a quiet former actor specialising in gangster roles, "complained" that everything is fun while filming this drama except for having to memorise the lines. With regard to this, Ishizaka who has the most lines, said that he feels the pain most in the cast.

Sources: Nikkansports / Sanspo 1 / Sanspo 2 / Oricon