WOWOW announces measures to prevent overworking by child actors

WOWOW announced via its corporate website on 28 April that it has come up with measures to deal with the issue of overworking by child actors. The issue first came to light through a report by "Bunshun Online" on 1 March about alleged violations of labour laws involving children on the set of the drama "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan" during the filming in January this year. According to the article, the incident happened at the Toei Tokyo Filming Studio in Nerima Ward, Tokyo on 21 January and involved child actor Inagaki Kurumi who is 6 years old. On this day, Inagaki started work at 12 noon and the filming extended all the way to 5am the following day which meant that she was working for 17 hours. It was reported that the director Mishima Yukiko was dissatisfied with Inagaki's acting and made her redo the scene more than 10 times since 3am. Despite the fact that the producer Morii Akira was around as well, he did not stop the filming. Inagaki's mother who was with her that day, had to console her daughter who was crying. It was also alleged that Inagaki went through a similarly long day of filming on the previous day which lasted for 14 hours and ended at 2am. However, according to Japan's labour laws, children below the age of 13 are not allowed to work between 8pm and 5am. The revelation of the violation led to the drama being taken off the broadcast schedule indefinitely even though it was supposed to have been shown from May.

In WOWOW's statement, they apologised for the concern caused and damage to the trust placed in them by their viewers and related parties and admitted that the situation arose due to a lack of awareness and priority placed on safety and compliance issues. To prevent a repeat of the situation, they have specified clear conditions while producing their programmes i.e. ensure safety of the cast and staff, prevent excessive work hours, restrict child actors to work only between 5am and 8pm and not subject them to mental stress or uneasiness. On the side of ensuring compliance, the company also created guidelines and a training system for their staff so as to increase awareness and ensure that these measures are implemented going forward.

Source: Oricon

WOWOW drama "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan" taken off the broadcast schedule due to child labour law violation scandal

Following revelations of child labour law violations during the filming of upcoming WOWOW drama "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan" starring Kuroshima Yuina, it has been decided that the drama will be taken off the broadcast schedule for the time being. The drama which consists of 5 episodes, was scheduled to be shown from May this year.

The decision was announced by Tanaka Akira, the president of WOWOW who attended the 10th WOWOW Scenario Award on 10 March. He commented that in view of what has happened, it was important to make improvements first to their production process and relook at their production guidelines so as to reinforce their original dramas' social role and existence value more than ever before.

It was also revealed that during the review of their production processes, another drama also had a similar situation. During the filming of upcoming drama "Hokuto - Aru Satsujinsha no Kaishin -" which is due to begin its run from 25 March, a male child actor who was 10 years old at that time, worked till almost 10pm due to delays in the filming schedule. However, "Hokuto" will go on air as planned.

Shuukan Bunshun published an article in its 2nd March issue alleging that WOWOW violated labour laws relating to minors on the set of its new drama "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan". According to the article, the incident happened at the Toei Tokyo Filming Studio in Nerima Ward, Tokyo on 21 January and involved child actor Inagaki Kurumi who is 6 years old. On this day, Inagaki started work at 12 noon and the filming extended all the way to 5am the following day which meant that she was working for 17 hours. It was reported that the director Mishima Yukiko was dissatisfied with Inagaki's acting and made her redo the scene more than 10 times since 3am. Despite the fact that the producer Morii Akira was around as well, he did not stop the filming. Inagaki's mother who was with her that day, had to console her daughter who was crying. It was also alleged that Inagaki went through a similarly long day of filming on the previous day which lasted for 14 hours and ended at 2am. However, according to Japan's labour laws, children below the age of 13 are not allowed to work between 8pm and 5am.

In response to the reports, WOWOW released a statement on its website where they admitted to the allegations and apologised to Inagaki and her guardians for what happened. In their statement, they confirmed that filming was conducted from 12 noon to 2am on 20 January and from 12 noon to 5am on 21 January. Including the waiting and nap time, Inagaki had to be on the set during these hours. Although they were aware of the labour laws relating to children, the extended filming hours was due to a delay in the filming schedule thus it was decided on the spot to continue filming beyond the designated hours. WOWOW also apologised to the viewers for betraying the trust they had in them and will take measures to regain everyone's trust and prevent this from happening again.

Sources: Sponichi Annex / Sanspo / Yomiuri Hochi / Oricon

WOWOW apologises for violation of labour law relating to minors on the set of new drama "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan"

Shuukan Bunshun has an article in its upcoming 2nd March issue alleging that WOWOW violated labour laws relating to minors on the set of its new drama "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan". According to the article, the incident happened at the Toei Tokyo Filming Studio in Nerima Ward, Tokyo on 21 January and involved child actor Inagaki Kurumi who is 6 years old. On this day, Inagaki started work at 12 noon and the filming extended all the way to 5am the following day which meant that she was working for 17 hours. It was reported that the director Mishima Yukiko was dissatisfied with Inagaki's acting and made her redo the scene more than 10 times since 3am. Despite the fact that the producer Morii Akira was around as well, he did not stop the filming. Inagaki's mother who was with her that day, had to console her daughter who was crying. It was also alleged that Inagaki went through a similarly long day of filming on the previous day which lasted for 14 hours and ended at 2am. However, according to Japan's labour laws, children below the age of 13 are not allowed to work between 8pm and 5am.

In response to the reports, WOWOW released a statement on its website where they admitted to the allegations and apologised to Inagaki and her guardians for what happened. In their statement, they confirmed that filming was conducted from 12 noon to 2am on 20 January and from 12 noon to 5am on 21 January. Including the waiting and nap time, Inagaki had to be on the set during these hours. Although they were aware of the labour laws relating to children, the extended filming hours was due to a delay in the filming schedule thus it was decided on the spot to continue filming beyond the designated hours. WOWOW also apologised to the viewers for betraying the trust they had in them and will take measures to regain everyone's trust and prevent this from happening again.

Inagaki's recent works include NHK morning drama "Toto Nee-chan", TBS Autumn 2016 drama "Suna no Tou" and movie "Shippu Rondo".

Sources: Bunshun Online / Sponichi Annex

Kuroshima Yuina to star in new WOWOW drama series "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan"

Kuroshima Yuina will be starring in the new WOWOW drama series "Tokyo Sumikko Gohan" (Tokyo Corner Meal) which will begin its run from May 2017 in the Saturdays 10pm timeslot. The human drama with a blend of delicious food, humour, tears and sadness is based on the same-titled novel by Narita Nariko and will be directed by Mishima Yukiko.

The story is set in a common kitchen named Sumikko Gohan at a suburban part of Tokyo where people facing various issues in their lives including a lonely senior high school girl who lost her parents when she was still a child, a housewife about to lose her family, a son from a bento shop who cannot confess to his parents about his true sexuality inclination, a boxer who escaped from his hometown and a female researcher who is eager to get married come to cook by drawing lots and eat together. Through their interaction with one another, they find the meaning to their lives while trying to resolve their own issues.

Kuroshima who plays the role of the senior high school girl Sawatari Kaede, commented that when she read the script, her first impression was how delicious food can bring smiles to people. Even though the people who gather at Sumikko Gohan have their own issues and lack self-confidence, she was touched by how they try to come to terms with their happiness and sadness. As such, she hopes to be able to present the two key themes of this drama i.e. how to convey your true thoughts to others and how to respect one another's dignity and is grateful for the chance to be able to participate in such a heartwarming drama. In addition, there are many cooking scenes in the drama featuring traditional cooking methods so this will be something worth checking out as well.

Sources: Nikkansports / Eiga.com / Oricon