Jun Matsumoto of Japanese pop group Arashi picked for NHK 2023 drama

Jun Matsumoto, a member of popular Japanese boy group Arashi, who took a hiatus after New Years’ Day, has been cast for the lead role in NHK’s one-year drama for 2023, the public broadcaster said. .

“Dosuru Ieyasu” (What to do, Ieyasu) about Tokugawa Ieyasu (1543-1616), the founder of the Tokugawa shogunate, will also mark the first time Matsumoto will star in the annual drama series of the “Taiga” (big river) period. of the NHK which started in 1963.

Jun Matsumoto (Kyodo)

“As I try to find a new adventure after temporarily disembarking from the ship called Arashi, there is no greater challenge” than playing the role of the protagonist in the period drama, said the former. 37-year-old music idol in a video posted Tuesday by the broadcaster, officially called Japan Broadcasting Corp.

With its screenplay written by Ryota Kosawa – winner of the Academy of Japan Film Prize for his work on the 2005 film “Always San-Chome no Yuhi” (Always: Sunset on Third Street) – the NHK drama will portray the life of the legendary historical figure from his childhood as a lonely and troubled boy known as Takechiyo.

It will be Taiga’s first drama in 40 years to feature Ieyasu as the only main character.

Depicting him as an energetic leader who resonates with the current generation, he will follow his journey as he accepts his fate as the head of a small state and strives to end Japan’s turbulent times during the Warring States Period. while receiving help from those around him.

Filming is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2022, with the first episode airing in January 2023.

Arashi, who made his debut in 1999 under the direction of the powerful Japanese entertainment agency Johnny & Associates Inc., was one of the most successful all-male idol groups in the country.

But they stunned their millions of fans when they announced in January 2019 that they were planning to stop performing together temporarily. While frontman Satoshi Ono has indefinitely retired from the limelight, the other four members continue their solo careers.