Riko Fukumoto (22) and eight others received the Best New Actor Award at the 46th Japan Academy Awards ceremony on March 10.
<figure id="attachment_302582" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-302582" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="2a89d70a"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2023/03/f3149434a9fb77df2268e30eb00de7a6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-302582" class="wp-caption-text"> Fukumoto was a presenter at the grand prize presentation of last year&#8217;s &#8220;Toho Cinderella&#8221; audition with the Kamishiraishi sisters, Minami Hamabe (22), and other popular actresses.</figcaption></figure>
 Fukumoto is a legitimate actress who won the grand prix at the &#8220;Toho Cinderella&#8221; audition that produced Masami Nagasawa (35) and sisters Mone Kamishiraishi (25) and Moka (23). She has also been used as a heroine in Johnny&#8217;s films, such as in the drama &#8220;Vanished First Love&#8221; (TV Asahi) and the film &#8220;Tonight, When This Love Vanishes from the World&#8221; in which she co-stars with Shunsuke Michieda (20) of &#8220;Naniwa Danshi&#8221; (Naniwa Boys).
 A producer at a key station points out that &#8220;it is a shortcut to a breakthrough for young actresses&#8221; if they can play opposite Johnny&#8217;s. &#8220;The core ratings (13-49) are very high,&#8221; he says.
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 The core ratings (ratings among men and women aged 13-49) are now firmly established. Johnny&#8217;s s actors, who have a strong following among young female viewers, are often in demand, even in the late-night slot. However, not a few Johnny&#8217;s actors are of medium height, so a purist actress like Fukumoto is better than a stylish actress with a model&#8217;s background.&#8221;
 Kyohei Takahashi, 23, of &#8220;Naniwa Danshi&#8221; fame, stars in the movie &#8220;Dani, Chigira-kun ga Amaida&#8221; (Even though Chigira-kun is too sweet), in which Meiku Hata is the heroine. Meiiku Hata (20), who is the heroine in the movie &#8220;Anda Chigira-kun ga Amaida&#8221; starring Kyohei Takahashi (23) of &#8220;Naniwa Dango&#8221; is also reputed as a &#8220;heroine who can play with Johnny&#8217;s.&#8221; &#8220;I have been playing as a child actor since I was one year old,&#8221; says Hata.
 Hata has been active as a child actor since she was one year old, but in a good way, she doesn&#8217;t give the impression of being a child actor. She also has a high level of professionalism. This professionalism is the key to performing with Johnny&#8217;s actors. There is little worry that a romantic relationship will develop as a result of co-starring, so they can be used with peace of mind,&#8221; said an advertising agency official.
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 Meanwhile, following Mugi Kadowaki (30) and Sairi Ito (28), Kotone Furukawa (26), who plays the role of Chiyo in the historical drama &#8220;Dousuru Ieyasu,&#8221; is about to be promoted from a by-product to a leading role.
 She is a member of the entertainment agency &#8220;Humanite,&#8221; which includes Kadowaki, Sakura Ando (37), and Yukino Kishii (31), who won the &#8220;Japan Academy Prize&#8221; for best leading actress. In the drama &#8220;Idol&#8221; (NHK), she proved that in addition to her singing and dancing abilities, she also has idol-like qualities; although she is in her mid-20s, she is into NHK, and I think there is a good chance that she will be cast as the heroine in the morning drama&#8221; (entertainment industry executive).
 With the popularity of &#8220;missed viewing,&#8221; &#8220;influence on social networking services is one of the deciding factors in casting,&#8221; revealed the ad agency official mentioned above.
 This is especially true for late-night productions, which attract many young viewers. Tsurushima Noa (21), who starred in the drama &#8220;Kimi wa me ni otosasai&#8221; (Mainichi Broadcasting System, etc.), based on a work of the same title serialized in the manga distribution service &#8220;Saikomi,&#8221; has approximately 380,000 followers on her Instagram account. She has more followers than the earlier Fukumoto and starring class members Nao (28) and Yuna Kuroshima (26), and is a heroine in &#8220;Masked Rider Zero One,&#8221; which has become a gateway to success for young actors.
 Perhaps because of her influence as an influencer, such as producing fashion brands, the role of the heroine in &#8220;You~&#8221; was decided by the station&#8217;s offer, not an audition. Neck was reported to have a love affair with Ryuga Sato (Ryuga), 20, of &#8220;Bishonen&#8221; in &#8217;20. Johnny&#8217;s has not given any nods, but it seems that the station has made a discovery and has eliminated him as a casting candidate for a Johnny&#8217;s film.
 Who will be the next to climb the ladder!
From theMarch31and April 7, 2023 issues of FRIDAY

 Kazuhiko Nakamura

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