<figure id="attachment_3014" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3014" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="6e765276"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2018/07/caaa460a48432b52332c884c229b1f2d.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3014" class="wp-caption-text">In the movie &#8220;Waiting for Nagi&#8221; (August 10, 2006), he gave a good performance as a man who falls into gambling and becomes corrupt.</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Starred in a Fuji drama series for the first time in 11 years</span></h3>
<p> On November 5, it was announced that former &#8220;SMAP&#8221; member Shingo Katori (47) will star in the Fuji TV drama series &#8220;The Worst Man in Japan: My Family Was a Fake&#8221; in the January season next year.</p>
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<p> The drama is an original work, in which Katori&#8217;s character, an unbelievably &#8220;lousy man&#8221; who hates his family and his children, is driven to the edge of his life and lives with his brother-in-law, a single father, and their children in order to become a politician and make a difference in society. The story is a bizarre tale of a man who becomes a politician and lives with his single father-in-law and their children in order to make a difference in society. This is Katori&#8217;s first starring role in a Fuji TV drama series in 11 years, since &#8220;SMOKING GUN ~Decisive Evidence~&#8221; aired in 2002.</p>
<p> Katori&#8217;s other Fuji TV program besides dramas was &#8220;SMAP x SMAP&#8221; (a.k.a. &#8220;SMASMA&#8221;), SMAP&#8217;s crown program, which reached its final episode in December of the same year following SMAP&#8217;s dissolution in 2004. After the program ended, his regular solo program &#8220;Ojamap! was broadcast after the program ended, but it ended in March 2006 after Katori left the former Johnny&#8217;s office (now STARTO ENTERTAINMENT) in September 2005.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> At the time of Mr. Katori&#8217;s departure from the former Johnny&#8217;s office, it was unlikely that a talent who had left the office would return to terrestrial broadcasting. However, times have changed, and Mr. Katori appeared as the first guest on the variety show &#8220;Matsumo to Nakai&#8221; (later retitled &#8220;Dareka to Nakai&#8221;) on April 30, &#8217;23, with MC Masahiro Nakai, 52, on the April 22, &#8217;17 broadcast of &#8220;SmaSTATION (TV Asahi) on April 22, &#8217;17. (TV Asahi), which aired on April 22, 2005, to the delight of SMAP fans.</span><span class="strongInContent"> Their collaboration attracted a lot of attention, and the 10.5% viewer rating for the first episode is still the highest in the program&#8217;s history. And now, Fuji has taken the opportunity to cast them in the lead roles in a drama series.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The Thursday night 10:00 p.m. broadcast slot is Fuji&#8217;s signature slot along with Geki 9, which has produced numerous masterpieces. In recent years, the focus has been on adult-oriented dramas that focus on male-female relationships, such as romance and adultery. Although &#8220;silent&#8221; was a hit in the October 2010 season, viewer ratings have been sluggish in recent years. It is likely that they decided to introduce a drama starring Ms. Katori as a confluent agent for viewer rating recovery.</span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" There was a foreshadowing in starring in a series of dramas."></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">More &#8220;SMAP collaborations&#8221; in the future?</span></h3>
<p> In fact, there was a foreshadowing about Katori&#8217;s appointment as the lead in a series of dramas this time. Katori played the lead role of a teacher in the omnibus short drama &#8220;I Can See&#8221; that aired on Fuji TV on August 17 this year. Katori played the lead role of a teacher.</p>
<p> Katori is known for his quirky characters like &#8220;Shingo Mama&#8221; (Shingo Mama). She played Son Goku in the drama &#8220;Saiyuki&#8221; (&#8220;Saiyuki&#8221;, Fuji TV, 2006) and Kankichi Ryotsu, a police sergeant, in &#8220;Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo&#8221; (&#8220;Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsujo&#8221;, TBS, 2009).</p>
<p> The focus of attention is on how Katori will play the role of a &#8220;lousy man&#8221; who seems to have a strong sense of humor, but &#8220;other expectations&#8221; are rising as well. One source says, &#8220;He is expected to play the role again in the drama&#8217;s promotional materials.</p>
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<p><span class="strongInContent"> There is a possibility that he will make another guest appearance on &#8220;Dareka to Nakai&#8221; as part of the drama&#8217;s promotional campaign. And, as has already been reported, his close ally Tsuyoshi Kusanagi (50) is likely to make a spot appearance. He will appear as Toru Washizu, a secretary to a member of the Diet, a role he played in the drama &#8220;Trap War&#8221; (&#8217;23, Fuji TV) in which he starred.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Goro Inagaki (50), who also played a storyteller in &#8220;Honsaku,&#8221; is said to be making a spot appearance as a &#8220;return favor.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Inagaki has recently been active on stage, in movies, and in NHK dramas, but has been absent from commercial TV dramas. It is quite possible that Inagaki will star in a commercial drama after appearing in a spot in Katori&#8217;s drama,&#8221; said an entertainment reporter.</span></p>
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<p> Katori, Kusanagi, Katori, and the other three members of &#8220;New Map&#8221; appeared on NTV&#8217;s &#8220;with MUSIC&#8221; broadcast on September 14, making their first appearance on a music program together in seven years. It is likely that the three members will appear together on a program or regular program on Fuji next year or later.</p>

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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Katori is very excited at the crank-up of a movie in which he plays the lead role."></div>
<figure id="attachment_3013" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3013" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="216476cc"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2018/07/8a18b6a668cca172104a32e12079db6b.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3013" class="wp-caption-text">Katori gives a toast at the launch party after the crank-up.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_3015" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3015" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a7f7d692"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2018/07/b128abd535dc157524cf2427d0cf9444.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3015" class="wp-caption-text"> After the toast, Katori was chatting with the director and staff members with an open and friendly expression on his face.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_3017" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3017" style="width: 1280px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ced6a03c"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2018/07/d4e17752ac3a52adaddc223e6d7c6f70.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3017" class="wp-caption-text"> Katori was smiling, a sharp contrast to the hard-hitting atmosphere during the shoot (undated photo from the August 10, 2006 issue).</figcaption></figure>


 Toshikatsu TANAKA

 It was announced that Shingo Katori will star in his first Fuji TV drama in 11 years. It has been reported that Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, also of "New Map," will make a spot in that drama, but there are also reports of even higher expectations.

Shingo Katori’s first Fuji drama in 11 years, “The Worst Man in Japan,” has raised expectations.

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