Nozomi Sasaki Films Drama with a Refreshing Smile Despite the Scorching Heat; Remains “Straightforward” Even Amid Her Husband’s Troubles

On a sweltering day with temperatures reaching 37 degrees, she placed a towel around her neck

In mid-July, with the sun beating down intensely from early morning, filming for the drama was underway at a park in Koto Ward, Tokyo.

A large number of crew members had gathered in one spot, holding up several black umbrellas for shade. Under the umbrellas, a few actors were rehearsing. Among them, Nozomi Sasaki (38) stood out with a particularly cool and composed expression.

“We’re filming the drama *Confession: The Secret of the 25th Year* (Nippon TV), which is currently airing.This love suspense drama explores the fine line between pure love and madness. Hokuto Matsumura (31) of ‘SixTONES’ plays the protagonist, Sota Yukimura, who has been pursuing the woman he’s been in love with for 25 years.The heroine, Mariko Nose, is played by Sae Okazaki (30), while Sasaki plays Izumi Takeda, Nose’s secretary and a single mother raising a 7-year-old daughter,” said a TV magazine writer.

Regarding Izumi’s character, Sasaki said,

“At first glance, she seems straightforward and down-to-earth, but I feel she’s actually a deeply compassionate woman who observes people closely. Because she’s right by Mariko’s side at work, she’s the one who notices changes the earliest.” (From “Oricon News,” published July 8)

Sasaki also exuded a refreshingly straightforward aura on set, just like her character. On the day of filming, the child actor playing her daughter and other cast members were present; during breaks, Sasaki chatted casually with them and the staff, always maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.In her personal life, Sasaki is a mother of two—a 7-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter. She seemed to have a natural knack for creating a comfortable atmosphere on set when working with child actors.

In late July, filming also took place at “Joyful Sannomaru Shopping Street” (Arakawa Ward), known as a mecca for drama location shoots, where Sasaki—wearing round black-rimmed glasses—was surrounded by a large crew.With the day’s high temperature reaching a sweltering 37 degrees, Sasaki had a towel draped around her neck and appeared a bit tired. Even so, she smiled at the staff during breaks and showed her concern for them.

Incidentally, around this same time, Sasaki’s husband, Ken Watanabe (53) of the comedy duo “Un-jash,” was in the midst of a controversy involving Ryo-chan (40) of the comedy duo “Onigoe Tomahawk” regarding Watanabe’s solo talk show.However, Watanabe was not at fault, and the matter was ultimately resolved when Ryo-chan apologized directly to Watanabe. Still, Sasaki seems to be constantly being dragged into her husband’s antics. Even so, in her recent social media updates, she made no mention of the controversy, instead posting photos of herself eating somen noodles with her family and baking cookies.Watanabe must have been saved once again by her straightforward strength.

With her natural, straightforward yet deeply compassionate personality, Sasaki’s future acting performances are definitely ones to watch.

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