<figure id="attachment_476320" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2541px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-476320"><em><a href="#" data-ident_hash="4de4315b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/07/04506661cabc13641c5b4fb61afcc5d3.jpg" alt=""></a></em><figcaption id="caption-attachment-476320" class="wp-caption-text">Kento Matsumura of SixTONES, who stars in &#8220;Confession: The Secret of the 25th Year&#8221;</figcaption></figure>
<h2><span class="strongInContent"> 〈A little unsettling, yet somehow refreshingly summery〉</span></h2>
<p class="PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer" data-start="241" data-end="254">“Ow, ow, ow.”</p>
<p data-start="256" data-end="544">The man walking with a pained expression, clutching his shoulder, is Hokuto Matsumura (31) of SixTONES. In mid-July, filming for the currently airing drama &#8220;Confession: The Secret of the 25th Year&#8221; (Nippon TV) was taking place in a plaza in front of a station somewhere in Yokohama.</p>
<p data-start="546" data-end="847"><strong data-start="546" data-end="847">“Confession is an original romantic suspense drama written by Mako Watanabe (39), the screenwriter behind last April’s drama &#8216;Love Is Darkness&#8217; (Nippon TV). Matsumura plays the protagonist, Sota Yukimura, a man who has continued to love one woman for many years while secretly watching over her.</strong></p>
<p data-start="849" data-end="1162"><strong data-start="849" data-end="1141">“Sota appears to be a harmless, almost invisible type of man who can’t make eye contact when speaking to people. But driven entirely by his desire to protect the heroine, Mariko Nose (played by Sae Okazaki, 30), his obsessive, almost stalker-like behavior toward her gradually escalates.”</strong> — TV magazine writer</p>
<p data-start="1164" data-end="1432">On social media, the drama has received considerable praise, with comments such as <strong data-start="1247" data-end="1341">“It has this really good creepy vibe, and it reminds me once again how good his acting is”</strong> and <strong data-start="1346" data-end="1432">“The role is a perfect match for Matsumura’s image as a cool but introverted guy.”</strong></p>
<p data-start="1434" data-end="1915"><strong data-start="1434" data-end="1854">“Is Sota’s love and his actions genuine devotion, or are they madness? And when those feelings finally reach the person they’re intended for, will pure love arrive as pure love, or will it arrive transformed into madness? Or will it be perceived as madness from the very beginning? It’s a drama that feels slightly unsettling, yet somehow carries the refreshing atmosphere of summer, creating a fascinating balance.”</strong> — Matsumura, introducing the drama’s appeal on July 11, 2026</p>
<p data-start="1917" data-end="2094">Matsumura describes the drama this way on Nippon TV’s official website, and true to his words, there is something distinctly unsettling about the actions of Sota, his character.</p>
<p data-start="2096" data-end="2585">During the opening shoot described above, Matsumura filmed a scene in which he stood motionless in a park at night with a deeply troubled expression. He had the aura of the kind of handsome man who looks good no matter what he does, but in the next scene, he clutched his waist and shoulder, contorted his face in agony, spread his legs awkwardly, and suddenly took off running with all his might. Even that appearance somehow had an endearing quality to it—and was almost charmingly cool.</p>
<p data-start="2587" data-end="2977">In the &#8220;ViVi National Treasure Handsome Ranking: First Half of 2026,&#8221; announced on July 15, Matsumura was inducted into the Hall of Fame in all three major categories: NOW, NEXT, and ADULT. The appeal of this drama lies precisely in having such an exceptionally handsome star play a slightly strange protagonist. Even those who aren’t fans will be curious to see where the story goes.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Hokuto Matsumura clutching his lower back and shoulder, his face contorted in agony"></div>
<figure id="attachment_476321" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2541px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-476321"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="080b29e1"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/07/faa7d1e1470c977aab307d700afbb36c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-476321" class="wp-caption-text">Hokuto Matsumura walking with his legs spread wide while holding his lower back</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_476322" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2541px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-476322"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="09e313e2"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/07/8de93576c428e6b97f89ed3d3a72fe63.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-476322" class="wp-caption-text">Next, he clutches his shoulder and wears an expression of agony</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_476323" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1752px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-476323"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="a413c4b8"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/07/d8deb4009a64bbca4d42806017722e6f.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-476323" class="wp-caption-text">Matsumura Hokuto walking along Joyful Minowa Shopping Street during location filming in late July.</figcaption></figure>


 Kumatarō Arai

 We spotted Hokuto Matsumura of “SixTONES,” the lead actor in the currently airing drama *Confession: The Secret of the 25th Year*, on the set! Matsumura was acting out a scene where he was walking with a pained expression after injuring his lower back and shoulder—but even that looked cool.

Cool Even When He’s Clumsy! Hokuto Matsumura’s Scene-Stealing Performance Has Fans Hooked

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