NHK Drama Special 2015 ~ 2030 Kanata no Kazoku

Official Website
www.nhk.or.jp/dsp/2030

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., 26 September 2015

Story
In Tokyo in the year 2030, 27-year-old Itakura Kakeru lives in a shared apartment. He is suddenly approached by Ogiwara Misae, his housemate three years his senior, about wanting his help to have a child. Kakeru has never even considered having a family before. But as he searches for an answer for Misae, he comes face to face with his parents, grandparents and younger sister who went their separate ways 15 years ago, and starts to consider what family is. And then, Kakeru gives more than a passing thought to the significance of being connected to someone.

Characters
Eita as Itakura Kakeru
“I feared getting hurt in my attempt to connect with someone in these 15 years. Do I really have family?” ~ His job is to plan and maintain robots, but the robots cannot sell and he is on the verge of being sacked. He is taken aback by his housemate Ogiwara Misae’s sudden request to help her to have a child. But as a result of this, he starts to face the family he had been avoiding up until now.

Renbutsu Misako as Itakura Emi
“Family holds no meaning. Interpersonal relationships should be rational. That’s how I lived. But … … ~ Itakura Kakeru’s younger sister. An elite who works for one of the world’s leading global corporations, but somewhere along the line, she gets a divorce and also resigns from the company. Returning to Japan, she gathers people who have been cut off from society at an abandoned school in the city centre and sets up an economic system in which they are able to provide for themselves.

Matsushige Yutaka as Itakura Toru
“A home is a family’s shared dream. As long as we have this home, everyone will come back someday even if the family has gone their separate ways …” ~ Itakura Kakeru’s father. He has developed many new towns as a real estate developer, but most have become ghost towns now. After leaving the family, he lives alone in a new town, and has been dreaming of his family and revitalising the district.

Kobayashi Satomi as Itakura Keiko
“I don’t think it is good to live bound by the family institution. But even if this is binding, wonderful families can exist.” ~ Itakura Kakeru’s mother. She left home because of her involvement in launching “Eternal City”, the ultimate neighbourhood for old people, and soon got a divorce. She has lived for her work running the city since then. But on the other hand, she regrets not being able to come face-to-face with the family.

Aibu Saki as Ogiwara Misae
“I like the diverse, casual socialising of shared housing. But I want children all the same. What about you?” ~ Itakura Kakeru’s housemate. She left Tokyo which has no teaching opportunities, and moved to a suburban town which has become popular as a haven for raising a family. But she only wants children to enjoy the benefits, and asks Kakeru for help. However, her feelings start to change over the course of actually living in the countryside.

Yamamoto Gaku as Itakura Katsuzo
“I believe in the family’s good future and worked untiringly. But even so, the family broke up and I have to work at this age. ~ Itakura Kakeru’s grandfather. He was allowed to move into the “Eternal City” through his daughter-in-law Keiko, and has been doing delivery work within the City in order to compensate for the lack of money. He seems to enjoy city life, but he has also been feeling vexed about the life he chose of being a worker until he dies.

Watanabe Misako as Itakura Satoko
“There is meaning in life in supporting my family. The family is where I belong. Where is the place where I can be myself now?” ~ Itakura Kakeru’s grandmother. She cannot work because she has a limp and has been enjoying a very good life in the City. One day, she is no longer able to tolerate the sense of discomfort that has welled up in her, and she leaves the City without telling anyone. The place she headed to was …

Scriptwriter
Inoue Yumiko (Hirugao, Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu, Pandora Series)

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