On the 27th, actress Juri Uesaka attended the production announcement press conference for the Friday 9pm drama “Billion x School” (Fuji TV, starting July 5th), starring Ryosuke Yamada, along with other cast members including Yamada, Haruka Kinami, and Genta Matsuda, which was held in Tokyo.
This school comedy follows the protagonist, Kagami Rei, played by Yamada Ryosuke, who is the head of Japan’s largest conglomerate and a billionaire, as he conceals his identity and becomes a teacher at a school, facing various problems but growing alongside his students.
While Uesaka is an exclusive model for the magazine “Seventeen,” she is also active as an actress, having played the heroine in “The Menstrual Man and His Daughter” (NHK’s special drama series) and appearing in the seventh episode of “My Neighbor is a Nurse Aid” (January 2024 season/Nippon TV).
This will be her first appearance in a Fuji TV drama since the eighth episode of “Ichiban Suki na Hana” (October 2023 season/Fuji TV), and this will be her first regular role in a serial drama.
This time, Uesaka plays Himeka Umeno, a quiet girl who has difficulty expressing her own opinions. Because she was bullied in another class, she chooses to drop down to Class Zero to escape. However, even in Class Zero where she takes refuge, she becomes the target of Yukimi.
At the end of the press conference, Uesaka revealed that Mizuno Miki, who plays Toudou Makiko, the principal of Eto High School where Kagami is assigned, had a surprise birthday on June 28th, so she rushed over with the other members of Class Zero to celebrate with a cake.
We spoke to Uesaka after the press conference.
When asked how she felt when she found out she would be appearing in this series, Uesaka expressed her joy, saying, “I was so happy I couldn’t contain myself. One of my goals was to appear as a regular in a TV series, and since it was a school drama that I had always wanted to be in, I jumped for joy when I found out I would be appearing.”
Uesaka continued, “Since filming began, every day has been so intense and I’ve been trying my best to keep up with everyone. But in return, I’ve been able to absorb so much!” with a look of satisfaction on her face.
“Billion x School” will begin airing on July 5th.
▼Program Overview
Title: “Billion x School”
Broadcast date and time: Starts July 5th (Friday) Every Friday from 9pm to 9:58pm *First episode extended by 15 minutes
Cast: Ryosuke Yamada, Haruka Kinami, Rintaro Mizusawa, Yuki Yamashita,
Yu Kashiwagi (Bullet Train), Juri Uesaka, Miki Mizuno, and others
Screenplay: Shota Warehime (“Undercover Investigator Matsushita Kohei”, etc.) and others
Produced by: Matsuki Ebana (‘My Lawyer is Handy,’ ‘Crime Family,’ etc.)
《Direction》
Toichiro Ruto (‘My Lawyer is Handy,’ ‘G-Men,’ ‘The Way of the Househusband,’ ‘Ossan’s Love’ series, etc.)
Kazuhiro Nishioka (‘My Ex-Boyfriend’s Will’, ‘With Murderous Intent Towards My Dear Self’, etc.) and others
Production Cooperation:
Fine Entertainment
《Production copyright》
Fuji Television
【Official website】https://www.fujitv.co.jp/billion_t_school/
【Official X】@billion_t_sc
【Official Instagram】@fuji_kin9_7
[Official TikTok]@billion_t_sc
《Juri Uesaka SNS information》
・Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/juri_kosaka/
・X (formerly Twitter):https://twitter.com/juri_kosaka