Saori Yoshida, the strongest female primate, tackles at high speed with a new style that makes her hair stand on end! Kenichi Matsuyama is impressed after visiting a student tournament: “I want to always work with sparkling eyes.” Lawson’s new TV commercial “Summer Happy Toku Festival” will begin airing nationwide on Sunday, July 28th! ~Making of & interview also released!~

The new TV commercial “Summer Happy Festival” starring Kenichi Matsuyama, O-rin, and former wrestler Saori Yoshida will begin airing nationwide on Sunday, July 28. In addition, ahead of the TV commercial broadcast, a behind-the-scenes video including interviews with the cast members will be released on Lawson’s official YouTube channel today, Thursday, July 25.

TV CM “Summer Happy Festival”

Making of & Interview


In the TV commercial, Matsuyama Kenichi and O-rin, wearing red and white happi coats and twisted headbands, and Yoshida Saori, wearing an apron for the second time, appear in front of a Lawson store, stomping along to catchy, rhythmic music. When O-rin tries to explain the Happy Toku Festival by saying, “If you buy a 350 yen rice ball,” Yoshida suddenly changes into a wrestling stance and says, “Ha!” His hair defies gravity, and energy is released from his entire body. Yoshida, wrapped in an aura, shouts, “Get some tea!” and tackles the giant tea at high speed. Matsuyama immediately performs a powerful Japanese drumming performance, shouting, “Great deal tackle!” Matsuyama then bangs on the Japanese drum, adding, “One more!”, and the children, cafe staff, rugby players, and even grandmothers on the street power up just like Yoshida, and tackle the giant tea. The program is packed with highlights, including happy and advantageous campaigns for the summer, which is a time of many outings and events. Matsuyama’s first attempt at Japanese drums and Yoshida’s new style with standing hair are also worth checking out.

When asked about highlights in an interview after the shoot, Yoshida said, “I want people to see my tackling, which is even more powerful than last time. Also, my hair has never stood up this much before, so I hope people will enjoy the new style of Yoshida Saori. A lot of people watched the last commercial and praised me, saying, ‘Your tackling is as you’d expect,’ so the response was tremendous. Tackling is my main job, so I was happy to receive praise.”

When asked about the moment that switches her on, Oorin revealed an unexpected habit, saying, “It’s the moment I pop a cracker. I’ve decided to pop one every morning and evening, and popping a cracker gives me energy to start the day. That’s why crackers are very important in my life. I do it in the same way as brushing my teeth or washing my face, so it’s an important part of my routine.” When asked what he would like to do next, Matsuyama said, “I want to improve my stamina so I don’t get fatigued in the summer. When I was on set with Sato Takeru before, he told me, ‘If you drink a little bit of water once every 10 minutes, you won’t catch a cold,’ so I tried to do that while on set, and sure enough, I didn’t catch a cold. It was winter at the time, but I feel that it is especially good to do it in the summer.” Oorin said, “I want to improve my slicing ability. I feel that there are a lot of slicing things in the summer, and for example, the ingredients on top of chilled Chinese noodles are all slicing. In order to avoid fatigue in the summer, I would like to improve my slicing ability and become someone who can eat meals properly. I like making snacks, so this summer I would like to slicing myoga ginger.”

Furthermore, when asked about his summer memories, Matsuyama revealed a memory from his youth, saying, “When I was a student, I used to do pole vaulting as part of my club activities during summer vacation.I even participated in the prefectural tournament, so it’s a memory from my youth.”He continued, “Just like Koshien, it’s now the time of year when junior high and high school students have tournaments, so I go to watch them, and I’m really moved by the look in everyone’s eyes and the atmosphere.I’m always inspired to face things as honestly as these kids and always work with sparkling eyes.”

■ TV Commercial Overview
Title: “Summer Happy Festival”
Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama, O-rin, Saori Yoshida
Broadcast start date: July 28, 2024 (Sunday)
URL:https://youtu.be/SdfdUlEKJJE

■TV Commercial Story
In front of a Lawson store, Matsuyama Kenichi and O-rin, wearing red and white happi coats and twisted headbands, and Yoshida Saori, wearing an apron, appeared, stomping along to catchy, rhythmic music. When O-rin tried to explain the Happy Toku Festival by saying, “If you buy a 350 yen rice ball,” Yoshida suddenly changed into a wrestling stance and said, “Ha!”. Her hair defies gravity, and energy is released from her entire body. Yoshida, wrapped in an aura, shouted, “Get some tea!” and tackled the giant tea at high speed. Matsuyama immediately performed a powerful Japanese drumming performance, shouting, “Great deal tackle!” Matsuyama then banged on the Japanese drum, shouting, “One more!” to liven things up, and children, cafe staff, rugby players, and even grandmothers in the city all powered up just like Yoshida, and tackled the giant tea. Ourin shouted the cute call, “Let’s all enjoy it together~♡”, and at the end, everyone made sure to enjoy the Happy Toku Festival together.

■Making of & Interviews
To coincide with the start of the TV commercial broadcast, a behind-the-scenes video including interviews with the three actors has been released on Lawson’s official YouTube channel. It is packed with the charms of the three actors that could not be contained in the main video, such as the filming process and behind-the-scenes stories.
URL:https://youtu.be/bdge3UnHZAg


Q: What are your thoughts now that filming the commercial is over? What are the highlights?

This was my first time playing the Japanese drums. When I was in elementary school, I played drums at local festivals with a long, flat drumstick, but this was my first time playing a Japanese drum with a thick drumstick. It made a really nice sound.


I was envious of Matsuyama-san playing the Japanese drums. The sound of the drums evokes the image of summer, and as a resident of Aomori Prefecture, I was happy to feel the festival begin with my whole body, starting from the soles of my feet.


I want everyone to see my tackle, which is even more powerful than last time. Also, my hair has never stood up like this before, so I hope everyone will enjoy the new look of Saori Yoshida. A lot of people watched the last commercial and praised me, saying things like, “That’s a great tackle, as expected,” and the response was great. Tackling is my main job, so I was happy to receive praise.

Q: Please tell us about the moment when your “switch was turned on.”

The clapperboard on set is what switches me on. When the clapperboard goes off, I immediately get into the mood, but recently we’ve been doing some sets where we don’t use clapperboards, so in those cases I don’t get into the mood and it feels like I’m filming with my body not fully awake. However, sometimes the clapperboard makes me get too fired up, so even on sets without clapperboards, I can relax and it can be surprisingly good. This time, Saori Yoshida’s switch is really on, so I’m looking forward to seeing how everyone reacts.


This is the moment when I pop a cracker. I have decided to pop a cracker every morning and evening, and popping a cracker gives me motivation to start the day.
When I get home, I ring it and it helps me switch gears and feel like I’ve finished the day on a happy note.
When I’m feeling down, I pop crackers to help me switch gears. So, crackers are very important in my life.
I do it in the same way as washing my face, so it’s an important part of my routine.


The moment I move my body, a switch naturally turns on. Because I used to do wrestling, a switch turns on when I step on the mat, and I naturally learned how to concentrate to avoid injury. Even after I retired, when I move my body in various sports, a switch naturally turns on, so I feel that my way of concentrating hasn’t changed. Now, I’m so into golf that I even practice my golf swing during filming, and a switch turns on and my concentration increases before I hit the driver.

Q: What would you like to improve about yourself?

I want to power up my stamina so I don’t get tired in the summer. When I concentrate, I forget to drink water. When I was on set with Takeru Sato, he told me, “If you drink a little water once every 10 minutes, you won’t catch a cold,” so I tried to do that while on set, and sure enough, I didn’t catch a cold. It was winter then, but I felt it was better to do it in the summer.


I want to improve my julienne skills. I feel like there are a lot of julienned things in the summer, for example the toppings on chilled Chinese noodles are also all julienned. In order to avoid summer fatigue, I want to improve my julienne skills and become someone who can eat properly when eating summer foods. I like making snacks, so this summer I want to julienne myoga ginger.


I want to improve the distance I can hit with my golf driver. Right now I can’t even hit the ball 200 yards, so I want to improve the distance so I can hit the ball over 200 yards.
(Interviewer: By the way, are there any moments that golf and wrestling have in common?)
The core is important, such as the stability of the lower body. People who I often compete with say to me, “Your core is amazing!”, so I’m really glad that I’m doing wrestling.

Q: What or what would you like to get right now?

I want another me. Recently, I’ve been studying because I don’t understand more and more things, but when I study, I get sleepy. Even if I try to study by reading a book, I get sleepy, and even if I read a script, I get a little sleepy after 5 minutes, so I want another me who doesn’t get sleepy.

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I think it will be very hot and uncomfortable this summer, so I want a storage unit. Something like a big freezer. I’d definitely like to have one at my grandma’s house in Aomori.
It is in the museum, and when I was a child, I wanted to go inside it.
(Mr. Matsuyama: It’s dangerous! There are locks and such, so if you accidentally enter and someone locks you in, it could be a big problem.)
So there is a risk! I take it back!


I want to get my best score in golf. My best score is 84, but it’s difficult to improve it. Golf is a mental sport, so the mentality is very important, so I want to strengthen my mentality. Mental control is a little different from wrestling, and being strong alone is not enough, so I want to have a well-balanced mentality that suits golf.

Q: Tell us about some memorable summer or summer vacation memories.

When I was a student, I did pole vaulting in a club during summer vacation. I participated in the prefectural tournament and it’s a memory from my youth. Just like Koshien, it’s now the time of year for junior high and high school tournaments, so I sometimes go to watch them, and I’m really moved by the look in everyone’s eyes and the atmosphere. I’m always inspired to face things as honestly as these kids and always work with sparkling eyes.


When summer vacation started, I practiced the Neputa music every day until the Neputa Festival, and spent my summer vacation immersed in the festival.
I was in charge of the commercial, and when I heard the sound of the Japanese drums in this commercial, I remembered that around summer vacation, I would hear the sounds of people practicing all over town.
When I remembered that I would be arriving, I felt a bit excited, or rather, my heart went “Woah!”


My summer vacation memories were all about wrestling, so I only have memories of wrestling camps and national championships. Even though it was summer vacation, we had practice at night, so I would go to draw lottery tickets for the festival in between practice, or go home in time to get to practice.


■Profile
・Kenichi Matsuyama
Born on March 5, 1985, in Aomori Prefecture.
In 2001, she won the grand prize at the “New Style Audition” and began working as a model.
He made his acting debut in 2002.
He made his breakthrough in 2006 with “Death Note”. After that, he starred in “Norwegian Wood” in 2010.
2012 Taiga drama “Taira no Kiyomori” 2016 “Saint’s Youth” 2021 “BLUE”
In 2022, she starred in “Kawapperi Mukoritta” and other films. She has received numerous awards, including the Japan Academy Prize and the Blue Ribbon Award.
He will appear in the 2023 January Taiga drama “What Will Ieyasu Do?” and the TBS drama series “I Should Have Said It a Million Times.”
In 2024, he will appear in the NHK Saturday drama “Goodbye Hospital.”
He is currently appearing in the NHK morning drama series “Tiger with Wings.”
The movie in which he stars, “Saint Young Men”, is scheduled to be released on December 20, 2024.

・Orin
Born in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture in 1998.
She entered Hirosaki Actors School in the third grade of elementary school, and joined Alps Otome in 2007 and its sister group Ringo Musume in 2013 as a 7th generation member, serving as leader until March 2022. She loves her hometown, Aomori Prefecture, and is passionate about her entertainment activities in order to revitalize the primary industry and local areas.

・ Saori Yoshida
Former Japanese women’s wrestling representative, 16-time world champion
Born on October 5, 1982. Originally from Mie Prefecture. Started wrestling at the age of three. In 2002, he won his first World Championship at his first appearance, going on to win 13 consecutive championships until the 2015 tournament. At the Olympics, he won three consecutive championships from the Athens Games in 2004 to the London Games in 2012. In 2012, he achieved 13 consecutive victories at the world championships, combining the Olympics and world championships, and was awarded the People’s Honor Award. Won a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016. He has won 16 consecutive world championships and 206 consecutive wins in individual matches. In January 2019, he announced his retirement after 33 years of active competition.
Currently, in addition to his work as a wrestling coach, he is active in a wide range of fields, including talk shows, events, and TV appearances.