Japan’s most famous cartoon housewife is coming to life once again. As part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, Fuji TV has announced a live-action version of perennial favorite “Sazae-san.” The anime, based on the late Hasegawa Machiko’s manga, has aired on Sunday evenings for 40 years. Though its audience rating peaked at a massive 39.4% in 1979, the show has maintained solid numbers in the high teens or low 20s ever since. Taking on one of Japan’s best-loved roles is Mizuki Arisa (32), and done up with Sazae-san’s distinctive hairstyle she certainly looks the part. “It’s an honor for me,” she said. “We’ve been discussing it for several years, so I think I’m ready to play the part.” A Fuji producer said of the star, “She’s probably Japan’s No.1 comedy actress and, because she’s loved by audiences of all ages, she perfect as Sazae-san.” The role has been taken on by several actresses in the past – about once every decade – with the most recent being Asano Atsuko (48) in 1992-96. The first, on TBS and starring the late Eri Chiemi, was in 1965-67 and actually predates Fuji’s anime version. The new drama, which will air in the autumn, will follow the anime’s 3-story omnibus format, though it will run to two and a half hours.
• A couple of TV networks got their wrists slapped this week. NHK received a letter of complaint from the Osaka Bar Association about details of its drama series “Konkatsu, Rikatsu,” which aired in April-May. The show featured several scenes in which a notary public gave legal advice in a divorce case, though the profession is restricted solely to the preparation of legal documents.
Meanwhile, NTV became the first network to receive a formal criticism from the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization (BPO) since it was established in 2007. The BPO recommended that the network air a program to explain how falsified testimony became the basis for a report on the “Bankisha!” news show last November about alleged slush funds within the Gifu prefectural government. NTV issued an on-air apology several months later and the network chief resigned in March. The man who made the false statements was arrested and recently received a guilty court verdict.