Kyoko Koizumi reunites with Kiyoshi Kurosawa for TV mini-series "Shokuzai"

by Chris MaGee

About a month ago we reported on how filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa was returning to the director's chair for a TV adaptation of Kanae Minato's 2009 novel "Shokuzai". Now comes word of some casting for what is now reported as being a mini-series.

Heading up the cast of WOWOW's and Kurosawa's drama will be actress Kyoko Koizumi (above in a promotional image). In the drama Koizumi will portray a mother who seeks revenge on four students who witnessed the murder of her daughter 15-years before, but who were not able to identify the murderer. If this sounds more than a little like Tetsuya Nakashima's "Confessions" you'd be right. Kanae Minato also wrote the book on which Nakashima's film was based.

"Shokuzai" isn't just a return for Kiyoshi Kurosawa. This project will reunite Kurosawa with Koizumi, who starred in his last film, 2008's "Tokyo Sonata". "Shokuzai is set to premiere on Japanese cable network WOWOW in January.