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| Created on May 15, 2011 Updated on January 5,2012 |
| Yakusho Koji portrays WWII naval commander Yamamoto Isoroku
Posted on May 14, 2011 by tokyograph Yakusho Koji (55) is set to star in a film called gRengo Kantai Shirei Chokan: Yamamoto Isoroku,h directed by Narushima Izuru. He will play the part of Yamamoto Isoroku, who was the commander-in-chief of Japanfs Combined Fleet during the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. The movie is a 1 billion yen project that has been in the works for the past four years. It promises to show a side of Yamamoto that has not been publicly known before, and the production staff declared that it wants to present an image of gwhat a Japanese leader should be.h Born in 1884, Yamamoto grew up to become a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy in 1904, and he served during the Russo-Japanese War. He later studied at Harvard University, then was promoted to captain within the Japanese Navy in 1923. He continued to rise in the ranks, though he was personally opposed to many of the military actions taken by Japan before and during World War II. Although he was strongly reluctant to engage in war against the United States, Yamamoto was responsible for the planning of the preemptive attack on Pearl Harbor, which Japan hoped would be devastating enough to prevent the American naval forces from being able to interfere with Japanese operations in the Pacific. After his defeat at the Battle of Midway, Yamamoto died in 1943 during a flight to the Solomon Islands when his aircraft was ambushed by American fighter planes. The movie appears to focus on portraying Yamamoto as one who loved peace, cherished his subordinates, and agonized after becoming commander-in-chief. The production team describes Yamamoto as someone who gthought about human life and the future of Japan, and who possessed decisiveness and a forward-looking international sensibility.h Because of Japanfs current plight due to the recent Tohoku earthquake and Fukushima nuclear crisis, the staff also hopes to somehow present the meaning of true leadership. According to a quote from someone involved in the project, Yakusho was the only actor ever considered for the role, and the movie would have been canceled if he turned it down. He was offered the part during the summer two years ago, and he accepted during the winter of last year. The battle scenes will make extensive use of CG and special effects. Filming starts in Tokyo on May 15, and will continue in various parts of Japan with cooperation from the Ministry of Defense. Toei plans to release the movie in theaters on December 23, 2011. Sources: Sankei Sports ________________________________________________ December 23,2011 "Rengo Kantai Shirei Chokan: Isoroku Yamamoto started showing today. Koji Yakusho and the main cast members greeted the audience from the stage at Marunouchi Toei movie theater in Ginza, Tokyo. Here is the photo gallery site. December 3 The official site has been updated and we can now see the full trailer. August 13 The official site for this film has bee updated and we can now see the teaser trailer and the making of the film. July 3 Here's a photography of some main cast members for this film. You can see another image of Koji Yakusho as Isoroku Yamamoto. June 15, 2011 The other cast members have just been annpunced. They are Hiroshi Tamaki, Teruyuki Kagawa, Asaka Seto, Reina Tanaka, Toru Masuoka, and Yoshihiko Hakamada. (Source: Sports Hochi ) Tokyograph translated the above news: "Tamaki Hiroshi joins Yakusho Koji in Yamamoto Isoroku film Tamaki Hiroshi (31) will play a key role in the big-budget movie gRengo Kantai Shirei Chokan: Yamamoto Isoroku,h it has been revealed. The movie, which was announced in May, stars Yakusho Koji (55) as Yamamoto Isoroku, the commander-in-chief of Japanfs Combined Fleet during the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. Tamaki is taking on the part of Shindo, a reporter at a newspaper called the Tokyo Nippou. At the time of the war, newspapers held a huge amount of influence, and the prevailing opinion was to go to war against the United States. However, Shindo meets Yamamoto for an interview, and as he listens to Yamamotofs desire to avoid a war with the United States, he changes his own mind and becomes conflicted about his stance on the war. Kagawa Teruyuki (45) will play Shindofs boss at the Tokyo Nippou. Other reporters are being played by Masuoka Toru (54) and Hakamada Yoshihiko (37). Seto Asaka (34) will play the proprietress of a small restaurant that the reporters frequent, and Tanaka Lena (31) is a dancer who is another one of the restaurantfs regular customers. gRengo Kantai Shirei Chokan: Yamamoto Isorokuh opens in theaters on December 23, 2011." |
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| Rengo Kantai Shirei Chokan:Yamamoto Isoroku ADMIRAL YAMAMOTO: The Untold Story of the Pacific War |
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| Cast Koji Yakusho ... Yakusho Koji Hiroshi Abe ... Yamaguchi tamon Mitsugor? Band? ... Hori Akira Emoto ... Yoneuchi Yoshihiko Hakamada Mieko Harada ... Yamamoto's wife Masat? Ibu ... Nagano Shunji Igarashi Teruyuki Kagawa T?ru Masuoka Nobuko Miyamoto ... Yamamoto's mother Takeo Nakahara ... Nagumo Ikuji Nakamura ... Ugaki Asaka Seto Kippei Shiina ... Kuroshima |
| Koji Yakusho as Isoroku Yamamoto "Walker Plus" |
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| Hiroshi Tamaki
Rena Tanaka ... Dancer Tetsuo Yamashita Toshir? Yanagiba ... Inoue Eisaku Yoshida .................................................................. Director: Izuru Narushima Writers: Yasuo Hasegawa & Kenzaburo Iida Music: Taro Iwashiro Release date: December 23, 2011 |
| Press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (December 10, 2011) with Koji Yakusho, Izuru Narushima and producer Shohei Kotaki |