According to the 28th March issue of "Shuukan Bunshun", FujiTV is faced with another last-minute loss of its drama lead following rumours that Oda Yuji who had been scheduled to appear in "Machigaware chatta Otoko" said no at the last minute. This time, it is Eguchi Yosuke who reportedly refused to appear in the latest installment of his hit series "Kyuumei Byouto 24 Ji" even though he and Matsushima Nanako are scheduled to be co-leads in the drama. Filming is supposed to begin in April and the drama due to be shown in July. However, Eguchi was said to have said "yes" initially but rejected the offer in mid February despite the fact that the first episode's script is ready and negotiations with sponsors are in progress. As it is impossible to cancel the production nor postpone it, it is said that Tokito Saburo will take over the lead role in the drama.
According to a weekly magazine's reporter, it appears that Eguchi's rejection was due to his agency packing his schedule too tightly. As his colleague Matsu Takako had recently left their agency to manage her career on her own, it was said that the agency had to make Eguchi and Eita work harder than before in order to maintain the income. Similar to Oda's case where he rejected the offer because of conflicts over production fees and his proposed ideas for the drama, Eguchi's case was also due to his own circumstances rather than uncontrollable issues. Being the lead would mean that there is added responsibility but in a lot of situations, even though the agency may say OK, the actor or actress is ultimately the one to make the decision so there are many examples like this where the actor or actress rejects the offer in the end even though it is accepted earlier.
Source: Cyzo Woman
It is alarming to hear that Kyuumei will be without its lead possibly because of a reason like overwork. Remember how Eguchi got into a traffic accident and had to cut down on filming for Kyuumei? And that the TV station cut the number of episodes and screened fillers in the middle of the season just to wait for Eguchi to return to work? I'm sure this series means a lot to both sides and Eguchi wouldn't have thought of dropping it so easily unless there was a serious problem. I'm not too sure how true this report is but artists being worked to their fullest because of the loss of another profitable artist from the same agency is commonly heard of in the J-ent world. In fact, I think it's probably the same in any other countries. It's just that such issues don't tend to be brought up in the open for discussion, not at least for such big names. There was a similar issue in the K-ent world when an actress simply escaped from the filming mid-season and went overseas to protest over overwork. She had her reasons for doing that because the situation didn't improve after she kept talking to the people concerned but the backlash that came was really something to reckon with.
If Eguchi is indeed overworked (considering he just finished "dinner" on FujiTV and may have other film projects waiting at the sidelines thus cannot get any rest before Kyuumei's filming starts), I'm sure there will be people who understand his difficult situation. On the other hand, there will also be those who will be less forgiving of him to reject the offer at the last minute and what's more, to a series which has helped him built up his career over the years. Think of it this way, if Ito Hideaki rejects Umizaru for whatever reason one day (which is extremely unlikely because the problem now with Umizaru is that its author refuses to let FujiTV do another movie or drama), imagine the controversy and pressure he will have to bear with especially nasty comments like turning your back on your benefactor! Besides, I also pity Tokito Saburo (if he really has to take on the lead role, perhaps not as Shindo but another character) because he has big shoes to fit and will be blamed if the drama flops. He's a great actor but can surely do without such a blemish on his CV, really. And Matsushima Nanako who counts this series as a signature work too may be badly affected if her longtime partner really says no this time due to no fault of hers.
Let's hope that more news will come soon before the summer 2013 season so that we get a clear answer as to whether we'll see Shindo in Kyuumei again!
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