44th (2025) Kuniko Mukoda Award Nominees Decided! Winner to be Announced on April 21 (Tuesday)

The 3rd selection committee meeting for the 44th (2025) Kuniko Mukoda Award, presented to outstanding screenwriters and hosted by the Kuniko Mukoda Award Committee and Tokyo News Service Co., Ltd., was held on Monday, March 23. Mr. Kazunari Hirmoto, Mr. Mitsuhiko Fujiki, and Mr. Tsutomu Kuroiwa (in order of broadcast date) have been nominated. The winner will be decided and announced at the final selection on Tuesday, April 21.

The nominees for the 44th (2025) Kuniko Mukoda Award are as follows:

■ Mr. Kazunari Hirmoto

Work: "Sinanthrope"

Broadcast Date/Channel: October 6 - December 22, 2025 (TV Tokyo)

Director: Seita Yamagishi

Music: Fumitake Ezaki

Chief Producers: Erina Sobue, Daisuke Hiraga

Producers: Tomoki Maeda, Shuhei Harada, Maki Kobe, Yuya Takesako

Production Cooperation: Asmik Ace

Production: TV Tokyo, P.I.C.S.

Production Committee: "Sinanthrope" Production Committee

Cast: Koji Mizukami, Anna Yamada, Ryota Bando, Yuka Kageyama, Ayumu Mochizuki, Yui Narumi, Mamoru Hagiwara, Kan Takahashi, Shota Sometani, Yuya Endo, Afro, Omoi Morita, etc.

■ Mr. Mitsuhiko Fujiki

Work: Serial TV Novel "Bakebake"

Broadcast Date/Channel: September 29, 2025 - March 27, 2026 (NHK General)

Music: Kensuke Ushio

Executive Producer: Kuniomi Hashizume

Producers: Akihiro Tajima, Wataru Suzuki, Yoji Tanaka, Hideaki Kawano

Directors: Naoki Murahashi, Keishin Izuminami, Kazushi Matsuoka

Cast: Akari Takaishi, Tommy Bastow, Ryo Yoshizawa, Takashi Okabe, Chizuru Ikewaki, etc.

■ Mr. Tsutomu Kuroiwa

Work: Sunday Theater "Reboot"

Broadcast Date/Channel: January 18 - March 29, 2026 (TBS)

Music: Takashi Omama, Hideaki Kimura

Producer: Keigo Higashinaka

Co-Producer: Miwa Kofu

Directors: Toshio Tsuboi, Kenta Tanaka, Momo Motoi

Production: TBS

Cast: Ryohei Suzuki, Erika Toda, Ren Nagase (King & Prince), Ayu Makita, Daisuke Nakagawa, Ryoka Fujisawa, Yuki Yoda, Suzuka Ueno, Haru Fujita, Ko Yazaki, Akari Akase, Kenichi Matsuyama, Kayoko Noro, Takeyuki Tsukaji (Drunk Dragon), Atsuhiro Tsuda (Dian), Kie Fukiishi, Hideaki Ito, Danjuro Ichikawa (special appearance), Sayaka Yamaguchi, Tetsuhira Ikeda, Yoshihisa Sakou, Meisa Kuroki, Mieko Harada, Yukio Kitamura, etc.

The winner will be announced on Tuesday, April 21. This is the 44th Kuniko Mukoda Award, and many past winners are active screenwriters.

＜What is the Kuniko Mukoda Award?＞

The Kuniko Mukoda Award was established in 1982 to honor the achievements of the late Kuniko Mukoda, who created numerous television dramas as a screenwriter, and is presented to outstanding screenwriters who support the current television industry. It is hosted by Tokyo News Service, which publishes "TV Guide," and the selection is handled by the Kuniko Mukoda Award Selection Committee, composed of past winners. The committee selects nominated works from television dramas broadcast in the previous year. The award-winning work is decided after four discussions, including the final selection. The selection committee members are Sumio Omori (19th winner), Yoshikazu Okada (20th winner), Mika Omori (23rd winner), Yumiko Inoue (25th winner), and Yuji Sakamoto (26th winner). *In order of Kuniko Mukoda Award winning.