ABS-CBN, NHK Japan tackle Filipino-Japanese sumo wrestler’s life

MANILA, Philippines – Japan holds a special place in the hearts of Filipinos.

It’s common to hear that Filipinos, especially women, go to Japan to work as entertainers and nurses. Some have sad stories, while others have triumphs to share. Such is the case of Maria Christine, a Filipina in Japan who is taking care of her two sons. One of them is Masunoyama Tomoharu, a famous Filipino-Japanese sumo wrestler.

Inspired by their story, ABS-CBN and NHK Japan worked together for their first-ever co-production featuring Masunoyama and his mother.

The production is based on the NHK’s program segment, Happy Surprise, which features different people who want to surprise a special person they care about. In this production, Masunoyama Tomoharu wants to express gratitude to his mother for all the hard work she has done to raise him and his brother. He gathers other sumo wrestlers to express their appreciation through a flash mob dance at the Sensoji temple in Asakusa.

The full episode is scheduled to air Sunday, May 25, on Rated K. Broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez travelled to Japan to document the story which will also be shown in Japan this month.

“When they showed me the tapes of Happy Surprise, [I thought] this is a really feel good segment. It’s very heart-warming and it really [pays] tribute, [expresses] thank you or appreciation to people who have done so much in your life. I said this is also a very Filipino sentiment that we have,” said ABS-CBN’s business unit head Linggit Tan.

“Happy Surprise has a very unique concept – that is to surprise someone special with a special flash mob. So this time, the Filipino mob living in Tokyo is the target,” said NHK’s senior manager Hiroshi Yamamoto.

“This is a special story for all moms in the Philippines and families in Japan and the Philippines,” Yamamoto added.

Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs head, said that the episode will also show the struggle of a single parent in the case of Maria Christine.

“We want to show the role of the mom as single parent and the rigorous training sumo wrestlers go through before they become who they are,” Reyes said.

Happy Surprise previously featured another Filipino nurse Ivy Beldad who passed the licensure exams in Japan. She is the first-ever foreigner and Filipino to be surprised in the program. Her life story is scheduled to air on Maalaala Mo Kaya soon. – Rappler.com