On February 24th, Fuji TV's president Toyoda Ko mentioned at a regular press conference that they would be making some changes to the upcoming drama 'Kazoku no Uta', in which�Odagiri Joe will be starring in.

The network was forced to make arrangements to the plot after they were hit with plagiarism accusations. It seems that there are too many similarities between the upcoming project and the 1987 TBS drama 'Papa wa Newscaster', which was written by Ban Kazuhiko ('HUNTER', 'Deka Wanko', 'Nagareboshi'). It also was Ban himself who brought up the issue on twitter.

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In 'Kazoku no Uta', Odagiri plays a former rock star who has been fading into obscurity since the breakup of his band 13 years ago. He had been living a life full of alcohol, women, and some occasional fan events, when suddenly he finds out about the existence of his three daughters. The former rock star has no choice but to live with them, and must figure out a way to do so without anyone finding out about their father-daughter relationship.

'Papa wa Newscaster', starring Tamura Masakazu, portrays the life of an unmarried newscaster who lived a life full of alcohol and women 12 years ago. It isn't until later that he learns about the existence of his three daughters. He's forced to live with them without anyone finding out.

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Ban tweeted, "Can this really just be a coincidence?" "Protagonists who hold a secret is nothing uncommon, but hitting on women when they are drunk, suddenly learning about the existence of three daughters and forced to hide it all from the public? It's impossible not to see the similarities." He added, "If there is going to be a trial, please come to the hearing."

At first Fuji TV didn't seem to be bothered by the accusations at all, and emphasized, upon approaches by reporters, that it's an original script by Sakai Masaaki ('Zettai Reido', 'Tokyo DOGS', 'CHANGE'). However, they soon softened their tone and revealed that they were going to discuss the matter.

According to people from TBS, the producer of 'Papa wa Newscaster' and Fuji TV have been in direct contact to discuss the situation, and that Ban has received a personal explanation from Fuji TV.

With today's official statement by Fuji TV's president, they won't have to drag this conflict into court, but the production team of the drama now has to review the script and redo several scenes.

According to sources on the staff, the production team will have to deal with more than just a few parts within the script, and is currently at a loss about how to change them.

Additionally, it seems like that one or two of the child actresses, who were going to play the daughters, have also suddenly rejected the casting offer - forcing the team to find replacements fast.

It's not yet clear which parts of the story will be changed to erase some of the similarities.

'Kazoku no Uta' is scheduled to air on Fuji TV every Sunday at 9:00 p.m starting in April.

Sources: Sanspo, cyzo