Daijiro Kawaoka

Daijiro Kawaoka (born March 14, 1978, in Osaka, Japan) is a Japanese actor. He made his film debut in Time Leap (1997) and has since built an extensive career in film, television, and theater. Kawaoka is known for appearances in films such as Summer Time Machine Blues (2005), Udon (2006), Gachi Boy (2008), and the Death Forest film series (2014–2016), in which he played Kazuki Uchida. His television credits include Beach Boys (1997), Emergency Room 24 Hours (2005), the NHK historical drama Ryomaden (2010), and Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger (2021–2022). In 2007, Kawaoka co-founded the theater group Sputnik with actor Takeshi Yoshioka. He later expanded into producing, and his short film Help!!, filmed largely in Nasushiobara, won the Grand Prix at the Sanuki Film Festival in 2018.