Actor Hiroshi Abe has been chosen to star in a new Fuji TV drama series titled "Shiroi Haru" ("White Spring"). This is his first lead role in a drama since "Kekkon Dekinai Otoko" in 2006.

The show's theme is the love between a parent and child. Abe plays a man just released after a 10-year prison sentence. He encounters a young girl, who turns out to be his own daughter that he conceived with his ex-girlfriend just before he went to jail.

Abe's daughter will be played by 9-year-old actress Nozomi Ohashi. She recently got her break as a voice actress in Hayao Miyazaki's "Gake no Ue no Ponyo," for which she also sang the theme song with folk duo Fujioka Fujimaki. "Shiroi Haru" will be her first regular role in a TV series.

Other cast members include Yuriko Yoshitaka and Kenichi Endo. Broadcast begins on April 14 in Fuji TV's Tuesday 10:00pm time slot.