Talento Takeshi Kitano (63) and screenwriter Sou Kuramoto (75) are teaming up for a TBS drama special that will air this August. Titled "Kikoku," the drama will star Kitano and feature a cast of big names, including Shun Oguri (27) and Maki Horikita (21).

"Kikoku" is based on the 1955 short story "Saipan Kara Kita Ressha," written by the late author Hiroshi Muneta. Kuramoto originally adapted it last year for a theatrical version, but he is writing a new script for the drama.

The fantasy story starts when a unscheduled train arrives at Tokyo Station, carrying the ghosts of a group of soldiers who died honorably during World War II and dropping them off in present-day Tokyo. Kitano plays one of the soldiers, a private first class, who visits his younger sister, but he becomes violent upon witnessing her current misery.

Oguri plays a former musician who was sent to war, leaving behind his girlfriend Yoko (played by Horikita). When he returns to see her, 60 years have already passed. Kaoru Yachigusa will play the older Yoko.

Other cast members include Takashi Tsukamoto, Osamu Mukai, Yoichi Nukumizu, Yuya Endo, Katsuhisa Namase, ARATA, and Koji Ishizaka. TBS plans to air the drama on August 14, the day before the anniversary of Japan's surrender.