FRONTLINE Press Notes and Photo Gallery From Warner Bros. Japan

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. 2025 Frontline Production Committee

Source: Warner Bros. Pictures Japan, Pony Canyon

Official Site: https://wwws.warnerbros.co.jp/frontline/ (Japan)

Theatrical poster. Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. 2025 Frontline Production Committee

In February 2020, a luxury cruise ship carrying the new strain of the coronavirus arrives in Yokohama.

What should be protected on the front line, this country or the lives in front of us?

Warner Bros. Pictures Japan has provided information and photos for the upcoming film, FRONTLINE (フロントライン, Furontorain), based on the true story of a cruise ship that was quarantined for two weeks in February, 2020. The movie will open in Japanese cinemas nationwide on June 13th.

Intro

Shun Oguri x Tori Matsuzaka x Sosuke Ikematsu x Yosuke Kubozuka
A film adaptation of a true story about a frontline battle against an unknown virus

A new type of coronavirus was first confirmed in December 2019 in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, and caused a global epidemic (pandemic) in early 2020. While there have been several panic and suspense films in Japan and abroad in the past depicting the threat of an unknown virus and the spread of infection, this is the first film in Japan with an original screenplay that tells a fact-based story of a new type of coronavirus experienced by humans on a global scale.

The story takes place on the Diamond Princess, a luxury cruise ship that arrived at the port of Yokohama on February 3, 2020, and subsequently experienced Japan's first outbreak of the new coronavirus. There were 3,711 passengers and crew members from 56 countries abaord. Medical examinations and the collection of specimens from symptomatic persons after the ship arrived in Yokohama confirmed 10 cases of infection, and for the first time Japan was faced with an unknown virus for which there was no known cure. Under these circumstances, the people who rushed to the “front lines” were doctors and nurses who left behind their families and the safety of their everyday routines to give top priority to saving lives.

At the time, there was no organization in Japan specializing in large-scale virus response, and DMAT, a volunteer medical organization specializing in disaster medical care, was called in to respond to the situation. DMAT is an abbreviation for “Disaster Medical Assistance Team,” a professionally trained medical team composed of doctors, nurses, and medical clerical staff that can be on the scene of a large-scale disaster or accident within approximately 48 hours or less. Although specialists in disaster response such as earthquakes and floods, these doctors and nurses had no experience or training to deal with unknown viruses.

This superb human drama features the strongest cast of the Reiwa era. The DMAT commander, Hideharu Yuki, is played by Shun Oguri (CROWS ZERO, LUPIN THE THIRD). Tori Matsuzaka (SAMURAI SENTAI SHINKENGER, SNOWFLOWERS: SEEDS OF HOPE) plays Nobutaka Tatematsu, an official dispatched by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, clashes with Yuki at the task force. Sosuke Ikematsu (DEATH NOTE: LIGHT UP THE NEW WORLD) plays Haruto Sanada, a DMAT member who rushes to Yokohama leaving his family behind in his hometown of Gifu. And Yosuke Kubozuka (ICHI, SIN CLOCK) plays Dr. Yukiyoshi Sendo, who worked with Yuki during the Great East Japan Earthquake response and has a history of being a “comrade-in-arms."

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. 2025 Frontline Production Committee

Story

In February 2020, a luxury cruise ship with 3,711 passengers and crew arrived at the port of Yokohama. One passenger who disembarked in Hong Kong had been confirmed to be infected with a new type of coronavirus, and the infection had already spread on board, with over 100 passengers complaining of symptoms.

A request was made for the dispatch of DMAT,. The response was led by Hideharu Yuki, who was in charge of the DMAT, and Nobutaka Tatematsu, an official from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. On board the ship are Yukiyoshi Sendo, a doctor who is an old acquaintance of Yuki's, and Haruto Sanada, a DMAT member.

They were on the “frontline” of the disaster, which had never been reported in the media before. They risked their own lives against an unknown virus with no known cure, but none of them gave up and continued to fight until all the passengers were able to disembark from the ship.

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. 2025 Frontline Production Committee

Details

Release Date: Friday, June 13, 2025 (Japan)

Cast
Hideharu Yuki: Shun Oguri
Nobutaka Tatematsu: Tori Matsuzaka
Haruto Sanada: Sousuke Ikematsu
Yukiyoshi Sendo: Yosuke Kubozuka

Staff
Director: Kosai Sekine
Screenplay: Jun Masumoto

Cinematographer:
Producer: Jun Masumoto

Production: “Frontline” Production Committee
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures Japan

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures Japan. 2025 Frontline Production Committee