This spring, TV Asahi will broadcast a 5th series of “Shichinin no Onna Bengoshi.”

Like the last series, which aired in 2006, Shaku Yumiko plays the lead role among a group of seven female lawyers.

Yumiko Shaku 釈由美子 is a 28 year old gravure idol, actress and former singer from Saitama prefecture. During her time in college days, she was chosen as Young Magazine’s “Miss Campus Grand Prix” and made her gravure idol debut. She then began to appear on various television programs and dramas including Ikiru Tame no Jounetsu to Shite no Satsujin and Shurayuki-hime. She also co-hosted in NHK’s popular Monday night programme Eigo Shabera Naito (You Should Speak English) along with Patrick Harlan, Kazuya Matsumoto and Jon Kabira.

She’s most famous to overseas audiences for her role in the Godzilla movie Mega Godzilla, where she had extensive self-defense training and managed 300 sit-ups a day! She is a self described fan of anime and gaming and has played one of the characters in the 2003 Playstation 2 game Kidou Senshi Gundam Meguriai Uchuu. An action figure of Yumiko was made to promote the game and was sold in limited numbers through a mail-order form in the Gundam Ace, an official fan magazine.