Synopsis from asianmediawiki:
http://asianmediawiki.com/Mother_(NTV-2 ... ese_Drama)
Suzuhara Nao (Yasuko Matsuyuki) becomes a teacher at an elementary school.
She's in charge of of first-year students and doesn't have much passion for her
job. One of her young students named Reina becomes attached to her new teacher.
One day, Nao notices bruises on Reina and realizes that she is the victim of child abuse.
At first Nao doesn't say anything, but Nao notices more bruises with each passing day
and Reina's absences from school become more frequent. As a mother, Nao's maternal
instincts kicks in and she decides to take of Reina. Nao & Reina then takes a train from
their native Hokkaido to Tokyo ...
Another intro page about "Mother":
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Mother
Starring the adorable Mana Ashida!
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She's 5yo in the drama playing a 7yo, and
she's getting a lot of attention for her heart breaking portrayal
of Reina, with some calling her the Dakota Fanning of Japan!
Caps from the drama:
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Bio pages:
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ashida_Mana
http://asianmediawiki.com/Mana_Ashida
Here's a clip from a recent TV show showing her playing hide and seek. It's hilarious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=774Gd1TkkTE
The links, 11 episodes in all (hardcoded Chinese subs):
Thanks to the original poster!