Conversation so far:
Who was the casting director for the film Departures?
Yōjirō Takita was the director.
Why was Yojiro Takita hired as the casting director?
Yojiro Takita took on the director's role in 2006, after producer Toshiaki Nakazawa presented him with the first draft of the script.
Who were some of the actors and actresses that were cast in Departures?
Motoki, by then in his early 40s and having built a reputation as a realist, was cast as Daigo. Veteran actor Tsutomu Yamazaki was selected for the role of Sasaki.
Who else was cast in the film Departures?
Although the character of Mika was planned as being the same age as Daigo, the role went to pop singer Ryōko Hirosue, who had acted in Takita's Himitsu in 1999.

Question: Anyone else?
Self-contained rewrite: Anyone else in the cast of the film Departures?