More than 400 Japanese companies have operations in Thailand, most of them manufacturers taking advantage of the country's lower wages and open trade agreement with China. However, these factories have come to a virtual standstill due to rising floodwaters.
TV Tokyo's business documentary series "Gaia no Yoake" ("The Dawn of Gaia," Tues., 10 p.m.) sent a news crew to Thailand before the flooding became serious and spread to the factory districts. The original purpose was to report on this huge manufacturing zone, but in the end the crew were able to witness the inundation of the area as it happened, and much of the footage they shot will be shown publicly for the first time.
Junichi Arai is considered one of the foremost fabric artists in the world. At 79 he continues to develop new textiles that combine metals, acrylic and plastic film with traditional materials that challenge the conventional concept of "cloth."