TV | CHANNEL SURF Oct 23, 2011

"Mito Komon' in Ise; Gunma promotional mystery; CM of the week: Benesse

Japan’s longest-running historical drama series, “Mito Komon” (TBS, Mon., 8 p.m.), about an itinerant nobleman wandering the country with his followers helping people in need, lands in Ise this week. They meet a woman named Otaki who sells merchandise on the street and seems ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Oct 16, 2011

Twentysomethings looking for love; modern day home drama; CM of the week: JRA

The girls get the coveted getsu-kyu (Monday, 9 p.m.) time slot on Fuji TV this season with “Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyu” (“The Reason I Can’t Find Love”), featuring three of Japan’s biggest under-30 female stars: actress Yuriko Yoshitaka, fashion model Karina and Yuko ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Oct 9, 2011

Early days of Ayako Koshino; miracle-worker maid; CM of the week: Japan Tobacco

Last Monday, NHK’s latest six-month asa-dora (morning drama series) started. “Carnation” (NHK-G, Mon.-Sat., 8:45 a.m.) is a fictionalized version of the early life of Ayako Koshino, one of Japan’s first Western-style fashion designers, who emerged during the Taisho Era (1912-26) and gave birth to ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Oct 2, 2011

Secret agent/housewife; 'Eru Parashio' on TV; CM of the week: Daihatsu

Model-actress Chiaki Kuriyama makes her first leading-role appearance in a TV drama series, as a housewife with a secret past in “Himitsu Chohoin Erika” (“Secret Intelligence Agent Erika”; Nippon TV, Thurs., 11:58 p.m.). Erika is married to a salaryman and is the mother of ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Sep 25, 2011

Single mothers konkatsu; origin of toy poodles; CM of the week: Sekisui Heim

Once upon a time, single mothers rarely talked about their situations. Obviously, that’s changed, if the TBS special “Unmei no Konkatsu Tabi” (“The Journey to a Fateful Union”; Mon., 7 p.m.) is any indication. A “documentary-variety” show, “Unmei” presents two single mothers trying to ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Sep 18, 2011

Sakana-kun in Tohoku; Sanma x Okamura; CM of the week: Sukiya

Although he’s now teaching and consulting for aquariums, the TV personality and fish expert Sakana-kun has not lost any of his bubbly, childlike demeanor. A marine otaku (obsessive) since he was a boy, Sakana-kun is basically self-taught, and much of his learning was acquired ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Sep 11, 2011

Insurance investigator crime drama; ping-pong prodigy; CM of the week: Yamasa

Insurance policies are classic plot devices in crime stories and at the center of the new seven-part drama series, “Last Money” (NHK-G, Tues., 10 p.m.). Hideaki Ito plays a corporate insurance investigator named Mukojima, whose job is to check life-insurance claims and ensure they’re ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Sep 4, 2011

Sakurai in "Kamisama no Karute"; Japan's smartest high school students; CM of the week: Takasu Clinic

Sho Sakurai of the idol group Arashi can currently be seen playing a physician in the theatrical film “Kamisama no Karute” (“God’s Medical Chart”) alongside Aoi Miyazaki. Both can also be seen in the ongoing TV commercial series for supplemental medical insurance provider Aflac, ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Aug 28, 2011

Earthquake prediction documentary; Mokomichi Hayami's cooking; CM of the week: Toshiba

Since March 11, the science of earthquake prediction has come under fire. Detractors say the methodology is too fraught with variables to make a difference. Resources would be better spent on preparedness. The man credited with making earthquake prediction seem viable was Akitsune Imamura, ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Aug 21, 2011

Japan's 'astonishing' islands; story of a motherless chimp; CM of the week: DoCoMo

Though the Nippon Television variety program “Kenmin Show” (“Prefectural Citizen Show”) has covered every regional peccadillo there is, the similarly themed occasional TBS series “Japan 47 Channels” attempts to discover towns and villages that have never been visited on TV. On this week’s two-hour ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Aug 14, 2011

Ken Watanabe and 9/11; 'Female District Prosector'; CM of the week: Monteroza

Ken Watanabe is one of the few Japanese actors who have been successful in Hollywood, and this week he hosts an NHK documentary, “Watanabe Ken: Amerika wo Yuku” (“Ken Watanabe Travels America”; NHK-G, Mon., 7:30 p.m.), about the upcoming 10th anniversary of the 9/11 ...

TV | CHANNEL SURF Aug 7, 2011

Kuwata on a comeback; wartime drama 'Saigo no Kizuna'; CM of the week: ST Corporation

Keisuke Kuwata, the former leader of rock band the Southern All Stars, continues his recovery from cancer treatment with three successive appearances on “Music Station” (TV Asahi, Fri., 7 p.m.). This week it’s appearance number two. On each show he performs one song from ...