The FIFA World Cup is about to start, and the Japan national team will face the three teams in its group. Sports programs will analyze the team's chances against these rivals in athletic terms, but, as part of the Nihon Keizai Shimbun group, TV Tokyo will look at the matter from an economic angle.
This week's special edition of "Mirai Seiki Jipangu" ("Future Century Japan"; Mon., 10 p.m.) examines the economies of Greece, Colombia and Cote d'Ivoire. Greece, of course, is infamous for having sparked the euro crisis of several years ago. Colombia was also infamous as a major hub for the production of illicit drugs, centered on the Medellin drug trafficking cartel, but now it has become a vital South American economy. And Cote d'Ivoire has a special financial connection to Japan that most people don't know about.
People probably think a successful jockey is a rider who becomes one with his horse, but in actuality the most successful ones are those who interact as little as possible with their mounts, as explained on this week's installment of "Kokoro Yusabure" ("Shaking Hearts"; Nippon TV, June 14, 11 p.m.).