The theme of "Mirai Seiki Zipangu" ("Future Century Japan"; TV Tokyo, Mon., 10 p.m.) is Japan's role in the world, and the series has a subseries covering countries with a "pro-Japanese" slant that most Japanese "don't know about."
Number 7 in the series is about Hungary, whose distinction is that it has a lot of features similar to Japan, which go beyond the hardly remarkable fact that surnames in Hungary come before given names. Hungarians love their hot springs, and the show visits one of the world's largest outdoor baths, right in the middle of Budapest. Also, Hungarians have a custom of bowing, and elementary schools teach kids how to use a soroban (abacus). Also, Suzuki Motors was one of the first foreign companies to set up factories in Hungary after the end of Soviet control.
In the new drama series, "Konkatsu Keiji" ("Matchmaking Detective"; Nippon TV, Thurs., 11:59 p.m.), Ayumi Ito plays Yoneko Hanada, a police detective who works out of Tokyo's Ryogoku precinct. Hanada is good at her work, but having just turned 35 she's acutely aware of the clock ticking and is desperate to find a husband. The only trouble is, the guys she falls for all turn out to be criminals.