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May 06, 2024
 

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CHANNEL SURF

CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 16, 2015
Exterminators in rural Japan; a wealthy family at war; CM of the week: Panasonic
Few vital professionals are as unheralded as exterminators, and these fearless protectors of property get their due on "Nihon Zenkoku Kujo no Tatsujin VIII" ("All-Japan Expert Exterminators Part 8"; TV Tokyo, Sun., 7:54 p.m.)
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 9, 2015
Benevolent truck drivers; learning to a love a priest; CM of the week: Nisshinbo
"The Driver" (TV Asahi, Sun., 9 p.m.) is actually about two truck drivers. Joichiro (Seiyo Uchino) used to be a banker and still goes to work in a suit and tie. He is the more conscientious and diligent one. His partner, Kohei (Takashi Tsukamoto), is the opposite, more interested in where they'll eat for lunch than getting the job done. Their area of operations is the Kansai region, and one day after finishing a delivery they find a little girl sitting in their truck with an address on a piece of paper. They drive her to the address, but it has been vacant for a long time, so they take the girl to their office.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Oct 2, 2015
False marriages; the castles of Japan; CM of the week: Sumitomo Life Insurance
In the advertisements for the new drama series, "Giso no Fufu" ("A Fake Couple"; Nihon TV, Wed., 10 p.m.), the word "Giso" is printed as a correction to the word "Riso" (ideal), thus providing both a pun and a concept worth pondering.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 18, 2015
How Japan compares with America; real footage of kidnappings; CM of the week: Suntory
International travel shows are ratings winners on Japanese TV, even if they betray a provincial view of the world. "Sekai Itte Mitara: Honto wa Konna Toko Datta?" ("Try and See the World; Is It Really Like This?"; Fuji TV, Tues., 7 p.m.) is one of the most popular, but it's going off the air and the final show is a special that explores three big American cities: San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Sep 4, 2015
Female news announcers; evaluating trash and treasure; CM of the Week: Coca-Cola Japan
TV stations rely on announcers for more than just news reading. Female announcers, in particular, represent their stations and are often as well known as the celebrity talent they present. So once in a while the stations treat them like the celebrities they are.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 28, 2015
Bodyguard; Charlotte Kate Fox; CM of the Week: Universal Studios Japan
Hiroshi Tate plays "SP Yatsurugi Takashi" ("Secret Police Takashi Yatsurugi"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.), a member of the Metropolitan Police Department who is assigned to the security detail for the governor of Tokyo, Sawako Yoshimine (Hisako Manda), as she hosts a ceremony for guests from Singapore. During the event, Yatsurugi senses something wrong and shouts, "Get down!" as someone starts shooting, but it's too late. The governor's daughter is hit and dies.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 21, 2015
History of a health-obsessed shogun; soccer star beauty challenge; CM of the Week: Asahi Beer
Every Japanese schoolkid knows that Tokugawa Ieyasu was the first shogun of Japan and initiated the long, war-free Edo Period (1603-1868), but few know that he didn't rule from Edo (present-day Tokyo). He ostensibly handed rule of the country over to his son, Hidetada, only two years after establishing the shogunate and moving to Sunpu Castle in Suruga (present-day Shizuoka Prefecture).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 14, 2015
The shock of the old; boy band melodrama; CM of the Week: Kirin Beverage Co.
The shock of the old and abandoned is the theme of the late night "road movie" documentary series "Haikyo no Kyujitsu" ("Holiday in the Ruins"; TV Tokyo, Fri., 12:52 a.m.). Two teams of TV personalities — one in the United States and the other in Japan — explore man-made facilities that are no longer in use.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 7, 2015
Detective mystery in Tokyo; child soldiers of World War II; CM of the Week: Toyota
Actor Sho Aikawa used to be the king of straight-to-video movies. He's now all over the place, and stars as officer Ken Kobayashi in the occasional mystery series, "Setagaya Chuzai Keiji" ("Setagaya Police Substation Detective"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Aug 3, 2015
World Heritage site tourism; visualizing Hiroshima's bombing; CM of the Week: Mitsui Real Estate
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Hakubun Shimomura takes time away from dealing with the new national stadium to make a guest appearance on the travel program "So da, Dokka ni Ikko?" ("Well, Where Shall We Go?"; TV Tokyo, Tues., 6:57 p.m.). Shimomura is there to introduce 18 of the UNESCO World Heritage sites that happen to be in Japan.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 25, 2015
Housecleaner of the dead; ridiculous quizzes; CM of the Week: Family Mart
The housekeeper who cleans the homes of dead people, Aiko Tanizaki (Atsuko Takahata), returns in the special two-hour drama "Ihin Seirinin: Tanizaki Aiko 5" ("The Cleaning Lady of Things Left Behind: Aiko Tanizaki 5"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 22, 2015
Real-life cave man; pretending to live in old Japan; CM of the Week: Line Music
Based on a true story, "Dokutsu Ojisan" ("Cave Man"; BS Premium, Mon., 9 p.m.) dramatizes the life of Kazuma Kamura, who ran away from home when he was 13 to escape abusive parents and lived alone in a cave on a remote mountain for 43 years.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 10, 2015
New 1960s-style cop drama; veteran actors playing hard-boiled detectives; CM of the Week: Kewpie
The title of TV Asahi's new police drama, "Keiji Shichinin" ("Seven Detectives"; Thurs., 9 p.m.), is meant to strike a chord with older viewers who will remember "Shichinin no Keiji," one of the most popular series of the 1960s — a cop show that wasn't about action but real police work, and which tackled up-to-the-minute social topics.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jul 3, 2015
God of risk; strangers caring for strangers; CM of the Week: JA Bank
In a new drama, Shinichi Tsutsumi plays Satoshi Saigyoji, aka "Risuku no Kami-sama" ("The God of Risk"; Fuji TV, Wed., 10 p.m.), a legendary crisis management expert who learned his trade in the United States, where he was often hired by large corporations and government agencies. Now, Saigyoji has returned to his native Japan to take a post in the country's biggest trading company, Sunrise Busan.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 26, 2015
Countries with a pro-Japanese slant; the detective who loved criminals; CM of the Week: Asahi Beer
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."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 19, 2015
Actresses enter a parallel universe; three species of romance; CM of the Week: Big
The comedian-turned-scriptwriter Bakarhythm specializes in surreal "what if" situations. In the new drama "Kamoshirenai Joyutachi" ("Maybe Actresses"; Fuji TV, Tues., 10 p.m.) he focuses on three famous Japanese actresses and places them in a parallel universe where they didn't become famous.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 12, 2015
Women in jungles and deserts; George Clooney and super-fabulous people; CM of the Week: Daiwa Securities
This week's special two-hour "life with ups-and-downs" edition of the travel show "Sekai Naze Soko ni Nihonjin" ("Why Are Japanese People in That Part of the World?"; TV Tokyo, Mon., 9 p.m.) focuses on two women, one working in a tropical jungle, the other living in the desert.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jun 5, 2015
Analysis of a Japanese princess; the eternal struggle of the left-handed; CM of the Week: Uniqlo
Knowing about Japan's Imperial Family is considered very important, which is why the Broadcasting Ethics and Program Improvement Organization is recommending young people watch the two-hour special, "Nippon no Princess Monogatari" ("The Story of Japanese Princesses"; Fuji TV, Tues., 7 p.m.).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 22, 2015
Queen of Japanese media; king of singer-songwriters; CM of the Week: P&G
Queen of all Japanese media, Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, will celebrate the 10,000th installment of her long-running daily talk show, "Tetsuko no Heya" ("Tetsuko's Room"; TV Asahi, Wed., 12 noon), with two very special guests, Masahiko Kondo and Noriyuki Higashiyama, considered, respectively, the No. 1 and No. 2 "sons" of talent agency Johnny's and Associates.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
May 14, 2015
Tokio's "Dash Island"; David Atkinsonon craftsman; CM of the week: SoftBank
After the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the boy band Tokio had to abandon its farm project, Dash Village, because it fell within the area contaminated by the reactor accident. Since then the quintet has started a new project as part of its long-running show "Za Tetsuwan Dash" ("The Iron Arm Dash"; Nihon TV, Sun., 7 p.m.) called Dash Island. They've been working on building a residence and a small railway on an abandoned island in the Seto Inland Sea. This week they craft a bow and arrow set using materials found on the island and then try it out by recreating the famous Heian Era pastime of shooting arrows at a fixed target from a moving horse — except they don't have a horse so they shoot arrows from a moving hand car.
Japan says Biden's description of nation as xenophobic is 'unfortunate'
The National Diet building in Tokyo
As visitors surge, Japan seeks ways to make tourism eco-friendly
Much like other hot spots across Okinawa, Onna has diligently strived to captivate both domestic and international tourists, while at the same time grappling with the environmental strain induced by the influx of visitors.
G7 eyes plan on U.S.-led $50 billion aid package for Ukraine
A local resident visits the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday. The U.S. is in talks with close partners to lead a group of allies that would give as much as $50 billion in aid to Ukraine.
Japan drops to 70th in press freedom rankings
A businessman reads a newspaper outside a train station in Tokyo.
Kishida talks up bolstered Latin American ties as China cements position
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida holds a news conference in Sao Paulo on Saturday.
'Monster' Inoue ready to tear down Luis Nery in title defense at Tokyo Dome
Naoya Inoue (left) and Luis Nery following a pre-fight news conference in Yokohama on Saturday, two days ahead of their super bantamweight title fight.
Debate on constitutional revision at a standstill despite Kishida's pledges
With less than two months left before the conclusion of the current session of parliament, any possibility that Prime Minister Fumio Kishida can deliver constitutional reform before the end of his term as Liberal Democratic Party president in late September, as he has promised, appears remote.
Sapporo court ruling on Ainu fishing rights presents tough questions
A traditional Ainu preserved food called <i>satchep</i> (dried fish) being made at the government-run National Ainu Museum and Park, nicknamed Upopoy, in the town of Shiraoi, Hokkaido, on Dec. 25. The Sapporo District Court ruled last month that the Raporo Ainu Nation's rights as an Indigenous people did not extend to having an inherent right to fish for commercial reasons.
With eye on China, defense chiefs agree to bolster interoperability
From left: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Australian defense chief Richard Marles, Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara and Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro hold a joint news conference in Honolulu on Thursday.
Yellow sand allergy: A health issue made worse by climate change
A screenshot of the Meteorological Agency's satellite image of clouds and yellow sand (in pink) on Sunday.

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