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May 06, 2024
 

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CHANNEL SURF

CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 12, 2014
"Bitter Blood" between father-son detectives; a Tokyo take on "The Long Goodbye"; CM of the week: JT
Japanese detective shows dwell on procedure and deduction, but the new Fuji TV series, "Bitter Blood" (Tues., 9 p.m.), adds an action component: If the preview trailers are any indication, Japanese police detectives get into a lot more fights than previously thought.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Apr 5, 2014
A 'black company' comedy and a stock market drama; CM of the week: Takarakuji
The new Fuji TV series, "Black President" (Tues., 10 p.m.), is not about Barack Obama. It's about a man named Mitamura (Ikki Sawamura), an entrepreneur who has turned his apparel company into a national success, mainly by oppressing his workers, which is why his enterprise is called a burakku kigyo (black company).
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 29, 2014
'Anne of Green Gables' translator's life dramatized; celeb sports feats; CM of the Week: Hotto Motto
L.M. Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" is the most popular young-adult novel in Japan, at least among girls. The original was published in Canada in 1908, and was translated into Japanese by Hanako Muraoka. NHK's new morning drama, "Hanako and Anne" (NHK-G, M-F, 8 a.m.; NHK Premium, M-F, 7:30 a.m.) traces Muraoka's life.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 22, 2014
Classic '90s police drama gets remake; Koki Mitani pens "Sherlock Holmes: Bizarre School" mini-series; CM of the Week: Boat Race Promotion Agency
TV Tokyo remakes one of the most famous TV dramas of the '90s, "Keiji" ("Detective"; Wed., 9 p.m.), which originally ran on NHK and starred Ken Takakura. This new version has Katsunori Takahashi in the titular role of Minoru Akiniwa, who works for the No. 1 Investigative Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 14, 2014
A single mother's 'big family'; profile of Toyota's founder; CM of the week: Hyoketsu Strong
Each of the major networks have at least one "big family" they follow in fly-on-the-wall fashion over a period of years to yield two specials per annum. With their reality-show veneer of the joys and sorrows of raising a lot of kids, these shows are guaranteed ratings monsters.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 8, 2014
Disaster survival tactics and a 3/11 baby; CM of the Week: Daiwa House
This week marks the third anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. On a practical level, TBS's two-hour special, "Shinsai chokugo: Seishi wo wakeru 72-jikan ni subeki koto" ("Right After the Disaster: 72 Hours Means the Difference Between Life and Death"; Mon., 9 p.m.), offers advice on how to survive the kind of calamity that happened March 11, 2011.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Mar 1, 2014
Women doctors profiled and advances in medical tech revealed; CM of the week: Nissan
It's a big week for physicians on television. First there's the two-hour special "Uman Dokuta, Mitchaku" ("Close Coverage of Women Doctors"; TV Tokyo, Mon., 7:54 p.m.), which reports on the activities of various female doctors working throughout the country. Japan has 300,000 doctors, 20 percent of which are women.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Feb 22, 2014
Father documents autistic son's schooling; Nikkatsu founder's story dramatized; CM of the week: Suntory
Until about 15 years ago, many children with developmental disabilities did not receive special attention, but now some 116,000 special education students throughout Japan attend classes in regular elementary schools, and the number is increasing every year.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 25, 2014
A double dose of Fumiyo Kohinata; arson attack survivor featured on "NHK Special"; CM of the week: Ajinomoto
Well-known character actor Fumiyo Kohinata not only gets a rare opportunity to star in a two-hour drama, but stars twice — playing twin brothers in the mystery "Twins: Saotome Kyodai no Suiri Nisshi" ("Twins: The Saotome Brothers' Deductive Diary"; TBS, Mon., 9 p.m.)
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 18, 2014
Child stars stud orphanage drama; new fantasy series features ninja vigilante; CM of the week: U-Can
An orphanage is the setting for the new Nippon TV drama series, "Ashita, Mama ga Inai" ("Tomorrow, Mama Will Be Gone"; Wed., 10 p.m.), which stars the two hottest child actors in Japan right now, Rio Suzuki and Mana Ashida.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 11, 2014
Lt. Fukuie returns; "Yoru no Sensei" drama features teacher challenge; CM of the week: Yomiuri Shimbun
"Columbo" remains one of the most beloved American TV series in Japan and has generated dozens of local copies. One is police Lt. Fukuie, the creation of mystery writer Takahiro Okura. Fukuie is a woman whose persistence tries the patience of not only her suspects, but her colleagues as well.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Jan 4, 2014
SMAP meets the "real" Lady Gaga; Tomoyo Harada branches out in "Kami no Tsuki"; CM of the week: La Vons
The five SMAP lads have saved their highest-profile guest of the year for last. This Monday, their weekly variety show "SMAP×SMAP" will feature not only Lady Gaga, but also her father, Joe Germanotta, who owns an Italian restaurant on Central Park in New York City. One of the regular segments of the show is Bistro SMAP, wherein the boys whip up culinary masterpieces for their guests. In this case they'll try their hand at a fusion of Italian and washoku (traditional Japanese cuisine). The publicity materials for the show promise a glimpse of the "real" Lady Gaga that the public has never seen before.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 28, 2013
Fujiko F. Fujio's 80th birthday anniversary celebrated with "Doraemon"; special installment of "Aibo"; CM of the week: SoftBank
In celebration of "Fujiko F. Fujio Seitan 80-shunenkan Kinen" ("The 80th Anniversary of the Birth of Fujiko F. Fujio"; Mon., 5:30 p.m.) TV Asahi is presenting a special program of three stories about the manga team's most famous creation, the robot cat Doraemon.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 21, 2013
Bob Woodward and Noam Chomsky discuss current U.S. administration; women's relay race near Fuji; CM of the week: Pizza-La
This week, NHK's "Asian Voices" series (BS-1, Mon., 1 p.m.) will present a special discussion of whether or not the United States' reputation as the world's defender of freedom and justice has been compromised by recent revelations of widespread government surveillance of citizens and the use of drones to prosecute its wars in the Middle East.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 14, 2013
A 3/11 drama with cast from Tohoku; robots of the future; CM of the week: Rabure
NHK's Sendai branch produced the drama "Katsuo" (NHK-G, Wed., 7:30 p.m.) as a tribute to the survivors of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. All of the actors are originally from the Tohoku area.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Dec 7, 2013
Special on "the father of the Showa idol"; advice for discouraged youth; CM of the week: Kyogetsu
Hideyoshi Aizawa, who died in May, is known as the "father of the Showa idol." As the founder and president of Sun Music, one of the most powerful talent agencies in Japanese show business, he basically invented the idea of the idol singer in the 1970s and '80s with the cultivation of people such as Junko Sakurada and Seiko Matsuda. He also steered the careers of non-idol superstars such as enka singer Harumi Miyako and actor-cum-politician Kensaku Morita. His influence reached into the '90s with the now-disgraced idol Noriko Sakai.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 30, 2013
Penny pinchers and post office patrons; CM of the week: Takarakuji
Last week on comedian Sanma Akashiya's Nippon TV talk show, TV personality Chiaki, whose family is rich, betrayed envy for her less fortunate colleagues when she complained, "Poor people always have lots of interesting stories."
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 23, 2013
Drama celebrates real-life hospital saving abandoned babies; an Olympic thriller; CM of the week: au
It's been six years since a hospital in Kumamoto Prefecture installed its "baby hatch," a compartment where women could anonymously abandon babies with no questions asked. So far 92 infants have been placed in the compartment, which continues to be controversial.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 16, 2013
Problem-solving shows for celebs and viewers; CM of the Week: Treasure Factory
On the problem-solving variety show "Kaiketsu! Nainai Answer" ("Solution! Ninety-nine Answers"; Nippon TV, Tues., 9 p.m.), comedy duo Ninety-nine and some celebrities offer advice to viewers who send in stories of personal tribulations. A studio audience of 50 women then ranks the solutions from best to worst.
CULTURE / TV & Streaming / CHANNEL SURF
Nov 11, 2013
Talk show on women's desires; documentary on Keiji Nakazawa; CM of the week: Canada Dry
NHK's interactive talk show by and for women is titled "Shaneru" (BS Premium, Mon. 11:15 p.m.), which is a double pun: first on the fashion house Chanel, and second on the neologism "sha-mēru" or "picture mail," since viewers are encouraged to send in their own digital-photo impressions of the topics being discussed.
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.
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.
'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.

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