Asian Drama

Japan has a conviction rate of 99.9% for criminal cases that goes to trial. A lawyer is able to defeat those odds and obtain an acquittal for his client, even though there's conclusive evidence that says otherwise. Sometimes, due to minor things, good and evil can switch sides and good people can become bad people.

(Source: AsianWiki)

Episodes: 10

Duration: 54 min.

Aired On: Sunday

It tells the story of Hamaoka Taeko, a 52-year-old ordinary housewife who lives with her older husband and their son. She doesn't have any particular hobbies and has just been living her life while juggling child-rearing and part-time work. Despite working hard as a housewife and a part-time worker, she finds herself being looked down upon by her family, who tell her “You know nothing about society.” However, amidst this, she begins to feel as though someone is following her or watching her with strange, suspicious glances both at her workplace and in her daily life. The beginning of a startling change in her life...

(Source: FUJI TV)

At Seven Star Town, a high-class facility where Asako works as the head nurse, wealthy elderly people are elegantly living the last chapters of their lives. For Asako, who was living a humble life and taking care of her mother, it was a world far from herself. Satsuki, who works in Seven Star Town, also takes care of her parents who live with her, and her colleague Kuniko also has problems in the family over caring for her father. Asako has problems finding a facility for her mother. Both Satsuki and Kuniko face headwinds in their lives every day. Asako and her friends put into action a bold plan to break the status quo, and the drama of the people gathered in Seven Star Town begins to come alive. Will they be able to find paradise on earth?

(Source: Japanese = NHK)

Adapted from the novel "Warera ga Paradise" (我らがパラダイス) by Hayashi Mariko (林真理子).

Episodes: 10

Duration: 49 min.

Aired On: Sunday

N/A

Habu Seiichi is a member of the mysterious outlaw group Avalanche. The group exists at a time when moral hazards run rampant among politicians, bureaucrats, businesses and even among ordinary people.

An anonymous letter is delivered to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. The letter states that a criminal of a murder case will appear at the countdown party Masquerade Night that will be held at Hotel Cortesia Tokyo. Detective Kosuke Nitta (Takuya Kimura) must go undercover and work again at the Hotel Cortesia Tokyo. There, he meets Naomi Yamagishi (Masami Nagasawa), who works as a concierge. Without any information about the criminal, except that the person will be in attendance, Detective Kosuke Nitta works feverishly to find the criminal among the 500 attendees.

This special drama follows the lives of Mineko and her friends in 1970, 2 years after the ending of "Hiyokko."

Hayami Teruya is a dedicated salaryman who does a workman like job as the chief editor for a magazine. He has personal charm, get along with both the publisher and subordinates and runs the ship well. Chatting with his direct boss he picks up a certain vibe. Did he misunderstand that the magazine is doomed and will be terminated? If so, he is not going down without a fight. He will fight to make it through and keep his, and the others', jobs.

Shibusawa Eiichi was born in 1840 to a farmer’s family. He grew up helping his family with work, which was to manufacture and sell indigo production and also silk farming. He left his hometown at the age of 23 and began working for the government. He later traveled to Paris and learned about banking. Upon his return to Japan, he helped build up the first modern bank in Japan. He eventually became a founder or supporter to about 500 companies and was involved with about 600 public services, including education for women.

A university student has the usual dreams and aspirations. It turns out to be a pipe dream and so she murders her own flesh and blood. The usual media heads seek an answer in order to sell copy. A psychologist is writing a book about the character and incident. Her research for the subject matter turn the psychologist inward and things come out of the shadows that perhaps are better left buried deep in the shadows of the psyche.

Adapted from the novel "First Love" by Rio Shimamoto.

"Mothers in Love" follows the lives of three mothers, who have sons that attend the same school.

An Ishiwatari lived with her husband and son. Her husband worked at a travel agency and An Ishiwatari lived in comfort. Her life changed after her husband went missing. An Ishiwatari now raises her son alone and sends him to a prestigious high school.

Yuko Hayashi is a successful career woman. Her husband is an unpopular novelist and he takes care of their home. Their son is a high school student. Yuko Hayashi's family seems to run smoothly, but she worries about her son.

Mari Kanbara lives with her husband and they have 3 children (1 son and 2 daughters). Her son attends the same prestigious high school as the sons of An Ishiwatari and Yuko Hayashi and her husband works at a law firm. Mari Kanbara appears to have an enviable life, but her husband is having an affair. Mari Kanbara is unable to even blame him for his infidelity.

Adapted from the manga by Fumi Saimon.

Onda Kokoro is an oncologist called Dr Onkoro for short by the people around her and teased that she was born for this path. She got married to Takumi, whom she had known since she was a student, and they had a son. Life was going smoothly for her. But three months ago, her husband fell in an accident and remained unconsciousness even though he underwent emergency surgery. Although Kokoro puts on a brave face at work, she still has not been able to accept reality. One day, she meets Kajiyama Kaoru, a competent gastroenterologist who has transferred to work at the hospital. Kaoru understands the need for oncology as a surgeon and gives emotional support with her sunny personality as a colleague. She becomes a dear friend whom Kokoro feels is sudden a ray of light in her personal and professional life…

Kanako Oba uses a mysterious site to apply for part-time work. As a result, her life is soon in jeopardy. She is forced to work at the restaurant Diner as a waitress or she will be killed. The restaurant is membership only and their customers are all contract killers.

Kamishima Michiko has been married for 20 years. Her husband Shunpei is the son and chef of a distinguished family which runs a traditional Japanese restaurant and they have two children. She leads a peaceful life as a full-time housewife. But one day, Yahagi Tae, a woman who identifies herself as Shunpei’s lover, appears in front of Michiko all of a sudden and tells her, “I’ve come to get your husband”. Tae says they have been in a relationship since six years ago. She presents divorce papers that Shunpei has signed to Michiko and reveals that Michiko’s late mother-in-law had welcomed their relationship. Furthermore, Michiko discovers that her husband’s restaurant is heavily in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy. Confronted with a series of unexpected truths, Michiko has Tae buy out her marriage papers with Shunpei for 60 million yen and decides that she will become the proprietress of the restaurant and put it back on track.

Saito Hiroshi is a kind-hearted young man who grew up in a loving family. He is to start working in a long-established insurance company. Waiting for him on the first day is the strict HR employee Tsubaki Mako. The new employees start their 2 weeks training and the first thing Mako imposed on newcomers on the first day is to write "retirement wish". Mako declares that 50 new recruits will be narrowed down to 10 people on spot while training.

The 17-year-old Yatabe Mineko grew up in a family of seven in a mountain village in northeastern Ibaraki Prefecture. Her father Minoru has gone to Tokyo to work in order to earn extra money. However, her life completely changes when her father does not come back for the New Year. Mineko asks her family to let her go to Tokyo to find him and promises to send money home. In the autumn of 1964, she and two childhood friends Tokiko and Mitsuo are hired to start working at a small factory in Tokyo’s working class neighborhood. After work each day, Mineko searches for her father and gets disheartened at times. Mineko overcomes challenges and starts to lay down roots in Tokyo as she experiences many meetings and farewells amid the laughter and tears with regulars, people of the shopping street, friends, and colleagues. But will she be able to find her father?

Set in an unusual restaurant named "L' Eterenite," lovers who have been separated by fate are allowed to meet just once. The lovers face each other and talk about their memories. Parents and children who died by an unforeseen accident face each other and talk about their memories.

Mochizuki Kohei married Maria, the beautiful and talented daughter of a wealthy family. He quit his job at a medium-sized advertising agency to run a café and appears to have everything going well with him. Although Kohei pretends to be the perfect husband, he feels suffocated by his wife’s consideration and restrictions and plots her murder at the instigation of his café partner and lover Kitasato Anna. However, the situation drastically changes just as he makes the decision to kill Maria. When Kohei returns home, she has been kidnapped and the kidnapper demands an enormous ransom. To make things worse, he is made a suspect at some point in this kidnapping case and driven into a corner. In the middle of this, Maria’s frightening true face which was completely unknown to Kohei gradually emerges.

While the public relations office of D Prefectural Police is having a confrontation with the correspondents' club, over the issue of the anonymity of perpetrators, it is decided that a Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department director will inspect the home of the family of the victim in "64", an important unsolved case with its statute of limitation about to run out one week later. The kidnapping and murder of Shoko-chan which took place in just 7 days in 1989 (Showa 64) was the worst in D Prefectural Police's history. The family of the deceased decline the director's visit to offer condolences. A gag order is imposed on those involved in 64 such as the investigators at the time. An iron curtain between the Criminal Investigations Department and the Police Affairs Department. A mysterious memo. Then a new kidnapping that happens right before the director's inspection, is a exact copycat of 64. -

The story focuses on a group of mothers who all have children around the same age. These women form a bond through sharing their anxieties about raising their children, each coming from a different background. However, the friendship between the five women also turns to jealousy and betrayal, due to the fact that their children are all taking similar entrance exams for elementary school. Anne plays the protagonist Yuko, whose set of values as a woman, wife, and mother have been overturned, and she struggles to climb back from her fallen state. Meanwhile, her four fellow mothers are hiding serious problems at home, despite their appearances. Ono Machiko plays a woman receiving verbal abuse from her husband on a daily basis, Kurashina Kana plays a “yankee mama” who got pregnant as a teenager by a truck driver, Ryo plays a capable woman running her own online shop, and Kimura Yoshino plays a popular reader model for a women's magazine. ~ Tokyograph

Love and ambition collide when two brilliant architects compete for the same woman and the glory of success in their highly competitive field. Kakeru, a young dreamer just entering the professional world, starts out with the goal of building a magnificent church. The story unfolds when a world-famous architect, whom Kakeru idolizes but has never seen, collapses in front of him on the beach. The skillful portrayal of the intertwined loves and professional trials of these characters makes for a suspenseful and inspiring drama.

Locked away deep in his home and hiding a secret that keeps him there, Detective Kozaburo Himuro remains ever vigilant in his duties of police work. But how does the wunderkind detective investigate crime scenes without ever stepping out of his home? Enter traffic cop Kurumi Ayaki. She's a young lady who's about to marry and resign from the force when tasked with being Himuro's eyes and ears on the beat. While on the scene of the crime their only means of communication is via mobile phone. Together they investigate a series of mind-boggling murder mysteries that put them, particularly Kurumi, in constant danger. Can Kurumi keep up with Detective Himuro, and the fast-paced and dangerous work of criminal investigation?

Yanagida Kiriko (Horikita Maki) works at a food processing factory in Kita Kyushu as she lives a modest life with her intellectually disabled younger brother, Masao (Furuhata Niino). When work at the factory ends, she declines invitations from her colleagues, and waits for half-price at the supermarket so that she can buy Masao’s favourite squid rings. Then she heads straight home where her brother is waiting. Masao stuffs squid rings into his mouth with child-like delight as Kiriko fondly gazes at his smile. The next day, Masao is overjoyed to get his salary. On the way home, Kikue who is seeing off a young man from a house nearby, spots Masao counting the notes inside an envelope. She has an uncomfortable smile on her face when she jams 10,000 yen into his pay packet and asks if he can keep quiet about this. His hand is taken by Kikue and placed on her chest. A shaken Masao is left speechless. Hearing that he had accepted 10,000 yen from Kikue, Kiriko admonishes him. He is not supposed to take money from other people for no reason. Kiriko is about to go and return it, but Masao says he will go alone tomorrow. The next day, Masao visits Kikue’s home. His heart unexpectedly races as he recalls her behaviour yesterday. However, Kikue has been murdered by someone and Masao is detained as a suspect. Getting word of this, Kiriko desperately asserts, “My brother is different from an ordinary person!” But the police officers do not listen to her. On the other hand, Masao trembles in the interrogation and is not able to give an answer. If this goes on, he could end up becoming the murderer. A fretful Kiriko is reminded of the activities of the famous lawyer Otsuka Kinzo (Shiina Kippei) whom she had seen in the news and goes to Tokyo on her own. She pounds on the door of Otsuka’s law firm. Otsuka, who has been extremely busy, is exhausted. He has cleared a big court case and is going on a holiday with his lover, Kouno Michiko (Kimura Yoshino). That is when Kiriko comes to visit. “Can you help my brother? Please!” Otsuka seems moved by Kiriko’s emotional appeal, but Michiko has already come to get him. When he snubs Kiriko, telling her that his fees will go up in price even for cases in faraway places. She concludes, “I see, so you won’t help the poor” and leaves. Bile rises up in Otsuka … … Returning home Kiriko scrambles about for Masao’s sake, but he is sentenced to life in prison at the trial. Even so, Kiriko tries to save him. However, her brother dies of heat stroke while in prison. The abysmal conditions of the cell resulted in his death. Kiriko does not even shed tears in front of Masao’s dead body. She feels an emotion seething within her and vows revenge on Otsuka.

Kasahara Natsuki is a thirty year-old hairdresser from Tokyo who comes to Sapporo to relax and enjoy a vacation during the 2000 New Year's Eve festival/party. Unfortunately, she gets locked out of her room and meets Kaede Soichirou, a 25 year-old local newspaper photographer. His kind nature impresses her, but they don't exchange personal information and write it off as a chance meeting. Like all women her age, Natsuki's worried about finding shiawase (lifelong happiness) by marrying and starting a family. When she goes to a matchmaking meeting, the friend of her would-be beau is none other than Soichirou. After that meeting takes a turn for the worst, Soichirou follows her out and cheers her up by taking her up for a ride in his single-engine plane. They part company once more, still not knowing each other's names, and write it off as a chance meeting. Arriving home, Natsuki's roommate Haruko announces that her brother Soichirou will be staying with them in their house, after being transferred to Tokyo's newspaper.

Half a year has passed since Yoshinari Chinami rose to the position of editor of her dream fashion magazine First Class and saved it from closing down despite harassment in the editorial department. She has now become an up-and-coming designer in the fashion brand industry. See her transform from “everyone else but me is bad” to “everyone is bad including me”.

Half a year has passed since Yoshinari Chinami rose to the position of editor of her dream fashion magazine First Class and saved it from closing down despite harassment in the editorial department. She has now become an up-and-coming designer in the fashion brand industry. See her transform from “everyone else but me is bad” to “everyone is bad including me”.

Japan and Korea’s biggest names star in this big-scale drama. Nishijima Sho is a Japanese detective whose father was murdered in Korea when he was still a boy. In hopes of discovering the truth behind his father’s death, Sho is working undercover in a huge secret organization. Choi Yuna is a Korean woman who visits Japan in search of her missing father. She opens a Korean restaurant with her younger sister, but soon faces the mercy of fate. The couple meets in a corner of Tokyo and fall in love. But what waits ahead of them… A "rondo" of fate, love, and history is about to begin.

A 19-year-old girl burdened by a cruel destiny, a mother tormented by a tragic past, and a 41-year-old man living in atonement, and a relationship that brings strength in dark times. ‘Iki mo Dekinai Natsu’ is as much a social drama as it is a story about friendship, parents and children, and about what makes a family.

Takei plays said girl who learns that her mother never recorded her birth in their family register. While falling into despair after finding out the secret about her birth yet wholeheartedly trying to live to regain ‘herself’, she happens to run into a former journalist (Eguchi) who is suffering from a deep scar in his heart himself. Although they could be father and daughter, they start to form a bond that could be described as friendship... or, between the lines, something more? During this "breathless summer", they go through a number of things that will stay in their hearts forever.

The story focuses on a group of mothers who all have children around the same age. These women form a bond through sharing their anxieties about raising their children, each coming from a different background. However, the friendship between the five women also turns to jealousy and betrayal, due to the fact that their children are all taking similar entrance exams for elementary school.

Anne plays the protagonist Yuko, whose set of values as a woman, wife, and mother have been overturned, and she struggles to climb back from her fallen state.

Meanwhile, her four fellow mothers are hiding serious problems at home, despite their appearances. Ono Machiko plays a woman receiving verbal abuse from her husband on a daily basis, Kurashina Kana plays a “yankee mama” who got pregnant as a teenager by a truck driver, Ryo plays a capable woman running her own online shop, and Kimura Yoshino plays a popular reader model for a women's magazine.

Ten people are mysteriously locked away and forced to play the "King Game" for the next 10 days. The game revolves around 10 sticks with one of the sticks marked as the king. Whoever gets the king stick has the absolute power over that game and gives orders that the other players have to follow. As they play the game more and more, the orders become more frightening and sinister as well... who will win?

Middle school teacher Moriguchi Yoko's life comes crashing down after the murder of her 4-year-old daughter. Eventually, Yoko suspects some of her own students to have been responsible for her daughter's death. She comes up with an elaborate plan for revenge against the students who killed her innocent daughter

Middle school teacher Moriguchi Yoko's life comes crashing down after the murder of her 4-year-old daughter. Eventually, Yoko suspects some of her own students to have been responsible for her daughter's death. She comes up with an elaborate plan for revenge against the students who killed her innocent daughter.

Sayama Michio is a young and callous beautician who will stop at nothing to fulfill his ambition(s). Coming from an impoverished background, he suddenly becomes the darling of the beauty world. He holds women who desire beauty captive and puts on several different faces when dealing with Murase Minako, the female owner of the place that he works at; Hatano Masako, a woman of leisure; and Fukuchi Fujiko, an editor of a weekly magazine to come out tops. He also gets involved with two detectives who are investigating him for a prior incident.

Based on a novel by Iwai Shimako, Jiyuu Renai (a.k.a. Bluestockings) is the story of a love triangle between a man and two beautiful women. Masato Harada (Kamikaze Taxi, Bounce Ko Gals) directed the film, which is set during the days of Japan’s male-dominated Taisho Era (1912-1926), when it was difficult for women to have both love and a career. Yuichiro (Toyokawa Etsushi of Angel Dust and Undo) is the son of a wealthy merchant family, who’s happily married to Akiko (Hasegawa Kyoko of Three…Extremes). When Akiko’s friend Kiyoko (Kimura Yoshino of Ichigo no Kakera) gets divorced, Akiko decides to help her find a job in Yuichiro’s company. Akiko even lends Kiyoko her kimono for the interview. But upon seeing Kiyoko, Yuichiro is immediately smitten…

"100 Tales of Horror" is the follow-up to "Onmyoji Abe no Seimei" in the Tuesday night "Super Jidaigeki" time slot. Computer graphics and special effects bring a new face to these stories of horror that have been told for many years.

A story of two men who decide to commit a perfect murder, and also a story of cops and relatives trying to decipher who the real murderer is.

This is a love comedy that takes you behind the scenes of the latest bridal businesses, as well as the human drama of engaged couples, seen through the wedding planners' eyes, as they help to put on weddings.

Toru Oomori works in the accounting department of a medium-sized firm. Unable to escape restructuring by his company, he gets sent to work at an affiliated company, "Sweet Bridal," as its president. Toru realizes his days as a salaried worker are numbered. That's why he's determined to increase sales, and regain lost ground. But there's just one major problem though... An incident that happened one year ago makes work here, very miserable.

Someone has been stealing money within the company and the fingers are pointing to seven beautiful secretaries. Each who look so pure (well some of them) but at the same time, each can have a motivation for stealing the money. The company hires Ayumu and Go to find out who is stealing the money. The question is can they do so without getting involved with the women?

Kusunoki Taketo is a single 30-year old dentist. A playboy, he will hit on all his female patients. Chigusa is a 24-year old typical OL, her only objective in life is to snare a wealthy and good-looking man for a husband. However, Chigusa's reputation precedes her, and is looked down upon by other OL, for being so obvious and tenacious in her search for a man. On one of her date with a eligible man from the company next door, she wins a holiday for two to Bali. It is here in Bali that she has a one night stand with Taketo.

After their one night together, while sightseeing in Bali, Taketo is reunited with his first love, Aya. She is a famous model, and is in Bali, holidaying with her latest boyfriend. Taketo had loved Aya deeply, but she was more interested in pursuing her dream of becoming a model. She had left him for another man, who had promised to launch her modelling career.

Upon their return to Tokyo, everyone goes their separate way. However, Chigusa is one day reunited with Taketo, when she goes to his clinic to fix her terrible toothache.