Scarlet
Date: From 8.00 a.m., Mondays – Saturdays, 30 September 2019
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Mizuhashi Fumie (Haha ni Naru, Hayami-sensei Kekkon Surutte Hontou desu ka?, Sharehouse no Koibito)
Cast: Toda Erika, Kitamura Kazuki, Tomita Yasuko, Sakuraba Nanami, Fukuda Mayuko, Sato Ryuta, Oshima Yuko, Hayashi Kento, Zaizen Naomi, Magy, Mizuno Miki, Mizobata Junpei, Kimoto Takehiro, Hano Aki, Mitsubayashi Kyoko, Nishikawa Takanori, Matsushita Kohei, Issey Ogata
Synopsis: Shortly after the end of the war, Kawahara Kimiko (Toda Erika) moves to Shigaraki, a pottery town in Shiga Prefecture, from Osaka. The eldest of three girls, she is a hardworking person who has supported the family (Sakuraba Nanami, Fukuda Mayuko, Kitamura Kazuki, Tomita Yasuko) since she was a child. Having grown up around Shigaraki ware, Kimiko eventually plunges into the male-dominated world of ceramics where she proceeds to blaze a trail as a pioneering female ceramic artist. She falls in love and gets married to her husband who is also a ceramic artist. United by their aspiration to be the ideal creative couple, they strive to create unique Shigaraki ware with their own kiln. She becomes a mother of two children and also cultivates many disciples.
Website: –

Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Season 2
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, October 2019
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Ozaki Masaya (Signal, Chinmoku Houtei, Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Season 1)
Genre: Romance
Cast: Abe Hiroshi
Synopsis: Kuwano Shinsuke (Abe Hiroshi), a successful architect, is well-to-do, knowledgeable and good-looking. He is now 53, still lives alone in the same apartment, which has the latest gadgets, and enjoys single life. Although he fell for Hayasaka Natsumi, the doctor who treated him and changed his perspective toward marriage, and even dated, they later broke up. So Kuwano’s heart is shut firmly to love again. He is even more eccentric now, and feels a little anxious when he thinks about the future. One day, the wheels of fate start to move all of a sudden after a chance encounter with some women.
Website: –

Shinya Shokudo ~ Tokyo Stories Season 2
Date: Fall 2019
Network: Netflix Japan
Scriptwriters: Manabe Katsuhiko (Shinya Shokudo Series), Mukai Kosuke (Shinya Shokudo Seasons 1 – 3), Kojima Kensaku (Shinya Shokudo ~ Tokyo Stories Season 1,) Oshima Mari
Original Work: Shinya Shokudo by Abe Yaro
Genre: Food
Cast: Kobayashi Kaoru, Fuwa Mansaku, Ayata Toshiki, Ando Tamae, Matsushige Yutaka, Yo Kimiko, Odagiri Joe, Nakamura Toru (guest star), Emoto Akira (guest star), Emoto Tasuku (guest star), Katsuji Ryo (guest star), Nagayama Kento (guest star)
Synopsis: There is a small eatery ‘Meshiya’ in a back alley of a busy street which is run just by its owner (Kobayashi Kaoru). Called the “midnight eatery”, its opening hours are from midnight to 7 am in the morning. The only items on the menu of are miso soup with pork and vegetables set, beer, sake and shochu. All sorts of customers visit the eatery which is based on the owner’s policy of “making whatever can be done”. The encounters between the owner, food and customers are humorous and at times heartrending.
Website: www.meshiya.tv

Ai Naki Mori de Sakebi
Date: Fall 2019
Network: Netflix Japan
Scriptwriter: Sono Shion (Tokyo Vampire Hotel, Minna ESPer dayo! Series, Jikou Keisatsu Series)
Cast: Shiina Kippei, Mitsushima Shinnosuke, Denden, Hinami Kyoko, Kamataki Eri, Matobu Sei
Synopsis: Murata Jo (Shiina Kippei) is a ruthless criminal. On the surface, he is cheerful and lively. But he emotionally controls other people, milks them for money and makes them commit brutal crimes.
Website: –

Million Joe
Date: From 1.35 a.m., Thursdays, October 2019
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Masaike Yosuke (Miki Clinic de Kanpai o, Zettai Seigi, Miss Sherlock)
Original Work: Million Joe by Juguchi Ryoji
Genre: Comedy suspense
Cast: Kitayama Hiromitsu
Synopsis: Kurei Soichi (Kitayama Hiromitsu) gave up on his dream to be a manga artist and is now the editor in charge of the huge hit manga Million Joe at manga magazine Shukan Shonen Glory’s editorial department. However, he is unmotivated and has no love for the manga. One day, Magata Tsuneo, the eccentric author who created Million Joe, dies all of a sudden. Believing that the widely popular Million Joe, which has avid fans all over the world, cannot be left uncompleted, Kurei hides Magata’s death. He persuades Magata’s trusted chief assistant Terashi Ryota who draws the pictures, and makes a shocking suggestion. They will try to contine the series based on the creative notes that Magata left behind. But will they be able to fool the fans and spin the story with new characters?
Website: www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/millionjoe

Doctor X ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko Season 6
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, October 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriters: Nakazono Miho (Sego-don, Doctor X Series, Hatsukoi), Hayashi Makoto (Doctor X Seasons 2 – 5, Isan Sozoku Bengoshi Kakizaki Shinichi, Strawberry Night)
Cast: Yonekura Ryoko, Endo Kenichi, Uchida Yuki, Katsumura Masanobu, Suzuki Kosuke, Kishibe Ittoku, Nishida Toshiyuki
Synopsis: Totei University Hospital faces a huge deficit like never before as the medical community is inundated by a host of challenges such as balancing the next generation with an authoritarian generation, and also coexisting with computers and AI close in. An investor Nicholas Tange, with the nickname Vulture, arrives at this “white tower” which is on the verge of bankruptcy. Tange, who is one of the best professionals in the world for corporate restructuring, puts Totei University Hospital on the path to a turnaround as part of his plan. However, this also forces a rationalisation of medical care, and the hospital is faced with the reality of restructuring and cost-cutting. With business now taking top priority, the hospital transforms into a ground for politics and power struggles. Daimon Michiko (Yonekura Ryoko) is summoned by Tange and comes to Totei University Hospital. She fights a solitary battle once again as a new power game intensifies.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/doctor-x
Related: Doctor X ~ Gekai Daimon Michiko Season 5

Jikou Keisatsu Hajimemashite
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Fridays, October 2019
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Miki Satoshi (Atami no Sousakan, Jikou Keisatsu Series)
Genre: Comedy mystery
Cast: Odagiri Joe, Aso Kumiko, Yoshioka Riho, Toyohara Kosuke, Fuse Eri, Eguchi Noriko, Hida Yasuhito, Mitsuishi Ken, Iwamatsu Ryo
Synopsis: Kiriyama Shuichiro (Odagiri Joe) returns to Japan after a 12-year secondment to the FBI in the US, and rejoins the Statute of Limitation Management Division at Sobu Police Precinct. The primary job of this division is to send documents on cases where the statue of limitations have run out to the prosecution, and to manage these investigation materials. However, ever since the statue of limitation was abolished for serious cases such as murders, the division has become more redundant than ever. Kiriyama returns to his old haunt and gets started on his hobby again with his assistant Mikazuki Shizuka (Aso Kumiko). It is to personally investigate cases where the statute of limitation is expiring. He is not particularly concerned about identifying the criminal or the size of the cases. All he wants to do is to make sure his deductions are correct.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/jikou2019

Top League
Date: October 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Shinozaki Eriko (Saka no Tochuu no Ie, The Good Wife, Hanzai Shokogun Series)
Original Work: Top League by Aiba Hideo
Cast: Tamayama Tetsuji
Synopsis: Matsuoka Naoki (Tamayama Tetsuji) is a journalist who has worked for the business desk of Daiwa Shimbun, a major Tokyo-based newspaper publisher, for 15 years. One day, he is told that he is being transferred to the political desk for a year. Matsuoka caught the attention of Chief Cabinet Secretary Kondo when he disregarded the rules and posed the question, “What do you think about the safe discovered in a landfill in Minato ward?” at the Chief Cabinet Secretary’s first scheduled briefing. He rises to the top of the league in a flash. Meanwhile, Sakai Yuji, a weekly magazine reporter who used to be Matsuoka’s colleague, has been pursuing the truth of the safe found in the landfill. Then a robbery takes place. The victim is someone whom Sakai had just interviewed regarding the safe. Matsuoka and Sakai have gone along different paths as reporters. However, they meet again after 10 years, and the biggest taboo in the offical residence which rocks the country’s political centre is gradually exposed.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/topleague

TBA
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, October 2019
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Kuroiwa Tsutomu (Maison de Police, Monte Cristo Haku, Kizoku Tantei)
Cast: Kimura Takuya, Suzuki Kyoka
Synopsis: A talented Japanese chef (Kimura Takuya) in French cuisine has devoted his life to food. He opened his own restaurant in Paris and earned two Michelin stars. Hailed as a superstar chef, his confidence has turned into conceit. But no matter how he tries, three Michelin stars are beyond his reach. He feels pressured and up against a wall. At this moment, a serious incident occurs at the restaurant and he ends up losing both the place and his team. While he is feeling at his lowest, he happens to meet a female chef (Suzuki Kyoka) and makes the decision to start over again as a chef. He makes it his goal to create the world’s greatest three Michelin star restaurant and tries to put together the best staff. However, he is spurned by his former colleagues and has problems even though he has found new talent. But he does not give up. He shove unreasonable demands at other people and aims higher himself. The attitudes of the people around him gradually begin to change as they watch him.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/program/nichiyogekijo201910

Aku no Hadou ~ Satsujin Bunseki-han Spin-off^*UPDATED*
Date: From 10.30 p.m., Sundays, 6 October 2019
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Shimizu Masashi (Mushikago no Jomae, Otoko Meshi)
Original Work: Ishi no Mayu Keishichou Satsujin Bunseki-han by Asami Kazushi
Genre: Crime suspense
Cast: Furukawa Yuki, Sumire
Synopsis: In 2014, a series of murders targeting women takes place in Kawasaki City. All the victims have been killed as if they had hanged and these are dubbed the “Hanging Murders” in public. The police investigation runs into difficulties without clues on the murderer. However, Detective Iguchi from the First Investigation Division, has his eye on a man whom he suspects to kill for pleasure. This man is Nogi Naoya (Furukawa Yuki). He lies about his identity, erases his traces in public and lives as if he is holding his breath. Nogi is actually Yaginuma Masato, the victim in the sensational Akishima mother and son kidnapping case. He gets his neighbour Yoshika (Sumire) involved as he tries to escape the police dragnet but comes to realise some facts. What is his true motive?
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/hadou
Related: Ishi no Mayu

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Official Website
www.cinemart.co.jp/dc/j/bokumada

Broadcast
From 15 July 2019 (updated on Mondays)

Network
Fuji on Demand

Story
Mitari Yo is a career woman who works for a shoe maker. She finds her work rewarding and has successfully advanced in her career. But she keeps having her heart broken and her romantic life has not gone very well lately. Ishida Ren works for a developer and is Yo’s best friend. An ex-classmate from both high school and university days, he understands her the best and is the only person she pours her heart out to. On Yo’s 29th birthday, the two friends place a wager to give 300,000 yen as a congratulatory gift to the one who is the first to get married by the last day they are 30. Yo begins looking for a husband through a online dating app. However, the people she meets are all even though they are not bad. A friend tells her about a shrine that will give her better luck in love. She goes there with Ren and they have a good time. Although they declare that it is impossible for them to fall in love with each other, this wager as well as advances by Kawano Maki, Ren’s junior in the company and Yo’s reunion with her ex-boyfriend Mizusawa Ryusei lead to gradual changes in the relationship of these two best friends.

Characters
Adachi Rika as Mitari Yo
She works for the product development department of a shoemaker called Diana. She loves her job which she finds rewarding. However, her romantic life has not gone very well and she has distanced herself from romance. She has a strong sense of justice and even though she is a hardworking person who does not make a compromise easily, she also has a good-natured side. Ishida Ren, her childhood friend since high school, is her best friend and the person who understands her the best.

Shirasu Jin as Ishida Ren
Mitari Yo’s childhood friend. He works for the town management division of a developer called Serizawa Estate that is engaging in urban redevelopment. He is popular because he is kind and shows consideration for everyone. However, he broke up with a number of the girlfriends he dated so far because he is too close to Yo. Although he has feelings for Yo, he watches over her as a good friend. Back in high school, he declared to Yo that he would never like her but what did he really mean?

Asaka Kodai as Mizusawa Ryusei
Mitari Yo’s ex-boyfriend. He gave into despair when his start-up failed five years ago and he went missing all of a sudden. Now he reappears in Yo’s life again after becoming the CEO of a venture firm and urges reconciliation.

Matsumoto Kiyo as Kawano Maki
Ishida Ren’s subordinate at work. A temporary employee. She is naive and good at acting cute. She considers Ren ideal husband material and aggressively pursues him.

Sakuma Yu as Narumi Yu
Mitari Yo’s assistant at work. A handsome young man who is genial and ambitious. He quickly closes in on Yo with perfect attentiveness.

Scriptwriters
Arai Yuka (Kimi wa Petto (2017), Watashi no Uchi ni wa Nanimo Nai)
Koga Fumie (Kimi wa Petto (2017), Itazurana Kiss 2 (2014))

Original Work
In Time with You by Mag Hsu

Related Post:

• Boku wa Mada Kimi o Aisanai Koto ga Dekiru CM

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Official Website
www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/iturn

Broadcast
From 12.12 a.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2019

Network
TV Tokyo

Story
45-year-old Komae Mitsuo is a salesman who works for a mid-sized advertising agency. He gets demoted from the head office and transferred to a small branch office in the countryside. He has to leave his wife Atsuko and daughter behind in Tokyo and go alone to Ashura City, the furthest town in Japan. Komae becomes the manager of the dinky branch office which only has a pathetic two employees. He is stuck with the unreasonable demand to boost performance or face immediate closure and dismissal. With a home loan and his daughter’s further education to consider, Komae plans to increase sales with the skills he honed back at headquarters. Meanwhile, he receives a sudden phone call from a client regarding the production of new flyers they have undertaken. This is the beginning of a nightmare. The CEO, Ryuzaki Kenji, has one of these flyers in his hand and he is absolutely furious. A grave mistake is about to change Komae’s life dramatically. He finds out that his client is a company run by a gang called Ryuzaki-gumi. Komae is doomed. To make matters worse, Iwakiri Takeshi, the boss of Iwakiri-gumi, storms in to complain. Komae is suddenly caught between two gang bosses. Furthermore, Iwakiri forces him to become an underling in his gang. Now Komae has to lead a dangerous double existence as an ad man and gangster. How this man who is caught in an endless loop of misfortune regain himself?!

Characters
Muro Tsuyoshi as Komae Mitsuo
A salesman who works for Senkokusha, a mid-sized advertising agency. He is demoted from the head office and transferred to a small branch office in Ashura City in the countryside. He is made an underling of the gangster Iwakiri Takeshi and gets in the blacklist of Ryuzaki Kenji who is at odds with Iwakiri Takeshi as he leads a double existence as an ad man and gangster. Caught between two gang bosses with strong personalities, he is forced to make extreme choices.

Furuta Arata as Iwakiri Takeshi
The boss of Iwakiri-gumi. He is one of the two big gangsters who control Ashura City, Japan’s furthest town. Although he has a small gang of only five members, he is an old-fashioned man who values loyalty and sentiment. He never betrays his buddies, but he is merciless to those who betray him. He ends up forcing Komae Mitsuo to be a member of Iwakiri-gumi. He is hostile towards the Ryuzaki-gumi which Ryuzaki Kenji leads.

Tanaka Kei as Ryuzaki Kenji
The boss of Ryuzaki-gumi. He is also the CEO of a consumer finance firm. A hard-nosed, calculating gangster, he is the complete opposite of Iwakiri Takeshi and they dislike each other. Unlike the old-fashioned Iwakiri, he rose to the top with a new way of doing things. He schemes to make use of Komae Mitsu and destroy the Iwakiri-gumi.

Suzuki Airi as Yoshimura Mizuki
A clerk who works for Senkokusha’s Ashua City branch. She does things as she pleases, and has no interest in work or romance. She somehow gets by each day, but is influenced by Komae Mitsuo and begins to change little by little.

Watanabe Daichi as Yanagi Naoki
A salesman who works for Senkokusha’s Ashua City branch. He is one of two employees in the office. He is unmotivated, and comes to work late and looking sloppy. He seems to handle work without much interest, but is actually enthusiastic.

Kuroki Hitomi as Reika
The proprietress of the bar called Limelight. She is on friendly terms with both the Iwakiri-gumi and Ryuzaki-gumi and provides a soothing place. She is good at fortune telling with tarot cards and this divination even gives Komae Mitsuo advice.

Scriptwriter
Uchida Eiji

Original Work
I Turn by Fukuzawa Tetsuzo

© jdramas.wordpress.com.

Official Website
www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/poison

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 6 July 2019

Network
WOWOW

Poison Daughter, Holy Mother
Story: Actress Fujiyoshi Yumika (Adachi Rika) has been troubled by her mother Yoshika’s (Terajima Shinobu) excessive interference since young. She regards her mother who tries to control her the way she wants, as a toxic parent. Yumika runs to Tokyo in an act of rebellion but she is unable to break free. When she returns home for the wedding of her good friend Riho (Yamashita Rio), Yumika is reunited with an ex-classmate Asaoka (Ochiai Motoki) and falls in love. She even gets an offer for the leading role in a new drama. Just when she feels that she is starting to do well in life, her mother’s machinations cause her to split up with the man and lose important work. Learning about this, Yumika releases her pent-up feelings about her mother on a television talk show and this generates tremendous response. Meanwhile, the people who know Yoshika, regard her as a caring mother and certainly not a toxic parent. Yoshika reflects on her own life after hearing what Yumika said, and decides to let go of her daughter. But … …
Cast: Terajima Shinobu, Adachi Rika, Yamashita Rio, Ochiai Motoki, Yamada Anna, Murata Hideaki, Tosaka Junichi, Kataoka Reika, Watanabe Makiko, Miyazaki Yoshiko

Tsumibuki Onna
Story: A youth called Masayuki (Takahashi Yuto) carries out indiscriminate mass killings at a shopping mall. Despite persistent interrogation, he refuses to disclose his motive. Then a girl call Yukina (Kiyohara Kaya) appears at a police station and begins her statement with the words, “I’m entirely to blame.” According to Yukina, she has lived in the same apartment with Masayuki since childhood and the two of them have an emotional connection even now. At first, the lawyers consider her confession important, but … …
Cast: Kiyohara Kaya, Takahashi Yuto, Misaki Ayame, Nakagawa Nozomu, Akizuki Mika, Minemura Eri, Sakai Maki,

Best Friend
Story: Ryoka (Nakamura Yuri) works at a factory for wet towels while aspiring to become a scriptwriter. However, it has been eight years and she has not gained much popularity. Then one day, she receives a phone call about winning the grand prize in a competition for scripts by newcomers. Ryoka heads to the award presentation ceremony in high spirits, and meets the grand prize winner Karuko (Yamada Maho). Although Ryoka is scornful of the quiet and awkward Kaoruko in private, Kaoruko gradually gains public recognition and Ryoka who had been conveniently used by a producer (Wada Masato) grows impatient.
Cast: Nakamura Yuri, Yamada Maho, Wada Masato, Onoue Hiroyuki, Komakine Ryusuke, Komiya Takayasu, Nakamura Kumi,

Yasashii Hito
Story: TBA
Cast: Kurashina Kana, Hamano Kenta, Okuno Eita, Yanagi Yurina, Minosuke, Chiba Masako, Akama Mariko

Muddy Arrest
Story: TBA
Cast: Ito Ayumi, Satsukawa Aimi, Uda Takaki, Kameda Yuki, Umezawa Masayo

Scriptwriter
Shimizu Yukako (Reverse, Fukigenna Kajitsu (2016), Onna Sore o Yurusanai)

Original Work
Poison Daughter, Holy Mother by Minato Kanae

Click here for photos from the press conference.

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Official Website
www.ntv.co.jp/voice

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2019

Network
NTV

Story
Three years ago in Yokohama, Higuchi Shogo was the head of the Violent Crimes Section of Koto Police Precinct’s First Investigative Division and had the highest arrest rate. One day, his wife Miki was struck in the head with a blunt object and murdered in brutal fashion. Right before she was killed, she called the emergency command centre to ask for help as she tried to run away. But at that time, the centre did not have the capability to pinpoint her location. It called her back instead and this sound alerted the killer to where she was. Higuchi, who was pursuing a fugitive in another case, only learnt this devastating truth after everything had ended. The police was certain that the suspect Sagara Takuya was his wife’s murderer from the clothes found at Sagara’s house and he was tried a month later. However, Assistant Inspector Tachibana Hikari, the police officer who received the emergency call, testified as the prosecution’s witness that the voice she heard at the time of the incident, was not his. She added that there was a faint clacking sound and asserts that the killer is someone else. Higuchi, who was convinced that Sagara was responsible for Miki’s death, went into a frenzy in court. As a result, Sagara was released and the case was never solved. Three years later, Higuchi has switched to working at a police box. He has been reduced to a man whom even his ex-colleagues steer clear of following his wife’s death. Meanwhile, Hikari becomes the head of Koto Police Precinct’s emergency command centre after chalking up a track record of solving difficult cases at the crime lab. She proposes setting up an Emergency Call Unit to the top brass in order to swiftly rescue victims and says that she intends to make Higuchi the leader of this new team. When Higuchi learns about this, he barges into the centre, demanding to know why she said that she could hear things no one else could. Hikari asks if he would believe her if she told the truth. At that moment, a call comes in from a young woman who says she has been kidnapped … …!

Characters
Karasawa Toshiakia as Higuchi Shogo
The head of Koto Police Precinct’s Emergency Call Unit. A former ace detective who was passionate and at times lets his emotions get the better of him. A compassionate, old-fashioned man trusted by his juniors. Three years ago, his wife Miki was bludgeoned to death by an unknown person and he has been relentlessly pursuing the criminal. Just before she was murdered, she had called his phone for help but he was in the middle of a case and missed her call. He cannot forget his wife’s voice pleading for help. The grief from not being able to protect the person he loved the most, becomes a heavy cross to bear. He would drink and cry for his wife. One day, the Emergency Call Unit is established in the emergency command centre. He is one of the members recruited for the unit. However, he stubbornly refuses to join the team when he learns that the leader of the centre is none other than Tachibana Hikari who handled his wife’s phone call on that fateful day three years earlier … …

Maki Yoko as Tachibana Hikari
The head of Koto Police Precinct’s emergency command centre. A voice profiler who can hear the “voices” of the people calling for help. Her sight was affected due to an accident in her early childhood. But at the same time, she developed the ability to hear even faint sounds. After she graduated top of the class from the police academy, she worked at the emergency command centre. One day, a woman whose emergency call she received was brutally killed by an unidentified person. In addition, her own father, a patrol officer who was doing his rounds in the vicinity was also bludgeoned to death by the same man. Feeling despair and regret for not being able to do anything for the people calling for help even though she was on the other end of the line, she eventually became a voice profiler. She takes up the position of director of the emergency command centre and sets up the Emergency Call Unit within the centre.

Masuda Takahisa as Ishikawa Toru
An investigator with Koto Police Precinct’s Emergency Call Unit. He used to belong to the Violent Crimes Section and still calls Higuchi Shogo who was the head of the section at the time, “brother” and greatly admires him. He was assigned to the Emergency Call Unit along with Higuchi. He mainly investigates with Higuchi at crime scenes and is also someone whom Higuchi trusts.

Kimura Yuichi as Okihara Takashi
The head of Koto Police Precinct’s Violent Crimes Section. He and Higuchi Shogo are peers and they once solved numerous cases as partners. However, after the Emergency Call Unit is established, he frequently has confrontations with Higuchi and his men who get ahead of his team and investigate as they please.

Kikuchi Momoko as Higuchi Miki
Higuchi Shogo’s wife. She had been supporting vulnerable people as a social worker. Her husband and son were the most important to her.

Scriptwriter
Hamada Shuya (Zettai Reido Season 3, Yake ni Ben no Tatsu Bengoshi ga Gakkou de Hoeru)

Original Work
Voice by CJ ENM

Click here for photos from the press conference.

Related Post:

• Voice 110 Kinkyuu Shireishitsu CM

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Official Website
www.ktv.jp/junichi

Broadcast
From 1.55 a.m., Saturdays, 13 July 2019

Network
TBS

Story
24-year-old Junichi is a mysterious young man who instantly charms women from 16 to 62. Unemployed and homeless, he goes from one woman to another as he fancies. There is the pregnant Eiko; Tamaki who is sleeping with her younger sister’s husband; the widow Ayuko who suspects her husband of infidelity; Chihiro who is constrained by her husband; high school girl Rui who wants to lose her virginity; and Mika who hunts for a man every day … … Junichi shows up out of nowhere amidst their lonely daily lives and disappears just as he came … …

Eiko
Synopsis: Eiko (Fujii Mina) is due to give birth next month. When she visits the Tai Chi class where she herself is an instructor, she meets a young man Junichi (Shison Jun) who throws himself into the lesson. His movements are exquisite even though he is learning by watching others, and she cannot take her eyes off him. One day, Junichi and Eiko happen to be at the same coffee shop, and they go to a hotel … …
Cast: Shison Jun, Fujii Mina

Tamaki
Synopsis: Tamaki (Kaho), an office lady, has been helping out the porn manga artist Haruaki with his work when she gets off work. Haruaki is her younger sister’s husband, and Tamaki’s relationship with him is not only work. She is also having an affair with him. One day, Tamaki gets dead drunk at her regular bar. Junichi who is working at the bar as a bartender, calls out to her and she is taken to … …
Cast: Shison Jun, Kaho

Ayuko
Synopsis: Ayuko (Harada Mieko) calls a second-hand bookstore in order to get rid of her late husband’s precious collection of books. While organising his belongings, she discovers his diary and suspects that the person written at the end was having an affair with him. One night, Ayuko dreams of the young man Junichi, whom she had brought along with her as the bookstore’s helper, and a woman embracing each other … …
Cast: Shison Jun, Harada Mieko

Chihiro
Synopsis: Chihiro (Eguchi Noriko), a bookbinder, has a strained relationship with her husband due to a past affair. She discovers a massive hole that is under construction nearby. A young man Junichi who working there as a labourer speaks to her. Chihiro invites him into her house when he says that he wants to go somewhere for tea.
Cast: Shison Jun, Eguchi Noriko

Rui
Synopsis: High school student Rui (Makita Aju) feels a sense of loss after her father passed away, and she keeps visiting the hospital even though he is no longer around. She cannot talk about him at home nor can she be honest about her feelings at school. One day, Rui meets a young man Junichi (Shison Jun) at the hospital. Doing as she is told, she goes along with him and gets onto a boat bound for a love hotel downstream on the opposite shore … …
Cast: Shison Jun, Makita Aju

Mika
Synopsis: Mika (Ito Marika) hunts for a man every day through dating sites. One night, she is on the way home from a hotel when a group of men hit on her. She is saved by a young man called Junichi (Shison Jun). Junichi says he is worried about Mika and accompanies her home. When they reach her house, she strips off the blouse and skirt which she had torn at the hotel, in front of him … …
Cast: Shison Jun, Ito Marika

Scriptwriter
Sunada Asami

Original Work
Junichi by Inoue Areno

Click here for photos from the press conference.

Related Post:

• Junichi CM

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Official Website
www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/ikiru

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 4 August 2019

Network
WOWOW

Story
Ikuta Toko’s parents died in a traffic accident when she was three years old. She was adopted by her father’s older brother Kazutaka who runs a barber shop in Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, and grew up happily. Toko was occasionally active as an idol in her hometown and eventually aspired to become an actress. When she turned 19, Toko decided to try for an audition that was being held in Tokyo. However, on 11 March 2011, the day before her performance, the Great East Japan Earthquake struck. That autumn, Toko participates in volunteer activities in Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture together with Han Yuri, a Korean coworker at the cafe. This is where she meets Shimizu Kiyotaka, a Tokyo University student who is an executive committee member of a student volunteer group. Kiyotaka runs operations on the ground quietly and systematically, but Toko feels something is off about his smile for some reason. She has no way of knowing his own cruel fate. As Toko and Kiyotaka spend time together in Kesennuma, they begin to develop special feelings for each other. When the volunteer activities end, the two of them return to their own lives in Morioka and Tokyo feeling renewed. Toko works at the cafe as she sets sights on becoming an actress with greater fervour than before and devotes herself to lessons every day. Kiyotaka follows his family’s wishes and gets a job at a major general trading company but struggles over whether he is truly on the right path. They keep in contact through emails and phone calls and their feelings for each other grow stronger.

Characters
Arimura Kasumi as Ikuta Toko
Her parents died in an accident when she was 3, and she grew up with her uncle Ikuta Kazutaka in Morioka. She played an idol in her hometown as she worked part-time at a cafe. She dreamt of going to an audition and becoming an actress to ease her uncle’s burden. She is kind-hearted and cheerful. On 11 March 2011, she was about to go to Tokyo for the audition but that was the day when Great East Japan Earthquake struck. Wanting to help the reconstruction in some way after that, she decided to participate in volunteer activities in Kesennuma with her friend Han Yuri.

Sakaguchi Kentaro as Shimizu Kiyotaka
A Tokyo University student. He grew up in the lap of luxury in a family of four. His father holds an important post at a major corporation, his older sister is a doctor and his mother is a full-time housewife. After the Great East Japan Earthquake stuck, he became an executive committee member of a student volunteer group to find things that he can do, and visits Kesennuma frequently. He always has a smile for people and is trusted by the locals and fellow volunteers. His volunteering experience in Kesennuma subsequently takes on great significance in his life.

Ji-young as Han Yuri
She works part-time at the same cafe in Morioka as Ikuta Toko. She has travelled around the world and worked in each place as she studied. She is a naive young woman who lives as she wants. After the Great East Japan Earthquake happened, she was initially fearful of earthquakes and tried to go back to South Korea. However, she goes along with Toko’s suggestion and participates in the volunteer activities in Kesennuma together with her.

Okayama Amane as Kubo Shinji
Ikuta Toko’s junior in the same high school. He was rejected by Toko whom he once had a crush on. His job in Tokyo is not going well. He was picked by a CEO who runs a solar power company and has been working as a salesman.

Mitsuishi Ken as Ikuta Kazutaka
He runs a barber shop in a shopping street in Morioka’s. He adopted his niece Ikuta Toko after her parents passed away. He is a bachelor and always by Toko’s side watching over her. His signature dish is a Morioka specialty called Hittsumi-jiru.

Minami Kaho as Shimizu Mieko
Shimizu Kiyotaka’s mother. She constantly thinks about her son’s future and is an education-obsessed parent. She hopes he will get a job at the same company that her husband works at and have a bright future. She is concerned when he devotes himself to volunteer activities more them job hunting.

Scriptwriter
Okada Yoshikazu (Hiyokko Series, Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni, Kibougaoka no Hitobito)

Click here for photos from the press conference.

Related Post:

• Soshite, Ikiru CM

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Kirin ga Kuru^*UPDATED*
Date: From 8.00 p.m., Sundays, 5 January 2020
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Ikehata Shunsaku (Soroban Samurai Kaze no Ichibei, Natsume Soseki no Tsuma, Kamogawa Shokudo)
Genre: Period
Cast: Hasegawa Hiroki, Kadowaki Mugi, Okamura Takashi, Ishikawa Sayuri, Nishimura Masahiko, Takahashi Katsunori, Uesugi Shozo, Omi Toshinori, Ito Hideaki, Sawajiri Erika, Sometani Shota, Sakai Masaaki, Motoki Masahiro, Kimura Fumino, Minami Kaho, Murata Takehiro, Tokushige Satoshi, Kataoka Ainosuke, Dan Rei, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Takito Kenichi, Tanihara Shosuke, Mashima Hidekazu, Yoshida Kotaro, Ichikawa Ebizo (narrator), Ono Machiko, Mukai Osamu, Kazama Shunsuke, Ibuki Goro
Synopsis: After the Onin War, the world is plunged into chaos. Amid this situation, heroes of the warring states begin to emerge in an attempt to unify the country and rule in these turbulent times. In the mid-1540s, there is a young wandering samurai in Mino which is strategically located between the East and West. His name is Akechi Mitsuhide (Hasegawa Hiroki). At this time, there is plenty of internal strife within the Toki clan which rules Mino. Surrounded by the Oda of Owari, the Imagawa of Suruga and the Asakura of Echizen, Mino has constantly faced the risk of invasion. Mitsuhide is pulled into battle and destroys the enemy. His bravery as well as stratagem catches the attention of Saito Toshimasa, the chief retainer of the Toki clan, and he is singled out. This man who is also known as Saito Dosan (Motoki Masahiro) will go on to takeover the Toki and make Mino his own.
Website: –

Followers
Date: Beginning of 2020
Network: Netflix
Scriptwriter: –
Cast: Nakatani Miki, Ikeda Eliza, Kaneko Nobuaki, Itaya Yuka, Komu Ai, Nakashima Mika, Yutaro, Uesugi Shuhei, Natsuki Mari
Synopsis: Nara Rimi (Nakatani Miki), an established and popular photographer, meets Momota Natsume (Ikeda Eliza) who has come to Tokyo with dreams of becoming an actress. Although Natsume suffers setbacks, she grows from these experiences in this story about the lifestyles of women whose lives intersect in this world dominated by social media.
Website: www.netflix.com/jp/title/80233221

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Official Website
www.tbs.co.jp/NAGI_NO_OITOMA

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 19 July 2019

Network
TBS

Story
28-year-old Oshima Nagi works for a home appliance manufacturer in Tokyo. She constantly gauges people’s moods and goes along with whatever others say or do to keep the peace. Her goal is to pass each day without incident. However as a result of reading too much into situations, she gets ordered to redo work by her “well-meaning” colleagues and dumped unreasonable tasks every day until she collapses from hyperventilation. One day, a careless comment by Nagi’s boyfriend Gamon Shinji breaks her heart. It prompts her to reexamine her life, and she makes the decision to change it. Nagi quits work, vacates the apartment she is living in, stops communicating with everyone including Shinji and even cancels her mobile phone line. Planning to turn her life around and be happy, she also stops straightening her natural curly hair, which was a painstaking one-hour ritual she used to do every morning. Nagi moves to a small, shabby apartment in the outskirts of Tokyo. She was supposed to lead a happy, carefree life not bound to work or anyone. However, she ends up being concerned about people’s views and picking up on the mood all the same. Nagi begins to change her life while surrounded by Shinji who has run after her, Arashiro Gon, her new next-door neighbor, and the new people she meets.

Characters
Kuroki Haru as Oshima Nagi
An employee who works in sales administration. Unlike her showy colleagues, she works silently. She has a complex about her natural curls and spends one hour every morning to straighten her hair. She dresses in conservative clothes like a TV announcer so that she does not intimidate other females. She is earnest and has a mild personality. She strives to read between the lines of the conversations of fellow female colleagues with the goal of getting through each day without incident. But one day, she snaps. She quits the company, work, cancels the contract for the apartment she is living in and also stops communicating with everyone including her boyfriend Gamo Shinji. She stops straightening her natural curls and tries to turn her life around and become happy.

Takahashi Issei as Gamon Shinji
Oshima Nagi’s ex-boyfriend. Before she quit, they worked at the same company’s sales department. He may behave impertinently but remembers to be solicitous. He is constantly top in sales with his ability to get into the pockets of the bosses at client companies. Although he is perfect at work, he is dreadfully tactless with Nagi.

Nakamura Tomoya as Arashiro Gon
Oshima Nagi’s new neighbour who says he is an event organiser but has an air of danger. A strange man unlike anyone she has ever met. He is open minded with everyone, kind and good at listening. He is an unbelievably popular guy. Everyone eventually gets by overwhelmed by the pleasant atmosphere he creates with a smile that envelopes the other party whole.

Ichikawa Mikako as Sakamoto Ryoko
A former company employee who is still searching for a job at the public job placement office despite her good academic results. In contrast to Oshima Nagi who reads too much into situations, she cannot sense the atmosphere. Her encounter with Nagi was the worst but … …

Takiuchi Kumi as Adachi Kokoro
Oshima Nagi’s ex-colleague. She had instinctively pushed odd jobs on Nagi with a smile. Although she caused Nagi to quit the company, she does not realise this. She is interested in Gamon Shinji.

Katahira Nagisa as Oshima Yu
Oshima Nagi’s mother. She brought Nagi up on her own and raised her strictly. She now lives alone in their hometown of Hokkaido. Even though she contacts Nagi once in a while, it makes Nagi stiffen. It is this relationship with her mother who was a strict disciplinarian that conditioned Nagi to read situations.

Yoshida Yo as Shiraishi Misuzu
A single mother with a daughter Urara who is in the fifth grade in elementary school. She gets acquainted with Oshima Nagi as fellow neighbours after Nagi, a former latchkey kid, becomes friendly with Urara whose situation is very similar to her own. She tends to get put down by Nagi and other mothers around her but … …

Scriptwriter
Oshima Satomi (Boukyaku no Sachiko Series, Anata ni wa Kaeru Ie ga Aru)

Original Work
Nagi no Oitoma by Konari Misato

Click here for photos from the press conference.

Related Post:

• Nagi no Oitoma CM

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Official Website
www.nhk.or.jp/drama/drama10/keihi

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 26 July 2019

Network
NHK

Story
Moriwaka Sanako, a single young woman near 30, works for the accounting department of Ten Ten Corporation, a soap manufacturer. Sanako, Sasaki Mayu, Takura Yutaro review expenses every day together with their boss Shibata Hideki. Sanako’s motto in life is the same as a balance sheet – to balance everything in life. She checks the receipts and invoices that come to her. Only the amount of money and minimal reasons are written on each slip. However, when Sanako carefully scrutinises them, she is able to see questionable facts of the people concerned or their troubles. Sanako truly does not want to go after something that is none of her concern. But it is impossible for her to overlook those who mix business with personal affairs. As a low-ranking employee in the accounting department, how will she approach these dishonest people and establish an equal relationship? One day, Yamada Taiyo from the sales department comes to Sanako with a receipt for grilled octopus balls. He has become the chief of a new parlour cafe project which integrates a hot spring and a cafe. The person Yamada met was Sonezaki Mirei, the designer commissioned to design the cafe’s interior. Mirei is a beautiful woman who does not look her age and a famous person who has even appeared on TV. After that, Yamada brings another receipt for tickets to a theme park that he visited with Mirei for research. However, there happen to be rumours that he recently went on a date at the same theme park with a female colleague. Sanako suspects that it was actually for personal use, but … …

Characters
Tabe Mikako as Moriwaka Sanako
A member of the accounting department. She is excellent in her work and also a perfectionist in her personal life. She keeps her distance from people to do things at her own pace, and she is a late-bloomer in romance. “Don’t chase rabbits”, which means stay away from things that are not her business, are the words she lives by.

Shigeoka Daiki as Yamada Taiyo
The young ace of the sales department. He gets involved with Moriwaka Sanako because of a controversy and falls for her. He makes a move on Sanako despite her naivety. He gets carried away easily but he is a good young man with a kind smile that dazzles.

Kiriyama Ren as Yamazaki Shuichi
Yamada Taiyo’s senior at the sales department. Unlike Yamada he is cool but he is good at getting into people’s pockets and is the number one in sales performance. Moriwaka Sanako respects him.

Hirayama Hiroyuki as Takura Yutaro
Moriwaka Sanako’s senior. He is in charge of the production department. Sanako takes her cue from his calmness and seriousness towards his job.

Fukikoshi Mitsuru as Shibata Hideki
The head of the accounting department who is Moriwaka Sanako’s boss. He and the head of the sales department Yoshimura Akihiro were senior and junior back in university and they are not on good terms. He appears to be very serious but is actually quite a humorous character.

Scriptwriters
Watanabe Chiho (Holiday Love, Beppin-san, 5-nin no Junko)
Fujihira Hisako (Tantei ga Hayasugiru, Miss Devil)
Hiruta Naomi (Onna no Kigen no Naoshikata)

Original Work
Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen! by Aoki Yuko

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Related Post:

• Kore wa Keihi de Ochimasen! CM

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Date: From 10.00 p.m., 13 – 15 August 2019
Scriptwriter: Makita Koji (Thrill! Series, White Lab, Trick Series)
Cast: Hamabe Minami, Higashide Masahiro, Osamura Koku, Rokkaku Seiji, Oshinari Shugo, Otsuka Chihiro, Kochi Machiko, Kaku Tomohiro, Oshima Yoko, Oishi Goro, Dan Jiro
Synopsis: Kurobara Junko (Hamabe Minami) is a struggling idol with a pure and innocent image. However, she is actually a rather devious young lady who is orchestrating the downfall of a rival. Her manager Abe Genzo (Rokkaku Seiji) gets her a job to be the chief of a police precinct for a day to raise public awareness of road safety and crime prevention. Junko accepts the role at a small police precinct but she somehow gets entangled in a murder case. In the middle of a parade, a serial killer going by the name Judge of Justice murders an influential person. The event gets cancelled and Junko is unhappy. Detective Todo Shusaku (Higashide Masahiro) from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division always shows up when there is a murder case in the precinct’s jurisdiction. Junko tricks him with her favourite tactic and he is forced to investigate the case with her. Although Todo treats her like a doormat, Junko keeps prying. This odd pair end up cracking the case in one day.
Official Website: www.nhk.or.jp/drama/dsp/pure

Related Post:

• Pure! Ichinichi Idol Shochou no Jikenbo CM

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Taiyo wa Ugokanai
Date: 2020 (followed by movie)
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Hayashi Tamio (Yokokuhan Series)
Original Work: Taiyo wa Ugokanai by Yoshida Shuichi
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Fujiwara Tatsuya, Takeuchi Ryoma
Synopsis: Takano Kazuhiko (Fujiwara Tatsuya), an agent for a secret organisation, has a small bomb embedded in his heart and is pushed to breaking point. His partner is Taoka Ryoichi (Takeuchi Ryoma). They begin a dangerous game of wits with agents from other countries over top-secret information about next-generation energy while facing the risk of death round the clock. Amid an extreme situation where they do not know who are their allies and foes, the bombs in their hearts approach the limit.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/taiyodrama

Imawa no Kuni no Arisu^*NEW*
Date: 2020
Network: Netflix Japan
Scriptwriters: Watabe Yoshiki, Kuramitsu Yasuko (Scandal Senmon Bengoshi Queen, Tourist, Keiji Yugami), Sato Shinsuke
Original Work: Imawa no Kuni no Arisu by Aso Haro
Genre: Suspense
Cast: Yamazaki Kento, Tsuchiya Tao
Synopsis: Arisu Ryohei (Yamazaki Kento) is unemployed and frustrated with daily life which he finds unbearable. One day, while he is hanging around Tokyo with his two friends, a mysterious light radiates. When they realise it, all signs of life around them have vanished. However, a game begins one after another in an empty Tokyo where one wrong move will cause them their lives. Arisu and his friends have to fight tooth and nail in the face of challenges that defy logic. They encounter Usagi Yuzuha (Tsuchiya Tao) in the game … …
Website: www.netflix.com/jp/title/80200575

24
Date: 2020
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: –
Original Work: 24 by 20th Century Fox
Genre: Action suspense
Cast: –
Synopsis: The Japanese adaptation depicts a female prime ministerial candidate who is a terrorist target and the 24 hours until she becomes Japan’s first female Prime Minister. Jack Bauer’s previous missions include the rescue of Japanese nationals held hostage overseas and blowing up a chemical weapons factory used by terrorists.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/24japan

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