Official Website
www.tbs.co.jp/koitsudu_tbs

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 14 January 2020

Network
TBS

Story
When Sakura Nanase was a high school student visiting Tokyo on a school trip, a woman who was past middle age blacked out and collapsed in front of her. Nanase panicked but a doctor called Tendo Kairi happened to pass by. He came to the woman’s aid and she regained consciousness. Nanase fell in love with Tendo at first sight as she watched him swiftly deal with the situation. She set her sights on becoming a nurse out of her sheer desire to see him again. Five years go by … … Nanase has become a nurse at long last and secured a job at Hiura General Hospital where her dream guy Tendo Kairi works. She quickly declares her love to Tendo when they reunite but he has no memory of the event five years ago. She is soundly rejected and sworn at with harsh words. All the new nurses have to be rotated to each of the hospital’s departments for training and a depressed Nanase is assigned to the cardiovascular internal medicine department where Tendo belongs. Although she wants to be acknowledged as a nurse by Tendo, her efforts go nowhere. She keeps on making mistakes and he takes her to task. Nanase discovers that the very man she adores is a completely different person from what she imagined. She learns that he always takes digs at people and is such an extreme sadist that he was given the nickname “Devil”. But Nanase continues to sincerely and honestly convey her feelings to Tendo. She instantly becomes famous in the hospital for this, and her fearlessness in pressing on like a “hero” against the “devil” earns her the nickname “Yuusha-chan” from her seniors. Even though she looks completely reckless in everyone’s eyes, Nanase pours her heart into it. And her constant honesty in both work and love starts to melt Tendo’s steel heart little by little.

Characters
Kamishiraishi Mone as Sakura Nanase
A reckless new nurse nicknamed “hero”. She made the acquaintance of Tendo Kairi through a chance encounter and fell in love with him. Wanting to see him again, she studied very hard and finally became a nurse. As she works hard on the medical front where life and death are always close by, she experiences joy and pain and grows as a nurse. She is a good-natured person who will accept requests from patients against her better judgment even if these have nothing to do with her duties. However, she is well-loved by everyone because she deals with patients earnestly. She wants Tendo to quickly acknowledge her as a full-fledged nurse. At the same time, she finds herself even more attracted to him because of his sincerity as a doctor and honesty as a person.

Sato Takeru as Tendo Kairi
A handsome elite doctor with top-notch skills in his work. He is respected by everyone around him although he is the feared “devil”. He treats patients sincerely but he can be cold in the way he works because he is a perfectionist. He is stoic but seen as an extreme sadist. He is too aggressive with his colleagues and besides some nurses who are good at what they do, he does not treat the rest as humans. He is the type who is constantly composed and observes things carefully. However, he will always help Sakura Nanase when she encounters difficulty. He has an extreme sweet tooth and there will be a gleam in his eyes when he sees something sweet. His favourite is cream-filled bread which he always conceals in the pocket of his white coat.

Maiguma Katsuya as Kisugi Koichi
A doctor with the cardiovascular internal medicine department. Tendo Kairi’s peer. He and Tendo have been friendly competitors since they were medical students. He is the only who can tease Tendo. A kind and gentle person, his carefree, loveable smiles have been winning the hearts of nurses. Because he is the exact opposite of Tendo’s “devil”, he has been given the nickname “magician”. They are compared with each other at every turn but they have a strong relationship of trust.

Yoshikawa Ai as Sakai Yuika
A new nurse who joined the hospital at the same time as Sakura Nanase. She belongs to the cardiovascular internal medicine department. She graduated from a nurses college in university and is outstanding even though she is a newbie. While she and Nanase have been improving themselves through friendly competition she sees Nanase as a rival. Her approach to being a nurse is the total opposite to Nanase. She has minimal interactions with patients and deals with them in a businesslike manner. Because of that, she also has arguments with Nanase. She faintly finds Kisugi Koichi special?

Renbutsu Misako as Wakabayashi Minori
Tendo Kairi’s ex-classmate and girlfriend. She belonged to the faculty of medicine at the same university. A simple, sunny person who always makes the people around her smile. She understands the slightly awkward Tendo well. She is deeply connected to a past incident which made him the stoic “devil”. Will she become Sakura Nanase’s rival in love?

Yamamoto Koji as Koishikawa Rokuro
The deputy director of Hiura General Hospital and the head of the doctors in the cardiovascular internal medicine department. Tendo Kairi’s senior and also supervisor. He is always cheerful and takes good care of his juniors but it is difficult to know what is on his mind. He may seem wanting but he is a good boss who will quietly keep an eye on interpersonal relationship and concerns.

Scriptwriter
Kaneko Arisa (Tokyo Dokushin Danshi, Chugaku Seinikki, Boku no Tsuma to Kekkon Shite Kudasai)

Original Work
Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Doko made mo by Enjoji Maki

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Official Website
www.ktv.jp/10himitsu

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 14 January 2020

Network
Fuji TV

Story
Shirakawa Keita is a building certification inspector who lives with his 14-year-old daughter Hitomi. After his ambitious wife Yukiko notified him that she was filing for divorce and walked out nine years ago, Hitomi has been the only consideration in his life. Keita has established a relationship where he and Hitomi can talk about anything and Hitomi’s friends envy her. He is the ideal father that they want. Then one day, Keita receives a phone call implying that Hitomi has been kidnapped. All the caller says is, “I have your daughter. If you value her life, find your ex-wife in three days.” Keita only half believes it. But when he is not able to contact Hitomi, he gets anxious. He immediately determines Yukiko’s whereabouts but she suddenly resigned from the large law firm where she worked at several days ago and the man who was her boss is pressed for an explanation by a client called Utsunomiya Ryuji. As Keita searches for Hitomi, he discovers that even the daughter whom he thought he knew everything about, has been skipping school and club activities recently, and has even stopped going cram school. Keita is terribly upset. But Hitomi has another astounding secret … … Keita’s childhood friend Ishikawa Nanako notices that he is behaving strangely. He tells her what has happened so far and they go to the police as a man watches them from the shadows. Keita is soon convinced that Yukiko is the key to rescuing Hitomi and rushes to the upscale apartment where she lives. He meets Yukiko’s client and lover Ryuji again. He is given a tour of the apartment which does not seem to have been lived-in and learns about the unbelievable secret behind his ex-wife’s glamorous lifestyle.

Characters
Mukai Osamu as Shirakawa Keita
A building certification inspector who lives with his 14-year-old daughter Hitomi. When he was young, he aspired to be an architect and got a job at an architect firm. He obtained qualifications as a first-class architect and this increased his opportunities to design projects. However, some incident caused his relationship with his wife Yukiko to sour. She broached divorced and he became a single father. In order to look after Hitomi by himself, he quit the architect firm. After he found employment at a building inspection company, he has been inspecting the construction sites of home and apartment buildings. He puts his daughter first and has established a good relationship where they can talk about everything. Hitomi’s friends envy her for having the ideal father. He has a secret – 10 years ago, he brought Yukiko to a graveyard and made a vow.

Nakama Yukie as Sendai Yukiko
Shirakawa Keita’s ex-wife. The legal counsel of Teito Construction, a major construction company. She grew up almost neglected by her mother who was a single mother. She worked hard and climbed her way out of poverty. Although she had a daughter Hitomi with Keita, she left the divorce papers and moved out because she wanted to focus on work. She has shared a 10-year secret with Keita that she promised not to disclose to anyone.

Yamada Anna as Shirakawa Hitomi
Shirakawa Keita and Sendai Yukiko’s only daughter. She loves the violin and belongs to her junior high school’s orchestra. She wants to study in a music college. Although she is envied for her relationship with her father, she has a secret that she cannot tell him.

Matsumura Hokuto as Date Tsubasa
Shirakawa Hitomi’s music partner who is a student at a music college. He is like an older brother who understands her feelings. He works part-time at a jazz bar where he plays the piano. He has a secret that will greatly influence the story.

Naka Riisa as Ishikawa Nanako
A nursery school teacher who lives near Shirakawa Keita’s house. Because her mother and Keita’s mother are friends, they are like siblings who have been in and out of each other’s houses since childhood. She is caring by nature and is well-regarded at the nursery school. No one around her realises that she actually has a terrible secret.

Sano Shiro as Naganuma Yutaka
The CEO of Teito Construction. Teito Construction got into trouble in the past and it developed into a lawsuit. However, Sendai Yukiko resolved the matter and he named her the company’s legal counsel due to her skills. He has a secret regarding the company’s future.

Watabe Atsuro as Utsunomiya Ryuji
The head of Teito Construction’s business strategy office. An extremely ambitious man who obeys the CEO Naganuma Yutaka. He is interested in the ambitious Sendai Yukiko and the two of them became lovers because they accept each other. He is searching for the missing Yukiko regarding some company secret.

Scriptwriter
Goto Noriko (Innocent Days, Uso no Sensou, Kazoku no Katachi)

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Official Website
www.tv-asahi.co.jp/keijitokenji

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 16 January 2020

Network
TV Asahi

Story
Nakaido Gota has been working at a police box in Yokohama since switching careers from a physical education teacher to a police officer. One day, he arrests a thug on the spot for brandishing a knife at a shopping street. He is commended by the chief of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police which encourages him to make a direct appeal to the police chief. Gota gets transferred to the Investigation Division of Yokohama Sakuragi Police Precinct and makes a new start as a detective. He is unstoppable from his first day. After Gota is told about the people’s candid opinions to quickly arrest the serial burglar who has stoke public fears since the year before last, he announces that he will arrest the culprit even though this falls beyond the jurisdiction of his section. Gota begins a low-profile investigation but eventually catches the burglar. When he sees the person’s face, he is shocked. The serial burglar is his former student Namerikawa Hideyuki. Meanwhile, Mashima Shuhei, a prosecutor with the Yokohama District Prosecutors’ Office’s Minato Branch, is feeling increasingly impatient because he has not been put in charge of any big cases even though he has been a prosecutor for five years. Then, Shuhei is put in charge of Namerikawa who has been sent to the prosecutors’ office. When he questions Namerikawa about other charges, it turns out that Namerikawa bumped into an elderly person when he broke into a home one year ago, shoved the person aside and fled. Because of his ambition, Shuhei checks with Sakuragi Police Precinct to find out whether this elderly person was found dead right after that. Gota is the hot-blooded guy who goes to great pains to arrest criminals and enjoys appreciation by the victims. He has little concept of compliance at a time when it is considered important. On the other hand, Mashima is the coldhearted one who believes the best social justice is to prosecute criminals. Therefore, detectives who gather evidence are the “pawns” of prosecutors. Brimming with their own sense of justice, the two men team up to tackle numerous cases. Detectives often get no justice. Despite risking their lives to arrest suspects, 70% of the cases get dropped. All prosecutors will fight for convictions because the conviction rate for criminal cases is more than 99%. Gota and Shuhei naturally clash but begin to empathise with each other.

Characters
Kiritani Kenta as Nakaido Gota
A detective with the Investigation Division of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police’s Yokohama Sakuragi Police Precinct. Born in Osaka, he worked as a physical education teacher at a private high school for eight years before switching to become a police officer. He was promoted from a policeman at a police box at the age of 36 and fulfilled his dream of becoming a detective. He is a compassionate man who will not stop once he breaks into a run. He likes to act cool by nature but in very high spirits now that he is a detective. He loves the appreciation from victims after the bad criminals are arrested. Although he has confidence in his physical strength and reflexes, he does not like studying and has little concept of compliance at a time when it is considered important. The way he thinks of justice is very much like the common people and he often raises objections to the police organisation’s contradictions. A greenhorn as a detective and person working in an organisation, he also gets annoyed with condescending attitude of the prosecutor Mashima Shuhei, whom his younger sister Minami supports as an assistant officer.

Higashide Masahiro as Mashima Shuhei
A prosecutor with the Yokohama District Prosecutors’ Office’s Minato Branch. He graduated from Tokyo University’s postgraduate law faculty and passed the bar exam. He strongly feels that he is one of the chosen people and very proud too. While he is exceptionally intelligent, he is lacking in other areas and still half-baked as a prosecutor. He has had this job for five years but he has not been put in charge of a big case yet and this make him feel impatient deep down. He believes the best social justice is to prosecute criminals and the detectives who gather evidence for this purpose are the “pawns” of prosecutors. Therefore, he makes a detective who has been lax in gathering evidence, do it again thoroughly and at the trial, he will decisively drive suspects into a corner. However, his involvement with Nakaido Gota, the older brother of the assistant officer whom he likes, gets involved, steadily throws him off his stride.

Higa Manami as Nakaido Minami
Nakaido Gota’s younger sister. An assistant officer who supports the prosecutor Mashima Shuhei at the Yokohama District Prosecutors’ Office’s Minato Branch. She has an accurate grasp of the feelings and viewpoints of the people involved in cases and is a strong-minded woman who expresses her opinions as equals with Shuhei sometimes. She thinks he is an excellent prosecutor. But she smiles wryly at his inflexibility and attempts at acting cool. She is caught between her brother Gota and boss Shuhei who are total opposites and can never catch a break. She has just broken up with her boyfriend and is single. Even though she knows that Shuhei likes her, she has never seen him as a man. She is annoyed by her brother’s inconsiderate behaviour when he comes to live with her.

Shibuya Kento as Kusaka Naoki
A prosecutor with the Yokohama District Prosecutors’ Office’s Minato Branch. He passed the bar exam while he was studying at Tokyo University. Like Mashima Shuhei, he looks down on the police but flatters himself that he is outstanding. He openly shows rivalry with Shuhei. He is always scared of the assessment of Kashimura Takeo, the chief of the Minato branch.

Yashiba Toshihiro as Tago Eikichi
The head of the Investigation Division of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police’s Yokohama Sakuragi Police Precinct. He is constantly worried about thorough compliance as a middle manager. Because he is particularly concerned about prosecutors, he always feels nervous that Nakaido Gota may act rashly.

Yanagiba Toshiro as Kashimura Takeo
The head of the Yokohama District Prosecutors’ Office’s Minato Branch. Mashima Shuhei’s boss who used to be called the devil prosecutor at the Tokyo District Prosecutors’ Office. He looks fierce and is severe. He has been slow to put the inexperienced Shuhei in charge of serious crimes. He believes charm is absolutely essential because a prosecutor’s job is to make suspects open up. Although he thinks that Shuhei is still inexperienced, he secretly thinks he has potential. He and Onuki Seiichiro, the chief of Sakuragi Police Precinct, are old acquaintances and they probe each other while playing shogi.

Kazama Morio as Onuki Seiichiro
The chief of Kanagawa Prefectural Police’s Yokohama Sakuragi Police Precinct. He understands Nakaido Gota. He believes the police precinct needs a passionate detective like Gota and keeps an eye on the areas that he is still not experienced in. He looks mild-mannered but he makes meaningful remarks he makes from time to time also helps Gota and the others at the police precinct. Although he has stood up to the prosecutor Kashimura Takeo, he believes his position that the police does work that is unique to the police, is the same with prosecutors.

Scriptwriter
Fukuda Yasushi (Doctors Series, Hero Series, Galileo Series)

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Official Website
www.tbs.co.jp/theseusnofune

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 19 January 2020

Network
TBS

Story
Tamura Shin is a young man who has been pursuing the mystery of the murder that his father Sano Bungo, a police officer, caused and changed the fate of their family. Ever since his father’s arrest, Shin, his mother Kazuko and sister Suzu have been getting harsh looks and had to live in hiding – a life where they are always conscious of people and not even permitted to smile. However, Shin’s beloved wife Yuki accepts his past and has always given him encouragement and support. One day, Shin is told by Yuki to try and give his father the benefit of the doubt, and he decides to meet his father who is in prison. However, when he heads to the old crime scene, he is shrouded by a sudden mist and ends up going back in time to the past. Shin finds himself in the year 1989 – right before the murder took place. The crime scene has become a snowy village. At this village, Shin meets his father for the first time in his life as well as his much younger mother. They are a lovely, kind family with warm smiles. Why did his father become a murderer? If he stops his father’s case, he will not lose them. This spurs Shin to challenge the taboo of changing the past. He tries to unravel the mystery here and prevent the murder.

Characters
Takuechi Ryoma as Tamura Shin
31 years ago, his father Bungo was arrested for causing a series of murders by poisoning. Because of the father whose face he had never even seen, he has always been conscious of what other people think of him. After he travels back in time to the start of the Heisei era right before the case took place, he decides to try changing the past in order to bring back the smiles to his lost family.

Ueno Juri as Tamura Yuki
Tamura Shin’s wife. She married Shin against the wishes of her family despite knowing that his father is a murderer. She is pregnant now. She pushes him to confront the case.

Suzuki Ryohei as Sano Bungo
Tamura Shin’s father. 31 years ago, he was arrested for causing a series of murders by poisoning and sentenced to death. He used to work as a police officer in the village where he was stationed at. A cheerful, hearty man who is loved by his family and the villagers.

Eikura Nana as Sano Kazuko
Tamura Shin’s mother. A cheerful but plucky woman who makes an impression. She watched over her family with great love and gave them pep talks at times.

Scriptwriter
Takahashi Maki (Itsuka Kono Ame ga Yamu Hi Made, Asa ga Kuru, Kekkonshiki no Zenjitsu ni)

Original Work
Theseus no Fune by Higashimoto Toshiya

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Official Website
www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/nozaki2

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 19 January 2020

Network
WOWOW

Story
Three years after Ozora Bank was nationalised, there are still no signs of a turnaround. Nozaki Shuhei, who previously exposed the bank’s illegal dealings as an internal auditor, becomes its president in an unconventional promotion. During this time, he had been involved in many corporate restructuring efforts through the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan and was appointed because of his resourcefulness. In a bid to restore the confidence and pride of the bank employees who have been demoralised by the performance-driven culture and layoffs, Nozaki sets his sights on building a bank that can contribute to society and launches reforms with managing director Tachikawa Shoko and Ishihara Toshiyuki from the loan department. Then Kyogoku Haruki, a former elite government bureaucrat and the son of the former bank president, becomes a director. Announcing that he will avenge his father, he plots with Shoko to oust Nozaki and take back the position his father had built up. Will Nozaki be able to stay true to his own sense of justice and revive the bank? His battle begins again … …

Characters
Oda Yuji as Nozaki Shuhei
A man who has a strong sense of justice, empathy and makes level-headed decisions. He exposed Ozora Bank’s illegal dealings with impartiality as an internal auditor and aimed to rebuild it. However, he resigned when it was nationalised. After that, he worked for the Industrial Revitalization Corporation of Japan and was involved in many corporate restructuring efforts. He is selected to be Ozora Bank’s president again due to his resourcefulness, and is determined to rebuild the ruined bank.

Matsushima Nanako as Tachikawa Shoko
A very ambitious woman who was selected to be a managing director as a symbol of Ozora Bank’s revival. She supported the bank after Nozaki Shuhei’s departure. When Kyogoku Haruki, the son of the former bank president Kyogoku Masahiko, becomes a director, her assistance is sought to bring about Nozaki’s downfall but … …

Ozawa Yukiyoshi as Kyogoku Haruki
The son of Kyogoku Masahiko, Ozora Bank’s former president. He used to be an elite government bureaucrat at the Ministry of Finance’s Budget Bureau but he switched to work for an American bank. He later becomes a director of Ozora Bank as he wished. Together with Tachikawa Shoko, he comes into conflict Nozaki Shuhei in order to take back his father’s position.

Kazama Shunsuke as Ishihara Toshiyuki
A bank employee who is hostile to Nozaki Shuhei. Although he is skeptical of Nozaki’s policies after he returns to Ozora Bank as its president, his mindset changes while he carries out the mission entrusted to him. He begins to have faith in Nozaki and soon plays a part in rebuilding the bank.

Kishitani Goro as Takeda Shingo
The shrew and capable CEO of IRM, a corporate risk management company that he founded. He used to be Ozora Bank’s hawkish executive director. He protects Nozaki Shuhei who is being intimidated once again by Kaito Yoshimi, an extortionist that threatens to disrupt shareholder meetings, while rebuilding the bank.

Scriptwriter
Maekawa Yoichi (Kansayaku Nozaki Shuhei, Shizumanu Taiyo, Lady Joker)

Original Work
Kansayaku Nozaki Shuhei by Shu Ryoka

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Eru
Date: Spring 2020
Station: NHK
Scriptwriter: Hayashi Koji (Headhunter, Sniffer Series, Cold Case Season 1)
Cast: Kubota Masataka, Nikaido Fumi, Karasawa Toshiaki, Kikuchi Momoko, Sakumoto Takara, Kazama Morio, Yamazaki Ikusaburo, Nakamura Aoi, Moriyama Naotaro
Synopsis: In 1909, a long-awaited baby boy was born to a family (Karasawa Toshiaki, Kikuchi Momoko) which has run a dry goods store for generations in Fukushima Prefecture. He would later become the talented composer Koyama Yuichi (Kubota Masataka) who wrote many famous songs. Although Yuichi was brought up as the heir of the business, he was rather dreamy and considered a child with no redeeming traits by the people around him. However, when he encountered music, it sparked joy and unleashed his gift in composing music through self-study. As a youth, Yuichi secretly put his name down for an overseas songwriting competition. This would change his destiny. He won runner-up for the song he entered for the competition. As a result, he got to know Sekiuchi Oto (Nikaido Fumi), a female student who wanted to be a singer. Despite the long distance between them – Fukushima and Toyohashi – they tied the knot. When Yuichi and Oto came to Tokyo, they met all sorts of people and weathered a dark period to produce a number of hit songs. However, war broke out and Yuichi had to compose wartime songs at the army’s request. It pained him that young men died in battle after singing the songs he had written. After the war, the country began to recover amid the chaos. The couple made a new era of music in an attempt to encourage the wounded through the power of music.
Website: –

Pareto no Gosan ~ Caseworker Satsujin Jiken
Date: March 2020
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Takei Aya (Eerie Mienai Kao, Sousa Kaigi wa Living de!, Juken to Cinderella)
Original Work: Pareto no Gosan by Yuzuki Yuko
Genre: Mystery
Cast: Hashimoto Ai, Masuda Takahisa
Synopsis: Synopsis: Makino Satomi (Hashimoto Ai) has been reluctantly working for the welfare division at a municipal office. One day, she is ordered to be a caseworker all of a sudden and this makes her feel uneasy. A veteran caseworker named Yamakawa encouragingly tells Satomi that it is a rewarding job. Together with a colleague called Onodera Junichi (Masuda Takahisa), Satomi starts engagin with people despite her doubts. However, a few days later, Yamakawa’s murdered body is later found after an apartment fire. Why would this happen to someone so adored by the people she helped? As suspicions of Yamakawa’s possible involvement in something illegal grow, Satomi and Onodera begin to get entangled in the lives of various people over life insurance and the shadow of impropriety hanging over the town.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/pareto

Tetsu no Hone (WOWOW)
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, April 2020
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Maekawa Yoichi (Akira to Akira, Shizumanu Taiyo, )
Original Work: Tetsu no Hone by Ikeido Jun
Genre: Corporate
Cast: Kamiki Ryunosuke, Nakamura Shido, Tsuchiya Tao, Koyuki, Shibata Kyohei, Mukai Osamu, Ishimaru Kanji, Uchino Masaaki
Synopsis: Tomishima Heita (Kamiki Ryunosuke) is a young employee who has been with a mid-sized construction company for four years, and loves construction site. One day, Heita is ordered to transfer to the General Affairs Department which is a different line of work. It is a unit in charge of winning large public works contracts and mocked as the Bid-Rigging Department. Together with a weary-looking department manager, senior colleagues and a shrewd but inscrutable managing director, Heita aims to secure a public works contract worth 200 million yen. As his interactions with a fixer deepens, he sees desire and obligatory ties with his own eyes. Even though Heita struggles between his ideals and reality, he finds his work rewarding. Meanwhile, their company is in the lead with a bold technical innovation in its bid. However, the management of a rival company stands in their way. To make matters worse, the Special Investigation Department of the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office starts to look into collusive bidding involving influential politicians and the investigation even extends to Heita. What will happen to him and the company?
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/dramaw/tetsunohone

Hanzawa Naoki Season 2
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, April 2020
Network: TBS
Scriptwriter: Ushio Kentaro (Shitamachi Rocket Season 2, Black Pean, Chiisana Kyojin)
Original Works: Lost Generation no Gyakushuu and Ginyoku no Icarus by Ikeido Jun
Cast: Sakai Masato
Synopsis: Hanzawa Naoki (Sakai Masato) is seconded from Tokyo Chuo Banking Corporation to Tokyo Central Securities.
Website: www.tbs.co.jp/hanzawa_naoki
Related: Hanzawa Naoki Season 1

Operation Z ~ Nippon Hametsu, Mattanashi^*NEW*
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 15 March 2020
Network: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Sakurai Takeharu (Kioku Sousa, Kami no Shita o Motsu Otoko, Ataru)
Original Work: Operation Z by Mayama Jin
Genre: Political
Cast: Kusakari Masao, Mizobata Junpei
Synopsis: Japan is facing a serious crisis. This is not about its ageing population and environmental problems but money – something that has been heard of but does not draw much attention. The country’s debt exceeds 1 quadrillion yen and it is still piling up. Prime Minister Ejima Takamori (Kusakari Masao) gathers four of the best finance officials including Suo Atsushi. He announces that general account expenditure will be halved for the sake of the country’s future and a project named Operation Z is formed. The largest expenditure is social security-related expenditure followed by tax money allocated to local governments. It will be impossible to reduce the general account expenditure by half without keeping these two items close to zero. Will the Operation Z members’ intentions get through to the people?
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/original/oz

Taiyo wa Ugokanai
Date: May 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

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

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Mondays, 20 January 2020

Network
TV Tokyo

Story
Arihara Shuhei works for a university hospital in Tokyo and has devoted himself to research on catheter-based treatment. One day, he receives a phone call from his family. His father Shotaro, who is the former director of Arihara General Hospital, has suffered a stroke. Shuhei hastily returns home for the first time in six years, but Shotaro has fallen into a coma. He hears from the head nurse Hyodo Etsuko that the hospital is heavily in debt and on the brink of bankruptcy. According to her, the management of the hospital has been deteriorating since his uncle Kenjiro took over as the chairman and director of the hospital. Shuhei is lost for words. In addition, Kenjiro had been moving forward with a bank plan to sell off the hospital behind the scene. Although Shuhei later becomes the new hospital director, he sees the terrible situation on the ground with his very own eyes. The medical staff are working on their own terms and not for the patients. Shuhei decides to take on reforms the together with Kurashima Ryosuke, the deputy manager of Kaishin Bank’s loan department, based on his conviction that hospitals should be for patients.

Characters
Koizumi Kotaro as Arihara Shuhei
He gives up a promising career at a university hospital in Tokyo to head Arihara General Hospital, and fights to rebuild the hospital. He is passionate to the point that he is occasionally called “reckless express”.

Takashima Masanobu as Kurashima Ryosuke
The deputy manager of Kaishin Bank’s loan department. He has an honest and sincere personality and is a kind man who values family. He works together with Arihara Shuhei to proceed with the hospital’s reforms.

Konishi Manami as Arihara Shiho
Arihara Shuhei’s wife. She works as an editorial designer as she firmly supports him.

Asada Miyoko as Hyodo Etsuko
The head nurse of Arihara General Hospital. She watches out and supports Arihara Shuhei like an older sister.

Nakamura Masatoshi as Yoneda Masateru 　
The vice president of Kaishin Bank. He has supported Arihara General Hospital since Arihara Shotaro’s time. Although he understands Arihara Shuhei and Kurashima Ryosuke, there are occasional flashes of his hard-headedness as a banker.

Owada Shinya as Arihara Shotaro
Arihara Shuhei’s father. The honorary director of Arihara General Hospital. A well-known doctor who is loved locally. He continuously expanded the hospital for the sake of patients and the community but … …

Scriptwriter
Nakamura Mutsumi (Aibou Seasons 12, 14 – 17, Kounodori Season 1, Yae no Sakura)

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

Broadcast
From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 24 January 2020

Network
NHK

Story
34-year-old Hamura Akira loves mysteries. She is a part-timer at a secondhand bookshop called Murder Bear Bookshop while she works as an investigator of Shirokuma Investigation Agency in what started as a joke with the owner Muraki Yoshihiro. Akira strives to solve cases with the help of Muraki Yoshihiro, detectives Hayami Osamatsu and Shibata Kaname from Kageyama Higashi Police Precinct. Superintendent Okada Shotaro from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department is the only one among them that she respects for his intellect. Akira has a tendency to get caught in misadventures one way or another, and is known as the world’s most unfortunate private investigator. But as she confronts cases, she also has to face her own life. One day, Akira’s older sister Suzu visits her. Akira dislikes Suzu who has given her a hard time all this while. Suzu hands her a ticket for a trip overseas to apologise for everything that has happened so far and coerces her to go. Meanwhile, the dead body of a woman is discovered in the mountains. The name stated on her identity card is Hamura Akira?!

Characters
Shishido Kavka as Hamura Akira
The youngest of four sisters. She ran away from her pesky older sister and got into detective work in the process of changing jobs and addresses. She is now a part-timer at Murder Bear Bookshop and is working as an investigator of Shirokuma Investigation Agency in what began as a joke with Muraki Yoshihiro, the owner of the bookshop. Because she is the sort who wants to set the record straight, she frequently gets into trouble as she will not go easy on solving on solving a case. She is a digital nomad and a minimalist who likes monotone clothes possibly because of the nature of her work. She loves reading books, particularly mysteries. Although she is tough and a loner, she opens up to the people she meets at the bookshop even as she gets pushed around, and shows innermost kindness.

Mamiya Shotaro as Okada Shotaro
A super elite in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Rank: Superintendent. In the eyes of detectives Hayami Osamatsu and Shibata Kaname, he is someone “above the clouds”. A man whose intellect evenly matches Hamura Akira’s and they even make deductions together. As a police officer, he is unusual in his use of honorific language with her. He is a very scary man to make an enemy of.

Ikeda Narushi as Muraki Yoshihiro
He and Hamura Akira have known each other for a long time and was once her boss in the same workplace. He cannot stand watching Akira not have work and harps about how grateful she should be to him for bringing easy jobs. However, he has never given it a try to know if it is truly easy. He used to be a police officer but he felt disgusted by the organisation which could only investigate cases after they take place. He left his job and became an investigator.

Tsuda Kanji as Hayami Osamatsu
A senior detective at Kageyama Higashi Police Precinct who is Shibata Kaname’s partner. However, he lacks ambition and hopes to have an easy life. He does not wish to get tangled up the mistakes of Shibata who wants to distinguish himself.

Itabashi Shunya as Shibata Kaname
A detective with Kageyama Higashi Police Precinct. He becomes a valuable intelligence source to Hamura Akira who wants to know the information on investigations that only the police will possess. He has a habit of calling her name without an honorific title in a patronising way.

Nakamura Baijaku as Toyama Yasuyuki
The owner of Murder Bear Bookshop. He used to be the editor-in-chief of a mystery magazine at a major publishing company but now he is his own boss. He constantly works on ideas for in-store promotions such as fairs and events as the owner of a secondhand bookstore that is out of touch with people’s interests. He delegates all the bothersome menial chores and physically exhausting work to his part-timer Hamura Akira as if to say it is his right to work her hard for allowing her to live on the second floor of the shop without rent.

Scriptwriters
Kurosawa Hisako (Minshuu no Teki, Tokyo Joshi Zukan, Arechi no Koi)
Kida Norio

Original Work
Onna Tantei Hamura Akira Series by Wakatake Nanami

Click here for photos from the press conference.

© jdramas.wordpress.com.

Official Website
www.nhk.or.jp/drama/dodra/kokoro

Broadcast
From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 18 January 2020

Network
NHK

Story
An Kazutaka has a love for the jazz piano and books. He goes on to study at the faculty of medicine in the same university as his good friend Yuasa Koji and aspires to pursue a career in psychiatry under the influence of Professor Nagano Yoshio who is a psychiatrist. However, his father is strongly against his choice. Kazutaka has been questioning who he really is ever since he learned as a child that his parents were of South Korean descent. But one day, he meets the cheerful Shuko at the movies. They fall in love. She becomes his wife, and he finally feels at peace with himself. Right after they have their first child, the Great Hanshin Earthquake strikes the city of Kobe where they live. Kazutaka immediately heads to the hospital where he works after the earthquake. The scene that he witnesses is that of a battlefield hospital. Keenly aware that he is powerless to do anything as he goes around to the evacuation shelters, Kazutaka begins to search for what he can do as a psychiatrist. Meanwhile, he receives a request from an old acquaintance who is a journalist for someone within the earthquake zone to write a regular column. As Kazutaka listens to the stories of disaster victims, he realises that he can help not by treating them, but restoring their capacity to heal. Later on, he compiles his observations of the disaster-hit area as a psychiatrist into a book, and wins a prize for social sciences. He sees this as a positive sign. However, one day when he is 39, he discovers that he has cancer.

Characters
Emoto Tasuku as An Kazutaka
A young, bashful psychiatrist whose jazz piano skills are as good as a pro. He also has a love for records and books. He is working at Kobe University Medical Hospital’s Psychiatry Department when the Great Hanshin Earthquake strikes.

Ono Machiko as An Shuko
An Kazutaka’s wife. She loves movies. She meets Kazutaka by chance and they fall in love. She continues to support him with characteristic cheerfulness.

Hamada Gaku as Yuasa Koji
An Kazutaka’s only good friend who has been together with him since youth. He also goes on to become a psychiatrist just like Kazutaka, and they form a jazz band together where he plays the saxophone.

Ishibashi Ryo as An Tetsuyoshi
An Kazutaka’s father. A South Korean living in Osaka. He is a shrewd entrepreneur. Although he pins his hopes on his three sons’ future, he opposes Kazutaka’s decision to become a psychiatrist.

Kondo Masaomi as Nagano Yoshio
An authority on psychiatry who represents Japan. He is also an admired mentor who spurs An Kazutaka to decide on a career in psychiatry.

Scriptwriter
Kuwahara Ryoko

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