Game of Spy
Date: Summer 2022
Network: Amazon Prime Japan
Genre: Action
Episodes: 10
Scriptwriter: Tokunaga Yuichi (Lupin no Musume Series, Good Doctor, Kirawareru Yuuki)
Director: Oikawa Takuro
Cast: Higashiyama Noriyuki, Ozawa Yukiyoshi, Lauren Tsai, Ueno Yukio, Denden, Matsudaira Ken, Tanaka Min, Watabe Atsuro
Synopsis: Hashiba Takeru (Higashiyama Noriyuki) is the team leader of the Global Operation Service, a top-secret spy agency set up by the Ministry of Justice’s Public Security Intelligence Agency to protect Japan which is being targeted by criminals worldwide. One of the country’s best spies, he has headed off national crises on countless occasions. Hashiba favours harsh places of scorching heat, high altitude, extreme cold and fells opponents with a unique combat style that fuses kari silat and sword fighting.
Website: –
Twitter: twitter.com/PrimeVideo_JP
Roppongi Class*NEW*
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, July 2022
Station: TV Asahi
Original Work: Itaewon Class by Cho Kwang-jin
Scriptwriter: –
Director: –
Cast: Takeuchi Ryoma
Synopsis: Miyabe Arata (Takeuchi Ryoma) fights against those with absolute power, vowing to take revenge. The manager of a Roppongi bar, Nidaime Miyabe, he has been in the depths of despair due to an accident caused by the heir of Nagaya Holdings, a behemoth in Japan’s food service industry. It has become his life’s goal to make this heir pay for his crime, and make the chairman of Nagaya Holdings, who used his tremendous power to cover up the accident for his son’s sake, prostrate himself and pay for what he has done. Arata keeps pressing on while sticking to what his father had taught him – live with conviction.
Website: www.tv-asahi.co.jp/roppongi_class
Twitter: twitter.com/roppongi_class
Occult no Mori e Yokoso*UPDATED*
Date: From 22 July 2022
Network: WOWOW
Genre: Horror
Episodes: 6
Scriptwriter: –
Director: Shiraishi Koji
Cast: Hotta Mayu
Synopsis: Horror movie director Kuroishi Koji (Shiraishi Koji) brings his assistant director Ichikawa Miho (Hotta Mayu) to cover a house deep in the mountains. A beautiful but psychologically disturbed woman Miyoshi Maria, who says she is a fan of Kuroishi’s movies, lives there. She desperately appeals to him that the incident she experienced is exactly the content of his movies. Kuroishi’s camera starts to capture unexpected phenomenon in her house. The situation heads in a more frightening, baffling and dangerous direction at blistering speed. As fear looms in the woods, they are rescued by a “super volunteer” and joined by a handsome medium all while the camera continues to roll and record the terrifying events. The filming team’s adventure begins in order to save Maria and create their masterpiece.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/original/okamori
Twitter: twitter.com/drama_wowow
Double
Date: From 10.30 p.m., Saturdays, 4 June 2022
Network: WOWOW
Episodes: 10
Original Work: Double by Noda Ayako
Scriptwriter: Yoshida Erika (Koisenu Futari, Heaven ~ Gokuraku Restaurant, Dansui!)
Director: Nakagawa Kazuhiro
Cast: Chiba Yudai, Nagayama Kento, Sakuraba Nanami, Horii Arata, Kudo Haruka, Itabashi Shunya, Maeno Tomoya, Mizuma Ron, Nakayama Shinobu, Hashimoto Jun, Kanno Misuzu, Tsuda Kanji
Synopsis: Takarada Takara (Chiba Yudai), a company employee, walks lethargically without an umbrella as the rain falls. He is drawn to watch the theatre company Gekidan Eiyu’s play. Inspired by Kamoshima Yujin’s (Nagayama Kento) performance in the play, Takara quits his job and decides to become an actor. He also joins Gekidan Eiyu and Yujin drills the fundamentals of acting into him. Yujin is the only one who realises Takara’s talent and hopes to make him the greatest actor in the world. At the same time, Yujin himself continues to dream of being the world’s best. The two of them live a strange communal life as they set their sights on becoming successful actors. With Yujin’s support, Takara’s talent eventually blooms and he begins to find stardom. However, this soon changes the relationship between Takara and Yujin.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/original/double
Twitter: twitter.com/drama_wowow
Uzukawa Mura Jiken
Date: From August
Network: WOWOW
Genre: Thriller
Episodes: 6
Original Work: Uzukawa Mura Jiken by Kushiki Riu
Scriptwriter: Wada Kiyoto (Shinjuku Seven, Shinya Shokudo Season 1)
Director: Irie Yu
Cast: Matsuda Ryuhei
Synopsis: The doctor Iwamori Akira’s (Matsuda Ryuhei) wife Hitomi has gone missing. He visits her hometown of Uzukawa Village together with their daughter Aiko to search for her. While the two of them are staying there, heavy rain hits the surrounding region and the village is cut off. Before long, a young person is murdered. As distrust and disquiet start to hang over the village, the complication of a power struggle in a powerful family and the generational divide between angry young people and adults gradually reaches a head. The entire village inches towards a crisis. Will Iwamori be able to come to terms with his family and his own past?
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/original/uzukawamura
Twitter: twitter.com/drama_wowow
Ame ni Kieta Himawari
Date: From July 2022
Network: WOWOW
Genre: Mystery
Episodes: 5
Original Work: Ame ni Kieta Himawari by Yoshikawa Eri
Scriptwriter: Seki Erika (Gossip, Gosaigyou, Career)
Directors: Hijikata Masato, Iwata Kazuyuki
Cast: Muro Tsuyoshi
Synopsis: One day during a heavy downpour, Ishioka Aoi, a fifth grade elementary school student, vanishes all of a sudden along a road with rice fields where sunflowers bloomed. All she left behind was an umbrella. Assistant Inspector Nara Kenichi (Muro Tsuyoshi) from the Saitama Prefectural Police’s First Investigation Division rushes over to the scene after receiving a report on her disappearance. Aoi’s father Yukinori is there participating in the search operation. He and his wife Akina are in the middle of a divorce settlement and he had been living separately from them. However, he came over once he received word. Could Aoi have disappeared because she was kidnapped, involved in an accident or ran away from home due to discord between her parents? The police face difficulty investigating the case. In the face of the Ishiokas heartbreak, Nara is reminded of his own younger sister Mayuko. Mayuko built an emotional wall after she was attacked by a thug and this episode spurred Nara to become a detective. Regretting his inability to protect her, he wants to find Aoi at all costs while her family continues to pray for her safety. Amid conflicting information and the family’s frustration, he closes on the truth through persistent investigation.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/original/himawari
Twitter: twitter.com/drama_wowow
Kuhaku o Mitashinasai
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 25 June 2022
Station: NHK
Genre: Suspense
Episodes: 5
Original Work: Kuhaku o Mitashinasai by Hirano Keiichiro
Scriptwriter: Takada Ryo (Boku no Nee-chan, Iki o Hisomete, 60 Gohan Taisakushitsu)
Directors: Shibata Takeshi, Mayuzumi Rintaro
Cast: Emoto Tasuku, Suzuki Anne, Hagiwara Masato, Watanabe Ikkei, Ujiki Tsuyoshi, Fujimori Shingo, Blake Crawford, Fubuki Jun, Abe Sadao
Synopsis: Tsuchiya Tetsuo (Emoto Tasuku) suddenly wakes up one night in his company’s meeting room. When he goes home like usual his wife Chika (Suzuki Anne) seems out of sorts. She is lost for words and frightened. He goes to awaken their 1-year-old son but the boy is clearly 4 years old. A public official eventually comes to visit and tells Tetsuo, “You died three years ago.” There is a lot of news on TV and the internet of the resurrection of people who are supposedly dead all over the world. However, Tetsuo has no memory of his own death. It is said that he fell from the rooftop of his company but he is frustrated that he has no recollection whether it was an accident or suicide. Could he have been murdered by that security guard Saeki (Abe Sadao) who followed him around at every opportunity? Tetsuo pursues the truth as the mystery deepens. However, Chika seems to be hiding something. Each person’s dark side is revealed little by little.
Website: –
Twitter: twitter.com/nhk_dramas
Old Rookie
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, July 2022
Station: TBS
Genre: Sports
Scriptwriter: Fukuda Yasushi (Kakenai?!, Good Partner, Doctors Series)
Director: Ishii Yasuharu
Cast: Ayano Go
Synopsis: Shinmachi Ryotaro (Ayano Go) is a professional soccer player who devoted his life to the sport and even represented his country. However, an injury caused his performance to slump. After this, he played for the J3 League. But he is suddenly forced to retire as a soccer player and hit with the reality that he has no skills besides soccer. And at the age of 37, it is rather late for Ryotaro to join the workforce. As his daughters are proud of him for being a soccer player, he cannot break the news to them just yet until he can tell them about his second career. Ryotaro comes across a sports management company Victory and decides to work in this line due to his wholehearted love and respect for sports although it involves working behind the scene as a representative and manager of athletes. Even so, he still has difficulty coming to terms with his retirement. It is not easy to change jobs at 37 and he also faces a big hurdle at work. Will Ryotaro choose soccer or his new life?
Website: /www.tbs.co.jp/OLDROOKIE_tbs
Twitter: twitter.com/oldrookie_tbs
Me no Kabe
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 19 June 2022
Network: WOWOW
Genre: Mystery
Episodes: 5
Original Work: Me no Kabe by Matsumoto Seichou
Scriptwriter: Fukazawa Masaki (Keishichou Sousa Ikka 9-gakari Series, ST Aka to Shiro no Sousa File, Nobunaga no Chef Series)
Director: Uchikata Akira
Cast: Koizumi Kotaro, Izumi Rika, Kamiji Yusuke, Yabu Kota, Yamazaki Ginnojo, Oshinari Shugo, Nakajima Hiroko, Iida Kisuke, Komoto Masahiro, Kaneda Akio, Kato Masaya, Jinnai Takanori
Synopsis: In 1990, Hagisaki Tatsuo (Koizumi Kotaro), the head of the accounting division of cash-strapped Ukishima Power Generation Corporation, is scrambling along with department head Sekino (Komoto Masahiro) to negotiate loans. However, just as they are getting a clearer idea on the company’s funds, Sekino is scammed of 2 million yen in bank drafts and he also disappears. The management decides to cover up the incident for appearance’s sake. Hagisaki trusted Sekino who is also the benefactor of Hagisaki’s father. Disappointed in the company’s actions, Hagisaki starts to pursues the truth with the help of a news journalist friend Muraki (Kamiji Yusuke). But the more Hagisaki investigates, the murkier the case gets. There are signs of a powerful person and an organisation in the background. He reaches Uesaki Etsuko (Izumi Rika), an enigmatic beauty who appears to hold the key to the mystery.
Website: www.wowow.co.jp/drama/original/menokabe
Twitter: twitter.com/drama_wowow
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