In 2016, a series of destructive earthquakes struck Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan. When seen from afar, badly damaged Kumamoto Castle is gradually recovering the stately appearance it's famous for. But many parts, such as the main tower, remain off-limits, making it hard to get a full picture of the castle's actual condition. This program takes an in-depth look at a major, 20-year project to restore it to its former glory. The team includes veteran masons tasked with re-laying an estimated 100,000 stones in the castle walls. Skilled carpenters are also working to restore historic structures. And experts are interweaving traditional and cutting-edge technologies to reinforce the castle against future disasters.

Reviving Kumamoto Castle

Class Struggle: Changes to China's Education System

Epic Challenge: A Race Across the Japanese Alps

80-year-old Dr. Kobori is as old as many of the people he cares for. Every day, he visits his elderly patients at their homes, offering advice and support as well as medical treatment. But sometimes the families who care for these patients require support as well. We follow this dedicated physician as he attends to people at the end of life, ensuring that their final hours are filled with comfort and dignity.

A Doctor Beside the Deathbed

The Trans Japan Alps Race is an intense run through the massive mountain ranges that cut across Japan's main island. This 415km ultramarathon, which starts at the Sea of Japan and ends at the Pacific Ocean, is known as the most grueling race in Japan. Competitors must traverse trails across 3 ranges with peaks exceeding 3,000 meters in height, all while carrying packs stuffed with food, clothes, and tents on their backs. In August, 30 runners who passed the stringent selection process competed in a fierce 8-day battle for the goal. Along the way they were plagued by severe weather, extreme fatigue, and even hallucinations. And they receive no awards or prize money for finishing. So what keeps them going? We followed these superhuman athletes who test their mental and physical limits as they competed for glory with the majestic Japan Alps beneath their feet.

China's education system is undergoing enormous change. Many are unhappy with a decades-long focus on rote learning designed to help students pass university entrance exams. New approaches emphasize self-expression, classical literature, or even martial arts. What will China's educators learn from this transformation? And how will it affect the future of today's students?

To American photojournalist Regina Boone, her paternal grandfather was an enigma. He was a hard-working Japanese immigrant but was arrested on the day of the Pearl Harbor attack never to return home. Regina's father rarely spoke about him throughout his life. It was only 5 years ago on his deathbed that he asked Regina to find out the circumstances surrounding her grandfather's disappearance. Our camera follows her quest to uncover the trail of her missing Japanese grandfather.

A Vanished Dream: Wartime Story of My Japanese Grandfather

In 1855, a schooner departed from the Izu Peninsula, and set sail towards Russia. Newly-discovered documents tell an untold story of friendship between Russia and Japan. The events occurred when Russia's Admiral Putyatin travelled to Japan to negotiate a peace treaty. While he was approaching to the peninsula, disaster struck. An earthquake and tsunami sunk Putyatin's ship, putting his delegation of 500 in grave danger. However, local residents not only saved their lives, but helped them build a brand-new ship. Japan had spent over 200 years in isolation, and for a settlement of 3,000 people, the arrival of 500 foreigners was unprecedented. Local shipwrights worked closely with the Russians, via trial and error. The techniques they learned became the cornerstone of modern Japanese shipbuilding. The schooner was named Heda, after the village where it was built. It symbolizes a tale of international exchange in the closing days of Japan's shogunate age.

Vessel of Friendship: An Untold Story

On March 11th, 2011, a huge earthquake and tsunami struck northeastern Japan. Three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant soon went into meltdown, spreading radioactive materials throughout the region. Doctors from across the country were sent to the site to treat evacuating residents, and the Self-Defense Force members, firefighters, and others trying to handle the emergency. The thousands of photos and videos these doctors took reveal the dire situation they faced.

Battling a Radiation Emergency: The Doctors at Fukushima Part 1

Battling a Radiation Emergency: The Doctors at Fukushima Part 2

THEN and NOW meet in this first-ever "split-screen documentary" about the town of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, devastated by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident. Footage of the same locations shows the situation soon after the disaster in 2011 and more recently in 2019. Reconstruction is well underway, but radioactive waste continues to pile up. The future of the community remains unclear, and some wonder whether it can ever truly be restored.

Split-Screen Documentary: Nuclear Ghost Town - After 8 Years

24-year-old Takamasa Kobayashi has been trying to find his true gender since childhood. Born as a girl, he was one of the first students in Japan to persuade a junior high school to accept a female as a boy. At 20, he underwent surgeries so that he could legally become a man, the youngest case in Japan. But this was just the beginning. Takamasa then discovered that he is not a man either and is now searching beyond binary genders. We followed Takamasa for 9 years on his journey through genders.

A Journey through Genders

The largest Buddhist academy in the world lies deep in the mountains of the Chinese province of Sichuan. Larung Gar is a holy place of Tibetan Buddhism, where some 10,000 monks and nuns train. Here, under the auspices of a Chinese government antipoverty program, infrastructure "betterment" projects have been launched, aiming to turn the area into a tourist destination. The government has also pushed the resettlement and concentration of Tibetan nomads, education in Chinese language, and patriotic indoctrination. The past 3 years have brought major changes to the lifestyles of Tibetans, who have preserved their unique culture and religious traditions for over a millennium. This carefully documented, on-the-ground report provides the world's first window on these developments.

Bettering Tibet

A third-generation Japanese-American, Satsuki Ina, was born in 1944, Tule Lake internment camp during World War II. Her experiences there shaped her career as a trauma therapist. Her extensive clinical records reflect the Japanese Americans' postwar history. These days, she finds that migrant children in detention centers in the US are experiencing the same sort of distress that she did. Tune in to learn how her decades of research and outreach help ease the suffering of people and community.

I too was a Child of Camp.

During World War II, more than 20,000 people of Japanese ancestry were forcibly relocated in Canada. Many of them were interned in camps set up in a frozen wilderness. Camp life was going to deprive the teenagers of a proper education, but female missionaries stepped in to lend a helping hand. They set up high schools and provided the students with moral support and inspiration. This is the little-known story of the search for hope in the dark days of wartime Canada.

Hope in the Dark

Since ancient times, mountain people known as "matagi" have supported themselves in the snow country of Japan by hunting bears. One of the last "matagi" communities that continues the traditional ways is located in the foothills of Mt. Chokai, a famous peak in the northern Tohoku mountains. There, bears are worshipped as messengers of the mountain gods, and bears that are shot are considered divine blessings that provide crucial sustenance. Today the "matagi" have nearly vanished because of depopulation and environmental changes that make it difficult to sustain their lifestyle. Yet, some continue to pursue the traditional way of life while seeking a harmonious relationship with nature.

MATAGI - Worshipping Bears

Some 6,500 children are believed to have lost their parents when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima Prefecture in 1945. Many wandered the streets. Some died of hunger and disease, but others were able to survive thanks to helping hands. A number of Americans backed a movement to support the orphans. In South Korea, poor people helped a parentless child with love, as if they were all family. The program shows the goodwill that war could not destroy.

Helping Hands - The Lives of Atomic Bomb Orphans

In the late 60's and early 70's, anti-establishment political movements led by young people spread throughout the world, and Japan likewise entered an era of intense political activity. From the caldron of this activism, one group in particular—the United Red Army—emerged, calling for armed struggle to overthrow the government and establish an idealized society. However, the group increasingly lost sight of its goals, ultimately killing a dozen of its own members in lynching incidents and taking a common citizen hostage during an armed standoff with the police. 47 years after these incidents took place, surviving members of the group were interviewed. While aiming for an ideal society, these activists made profound mistakes that took the lives of numerous people. As their troubled journey continues, they wrestle with the implications of the actions they took.

The United Red Army: A Troubled Legacy

After WWII, more than 40,000 Japanese "war brides" married American soldiers and moved to the U.S., risking everything on a future with their former enemies. In the first part of this series, we meet several of these courageous women and learn how they made their decision to begin a new life from the ashes of war.

The Lives of Japanese War Brides in America: Part 1

After WWII, more than 40,000 Japanese "war brides" married American soldiers and moved to the U.S., risking everything on a future with their former enemies. In the second part, we explore the adversity they faced in the U.S., adapting to survive in an entirely foreign nation while shielding their children from prejudice.

The Lives of Japanese War Brides in America: Part 2

Japanese rugby players once felt outmatched by larger competitors, including those from England, where the sport was born. But then a Japanese coach created a strategy that changed everything.

1971 - Japanese Rugby Takes On England, And The World

In China, many ordinary members of the public have successfully become internet celebrities known as "wanghong." There are 3.5 million people active on social media trying to achieve celebrity status. With content focused on youth culture, including music and fashion, they have amassed a total online following of 600 million people. Some companies are now trying to harness the influence of "wanghong" to make money in the world's largest e-commerce market in China. Some "wanghong" use stealth marketing to promote traffic to e-commerce websites. Others run their own online shops. The most successful pockets an incredible $14 million a year. One reason behind the growing influence of "wanghong" is the Chinese government restrictions on Internet content, which makes it difficult for people to access overseas information. Our program follows a company pioneering the business strategically employing "wanghong" and their young hopefuls searching for online success. (Excerpt)

Chinese Internet Celebrities: Influencing the Huge Online Market

In the town of Henoko in northern Okinawa Prefecture, major construction at an American base is underway. Since the Marine Corps built Camp Schwab there in the 1950's, when Okinawa was under US administration, the people of Henoko have shared their fate with the American military. How did Henoko become a "base town"? Why have its fortunes been tied so closely to the base, and what has this meant to the people in the district? The program uses newly uncovered archival materials and new testimony to depict the postwar history of the town, which symbolizes the heavy burden of American bases that Okinawa continues to bear.

Henoko: Living with an American Base

It's over a century since Brazil opened its doors to immigrants from Japan, and Japanese Brazilians have built a solid foothold for themselves in Brazilian society. However, during World War II, an eviction of Japanese immigrants occurred. Several thousands of Japanese immigrants were forced to leave their homes. 70 years later, the facts of the eviction still remain largely unknown. A list of the names of those evicted was found 3 years ago that has attracted public attention. This list revealed who had been evicted and what exactly happened. To ensure that something like this never happens again, Japanese Brazilians are seeking an apology from the Brazilian Government.

Digging the Untold History

Plastic pollution litters the world's oceans. It's damaging marine wildlife and ecosystems. A war on plastic is breaking out. In part 1 of this 2-part series, we meet Dutch young pioneer Boyan Slat's team working to clear plastic from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. They have developed a system based on a 600-meter long floating tube. We also look at how microplastics affect living creatures and explore a shocking study that shows how plastic is contributing to rising levels of greenhouse gases.

No More Plastic: In Search of a Sustainable Future - Part 1: Clearing Plastic from the Ocean

Plastic pollution litters the world's oceans. The move away from the use of plastic is currently gaining steam around the globe. In part 2 of this series, we look at business trends leading us away from a world of plastic and towards circular economies. One example is a Japanese startup hoping to sell its proprietary recycling technology abroad. And also we look at disposable plastics regulation strategies in France and New York City. Can we find ways to leave our plastic civilization behind?

No More Plastic: In Search of a Sustainable Future - Part 2: Frontlines of Global Business

NHK WORLD PRIME brings you a world of mainly documentaries, and more. Tune in to see special select programs on all sorts of topics and genres.

Reviving Kumamoto Castle

Seasons8

Season 3 Episodes24

Discussion

Episode Summary