｜Length : 25min ｜Year : 2023 ｜

Something unusual is happening in the waters off the Sanriku coast. Fishers are catching fish from southern waters, which they have never seen before, and on the desolate seabed, countless numbers of emaciated sea urchins are crowded together on the rocks, stripped bare of seaweed. Is this really the once-abundant Sanriku coast? The reason for this devastation is the rising sea temperature due to climate change. The sea is undergoing a very serious change. Follow the fishers searching for a solution to this environmental crisis as they themselves are at the mercy of these dramatic changes.

｜Length : 24min ｜Year : 2023 ｜

Fujimae Tidal Flat at the Port of Nagoya, one of Japan's leading trade ports, is annually visited by over 20,000 migratory birds and known as a foremost paradise for wild fowl in Japan. Once a candidate for a disposal plant for Nagoya's burgeoning amounts of trash, outcry from city residents ended the plan.
This also became an opportunity for making trash separation, a practice then unfamiliar to citizens, take root to reduce continually growing amounts of trash.
However, Fujimae is now threatened by plastic trash. Plastic is resistant to natural breakdown, and through illegal dumping and littering, wind, disaster-caused unintentional release, and outflow via rivers, it reaches the ocean and impacts living things myriadly.

We independently investigated amounts of plastics in Fujimae Tidal Flat mud, and tried to determine the actual state of the new trash problem confronting Fujimae, and how migratory birds that visit this paradise are affected.

｜Length : 47min ｜Year : 2023 ｜

The giant salamander is a protected species in Japan, living mainly in the Chugoku region. It became a hot topic when one was discovered in the river alongside the Atomic Bomb Dome in 2022. Why in the middle of the city? What we discovered through interviews was a harsh reality.

｜Length : 50min ｜Year : 2023 ｜

74-year-old Kazuo Funabashi, the proprietor of a print shop in Aichi Prefecture, has suffered from cerebral palsy since childhood. He manages stairs, dressing, and shaving with the help of a caregiver. He was not expected to live beyond 20 years, but he lives happily, surrounded by his wife, two daughters, and even a grandson. The computer helps Kazuo to eloquently convey his thoughts and feelings, but he is unable to clearly vocalize his thoughts. Mizue, his wife of 45 years, supports him as his hands and feet, and even as his voice.

50 years ago, a CBC-TV camera crew filmed Kazuo as he and three friends with disabilities journeyed on their own to a distant hot spring inn. Back then, the negativity shown by the public toward persons with disabilities was much more pronounced than it is today. Despite this, Kazuo’s mother Yukiko encouraged her son to face the world.

This program presents the thoughts and the everyday life of this intrepid man.

｜Length : 50min ｜Year : 2023 ｜

Me in the Mirror
Utako Seki, age 16, of Komaki City, Aichi Prefecture, was born with incurable spinal muscular atrophy. She can barely move her eyes and toes or breathe by herself, but she lives optimistically with the support of her family.
This is Utako’s story.
Although her disease has no cure, advances in medicine are opening up new treatment possibilities, and technological advances expand her capabilities using the slightest of movements. Utako has many dreams, and with her family’s help, she sets a huge goal.
Despite her disease, Utako’s brain developed normally. She loves storybooks and movies, so the idea for Utako to create an original picture story was born! Utako's family takes on the challenge of making it a reality, and their efforts attract many supporters. With their help, can her dream come true?
In her story titled Me in the Mirror, Utako dresses fancily and flies about freely while facing her reality.