｜Length : 28min. ｜Year : 1996 ｜

Hooked on Preservation

Shinzo Igarashi, known as the "Char Man," is dedicated to hooking the Nikko Char sport fish. But he prizes his catch neither as a meal nor a trophy. Instead, the 68-year-old Igarashi carries the char in a tank on his back to the isolated source of a mountain stream. There he releases the fish, an endangered species, to multiply in safety.

｜Length : 29min. ｜Year : 1996 ｜

Science Aids Nature's Renewal

Aquatic plants are being reintroduced to two lakes in Japan's Nagano Prefecture in an attempt to rebuild their damaged ecosystems. At Lake Suwa, an artificial reed plain has been planted. At Lake Nojiri, an aquatic plant that is extinct in the wild has been grown in a laboratory in the hopes that it will serve as a building block for new life.

｜Length : 33min. ｜Year : 1996 ｜

Birds Vs. Bureaucrats

What happens when bureaucracy and Nature clash? Find out as we examine the case of the "kumatakas," or Japanese Hawk-Eagles, of Yamagata Prefecture. The endangered birds are threatened by construction of a large-scale forest road which is, to many people's thinking, an unwelcome government project. Environmentalists battle to save the birds.

｜Length : 44min. ｜Year : 1996 ｜

Back to Nature

Nature has amazing powers of regeneration. This was the lesson learned when an elementary school in a densely populated residential area of Yokohama tried its hand at eco-improvement by building a small dragonfly pond. The pond, which recreated the former wetland environment of the area, soon attracted both dragonflies and other life, which within three years had spread to a nearby river. The project's success is encouraging for battered ecosystems everywhere.

｜Length : 44min. ｜Year : 1996 ｜

Blood is Thicker than Motor Oil

The hardships of the 25th New Zealand World Championship Car Rally were many. For two of the drivers, there was the added challenge of having to compete for the first time against family; father Seiichiro and son Katsuhiko Taguchi were at the wheels of rival vehicles. The excitement of a world-class rally takes on an extra dramatic dimension with this matchup of youth vs. experience.