
SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games. These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking. Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.



Yuri Ishikawa and her team try to crack unresolved cold cases in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.

Saka no Ue no Kumo is an NHK 21st Century special drama which was aired over three years starting from November 29, 2009. The series runs 13 episodes at 90 minutes each. The first series, with 5 episodes, was broadcast in 2009, while series two and three, each with 4 episodes, were broadcast in late 2010 and 2011. While most episodes were shot in Japan, one of the episodes in series two was shot in Latvia. The TV series is based on the novel Saka no ue no kumo by Ryōtarō Shiba and adopted by Hisashi Nozawa. The theme song of the drama series is titled "Stand Alone". It was composed by Joe Hisaishi, written by Kundo Koyama and performed by British soprano singer Sarah Brightman.

After the Onin War, the world is plunged into chaos. Amid this situation, heroes of the warring states begin to emerge in an attempt to unify the country and rule in these turbulent times. In the mid-1540s, there is a young wandering samurai in Mino which is strategically located between the East and West. His name is Akechi Mitsuhide. At this time, there is plenty of internal strife within the Toki clan which rules Mino. Surrounded by the Oda of Owari, the Imagawa of Suruga and the Asakura of Echizen, Mino has constantly faced the risk of invasion. Mitsuhide is pulled into battle and destroys the enemy. His bravery as well as stratagem catches the attention of Saito Toshimasa, the chief retainer of the Toki clan, and he is singled out. This man who is also known as Saito Dosan will go on to takeover the Toki and make Mino his own.

This drama follows the staff of an Italian restaurant and their everyday struggles. “Roccabianca” is a famous and popular Italian restaurant, but their head chef and owner Tatsumi suddenly collapses and the restaurant loses its unique flavor. The number of customers rapidly declines, but the owner’s daughter and deputy manager Saori happens to find another chef named Ezaki through an online job market who learned cooking at the same place her father did. Ezaki becomes the new head chef of this restaurant and while nobody can deny that he is a gifted chef, it’s his extreme rationalism that doesn’t exactly go well with the restaurants attempt to save its traditional flavor.

Morikawa Shoko is a detective with the Criminal Investigations Department’s Special Unit. She has a strong sense of justice and became a police officer to make the best of her tremendous energy. Once there is a case, she will rush headlong against bad people. But at home, she finds housework bothersome and is hopeless at it. Shoko’s husband Akira is a mystery writer. He is exceptionally smart, gentle and sensitive. Born to a sporty family which ironically has served the police generation after generation, Akira went against the wishes of his parents to be a writer. However, his novels are too tedious and quite unpopular while his blog on household matters which he writes without any particular reason is a big hit. So he finds himself in the extremely complicated situation of a “charismatic house husband”. This odd couple solve various cases and mysteries with brain and brawn. Add their son Nao to the mix and information and deductions constantly fly about their living room.

At the end of Edo period, Shoji Rui hands over her birthright to her relatives with the death of her father and begins running an inn "Kawasemi" in Ōkawabata. And she settles the matters in their daily lives with her lover Kamibayashi Tōgo, doshin (a sort of constable) Une Genzaburō, physician Amanō Sotarō, and O-Kichi.

year after manga master Fumiya Ajima's death, 50 unpublished sketches are discovered. The sketches appear to be the work of Fumiya Ajima, but the sketches shows details from several missing women cases that occurred 35 years earlier. Fumiya Ajima’s wife asks the Department Head of Yukihide Ozawa to find out if the sketches are the work of her late husband. Ex-police officer Yuki Mizuno receives a request to investigate the origins of the 50 sketches. Yuki Mizuno then enlists the help of Shinji Daigo, an expert of the manga world.


Haru and Kanako have been married for four years. They don't have any children, but they both enjoy their job and are happy together. However their lives are suddenly disrupted when Kanako faints from subarachnoid hemorrhage. After the operation, it becomes evident that she has lost some of her memory...her memory of the five years with her husband. She decides to return home to her parents. Her younger brother takes care of her. Meanwhile, Haru's colleague notices that there is something troubling him. Life without his wife makes Haru realize how much his wife means to him and vows to propose to her once again...

Prize winning journalist, Michiko Takamine receives an autobiographical manuscript from recent suicide victim Sakiko, the daughter of imprisoned serial killer Fujiko. Before publishing the manuscript, Michiko seeks to interview Fujiko in prison to determine its validity. This story of murder and intrigue goes much deeper then Michiko envisioned and has a unique family twist.

A drama about a rookie detective who teams up with a veteran detective and develops a good rapport while overcoming difficulties. Keigo starts his new post at a local police station where he partners up with Shoichi, a frigid, yet warm-hearted, detective on the verge of retirement. The drama features how the young detective builds up his career with the veteran and those who are connected with his cases.

Using her stage name, Oka Erika works as an entertainer and a program reporter. She is in her 30's and her real name is Okabayashi Eriko. Erika loves to travel. Her program "Chobit Tabi" is also about traveling, but the show is stopped due to a mistake by Erika. At that time, a letter is delivered to her management company. The letter asks if Erika can go on a trip instead of their sick daughter.