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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.
Episode 26 : UNTOLD STORIES OF THE BATTLE OF OKINAWA: Women and Teens on the Frontline
December. 26,2020
The final stages of World War II... The islands of Okinawa turned into a theater of war the United States military called "hell." The Battle of Okinawa claimed the lives of at least 120,000 islanders. Women and girls were forced in as army cooks or nurses, boys in their mid-teens molded into soldiers... and sent to the frontline. As most records were lost, families are still wondering how their loved ones were mobilized... and what became of them. But recently discovered documents reveal their unknown stories.
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Episode 24 : FACES the Special - Voices of Hope for an Inclusive Future
November. 21,2020
NHK is collaborating with 12 public broadcasters around the world to promote a project called "FACES" to tackle against bullying. FACES is a vast collection of two minutes testimony from people who have experienced being bullied. By using the network of partnership in FACES, this special edition aims to share specific efforts to tackle with bullying. Also dialogue between cross-country protagonists using online meeting, we deepen mutual understanding, be considerate, and follow in detail until we find a solution together.
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Episode 23 : Poisonous Secrets: What Did Japan and the US Bury?
November. 14,2020
75 years ago, Japan and the US each developed chemical weapons and trained their troops to use them. Near the end of the Pacific War, the Imperial Japanese Army stockpiled vast amounts of poison gas for use as a last resort. The US military, meanwhile, drew up chemical weapons plans that would have devastated Japan. After the war, both the US and Japan concealed the truth concerning these weapons. But newly unearthed documents and personal accounts shed light on this dark legacy.
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Episode 19 : The Shape of Sound: A Piano Paints the Seasons of Nara
October. 03,2020
"The 72 Pentads of Yamato" produced by NHK Nara has garnered more than 2 million views online from around the world. Each pentad, or five-day season, reflects on the Japanese ideal of living in harmony with nature in Yamato, the ancient name for Nara. The series is created by Nara videographer Hozan Koichi and Kawakami Mine, a pianist who has performed in Spain. Follow Kawakami in her preparations for their next project—the pinnacle of the series—a devotional offering at Kasuga Taisha Shrine.
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Episode 18 : Exposing the Coronavirus: Our Invisible Enemy in 3DCG
September. 19,2020
We fear what we cannot see. Much of the terror caused by the novel coronavirus is because this mysterious enemy is invisible to the naked eye. CG designer and medical doctor Hirofumi Seo uses his background to decode the latest research, as well as interview experts in infectious diseases and viruses. The result is a visual model of our invisible foe. Take a visual tour of the mechanisms behind infection, replication, symptom progression and potential treatment in this scientific documentary.
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Episode 17 : Tsuruko's Tea Journey in Germany
September. 12,2020
Hanzawa Tsuruko is a master of "chaji," a tea ceremony that starts with an exquisitely prepared meal and finishes with matcha tea served from the heart. The purpose of this four-hour event is to treasure every encounter in life, knowing that it will never recur. Tsuruko has been traveling around Japan to encounter new people and share "chaji" with them. Last autumn, at the age of 76, she set off on a tea journey across Germany. The program chronicles her month-long odyssey.
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Episode 16 : Pandemic Diaries: How the Emergency Declaration Affected Us
August. 22,2020
For months now, the Japanese have found themselves on an emotional rollercoaster every evening when the count of new coronavirus cases is confirmed. To document how the pandemic has affected our day-to-day lives, we asked people from all walks of life to make "selfie diary videos" that are broadcast on the evening news program Shibu Goji. Participants include a tour guide who had zero income in April, and a man with cancer wondering if he can outlive the coronavirus. These and other voices from real life help us to look back on the unprecedented past few months and perhaps orient ourselves to the new normal.
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Episode 14 : Oswald and JFK UNSOLVED CASES Part 2: The Chessmaster
June. 20,2020
6 months before JFK was killed, Lee Harvey Oswald attempted a separate assassination. Our coverage reveals the possibility that this attempt served as a focal point that linked Oswald to the JFK killing. The day of that killing, Oswald brought a rifle into a Dallas building. The US government report says 3 shots from that building killed JFK, but we take a new look at witness testimony and speak to 66 prominent campaigners to ask: was the assassination really the work of a "lone wolf"?
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Episode 10 : 10 Years and Beyond: iPS Cells and Kyoto University's CiRA
May. 09,2020
Kyoto University's Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA) celebrates their 10th anniversary in April 2020. Professor Shinya Yamanaka, who developed the method to produce iPS cells, serves as the director for the center. How much progress have they made in the past 10 years toward clinical application? What vision does the director have for CiRA for the next decade? The program looks at how Yamanaka runs the organization as well as the past and future challenges of CiRA.
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Episode 8 : Dignity for All: The Legacy of Sadako Ogata
March. 28,2020
Sadako Ogata served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees during a decade of ethnic conflict after the end of the Cold War, transforming the framework for humanitarian assistance and winning the respect of the world. "Advanced nations must not turn inward and fixate on their own national interests." As she made this plea for internationalism, how did she view the world? Looking back at her work and her words through NHK's archives, studio guests discuss the secrets of her adept leadership, her unbending convictions and behind-the-scenes episodes in her career.
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Episode 7 : Refugee Heroes: The Road to Tokyo
February. 29,2020
Following its historic debut in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, the Refugee Team is heading again to this summer's Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Record numbers of people have been forced to flee from their homelands in recent years—currently more than 70 million. Some of them are turning to sports and setting their sights on the world's biggest stage. We follow refugee athletes from Syria, South Sudan and Cameroon who are overcoming formidable challenges on their long road to Tokyo.
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Episode 6 : Stumbling Toward the Precipice
February. 22,2020
Since the end of the Cold War, the threat of apocalyptic, all-out nuclear war may have receded from most people's minds, but with close to 14,000 nuclear warheads still spread across the globe today, the catastrophic possibility is never too far away. During the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a diplomatic crisis between the US and the USSR veered terrifyingly close to triggering nuclear disaster. We explore the political miscalculations and very human mistakes made by the leaders of both superpowers.
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Episode 4 : 8K Documentary: The Microscopic World of iPS Cells
February. 01,2020
Doctors at Osaka University performed the world's first transplant of heart muscle cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). It is a promising treatment for many patients with heart disease. NHK worked closely with Kyoto University which generates iPS cells and Osaka University where the transplant surgery was conducted on a long-term project to record on an 8K Ultra HD camera mounted onto a microscope. For the first time in the world, the images will reveal the entire transformation process of iPS cells which can turn into any type of cell in the body.
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Episode 3 : MIYAKO, The Last Dance
January. 18,2020
Miyako Yoshida's precise and delicate performances earned critical acclaim at the Royal Ballet of England. She remained true to her Japanese sensibilities in becoming the company's first Asian female principal dancer. A year before her retirement, however, she faced injury, emergency hospitalization and separation from a loved one. The program follows Yoshida for 300 days, culminating in her memorable final appearance.
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