Stepmom Akiko grows concerned when daughter Miyuki, who is about to graduate from college, seems content to work part-time at Bakery Mugita without looking for a “real” job. After Akiko lectures Miyuki about her tardiness to job-hunting, they begin researching companies together. But no sooner do they start when Miyuki drops a bombshell. “I want to get married!” sending Akiko and everyone including bakery owner Mugita into a frenzy.

Company worker Akiko finds that a business she helped to revive has been taken over by a vulture capitalist, Ryoji, who looks identical to her deceased husband. When Ryoji’s next acquisition turns out to be a beloved bakery, Akiko suspects an ulterior motive and vows to resist. Caught between hatred of vulture capitalists and budding feelings toward her new boss, Akiko finds support from her stepdaughter, Miyuki, who is dedicated to looking out for her stepmom in this heartwarming drama.

Mikuri is a young woman with a graduate degree. But when no offers of employment come her way, she’s forced into taking on temp work and confronting “the painful realization that nobody needs her.” That’s when Mikuri lands a job as a professional homemaker for a strait-laced bachelor named Hiramasa. Mikuri’s perfectionist work ethic wins over Hiramasa’s complete trust, but unfortunate circumstances result in the loss of this job, too. Feeling anxious about the future, Mikuri makes Hiramasa a strange offer. “Would you consider employing me through marriage?” He agrees, and a nuptial agreement is signed, making the two legally betrothed in a somewhat falsified life as husband/employer and wife/employee.
Can the couple function in a strictly professional relationship like this without the truth becoming known? Is there any chance of a chemical reaction between a pure company man and a dreamer woman thrown together for mere convenience?

May, 2007. The Jikei Hospital is a small clinic in Kumamoto Prefecture operating out of a pri-vate dwelling that begins accepting anonymous “deposits” (“Baby Post”) of unwanted infants abandoned by their parents for various reasons under the operational name, “Stork Nest.” Based on a true story, this moving human drama, fictionalized to protect privacy, depicts the passion and dedication of hospital staff as they rescue 92 abandoned infants over a period six years, all the while overcoming public criticism.

Do you have a teacher you will never forget?
An ordinary looking school and a typical classroom. So many students have passed through it over the years; as have many battle-scarred teachers. A message on the blackboard embodies three dramatic periods in Japan’s postmodern history. There was the time just after World War II, the economic miracle that followed, and the recent devastating earthquake and tsunami. Viewed from three fascinating and iconoclastic teachers living through these three revolutionary milestones moments, here is a story that drives at the heart of education. What did these children learn? What were the adults able to impart to them? What does it mean to be Japanese? And what are the hopes and dreams of people of all ages?

A hot-blooded and meddlesome resident police officer, Ryo Shirase, is transferred to the southernmost manned island of Narumi-jima, where the Southern Cross can be seen. At first, it is thought that the peaceful island, in which people don’t even have to lock up their houses, does not need the resident police officer, but his personality and enthusiasm gradually change the minds of the islanders, who have been suffering from an aging population, a declining birthrate, and feeling of hopelessness…

An ordinary senior high school girl named Mika meets Hiro, a showy boy with dyed hair and pierced ears. It is a “pure love” story of the two going through many unimaginably sad incidents while nurturing their love single-mindedly. It not only depicts the first love of the senior high school couple but also weaves “a story of Mika and Hiro” through episodes probably familiar to anybody, such as warmth and affection of their family members supporting the two, importance of living, interactions with friends, and so on. This is a drama version of the movie “Sky of Love ~Someone I love is there~” that brought tears to the eyes of more than 3 million people.

This year is the yakudoshi, or “critical age” for 32-year old Akiko, a television announcer. She lost her position in a news program to a rookie announcer. What’s worse, she is assigned to go undercover and experience life as a farmer’s bride for a variety program. Akiko pretends to be the fiancé of Ichiro, her ex-boyfriend, and begins her “bridal training” at the peach farm of Ichiro’s parents. Awaiting Akiko is a family filled with extraordinary personalities, led by the stern mother-in-law, Yukie.

Nanami is a 35 year-old house wife who lives in the suburbs with her husband, Wataru, and their two children. Wataru’s parents renovated their house so Wataru’s older brother and his family could live with them. However the brother is being sent to Osaka by his company and Wataru’s father asks if Wataru and his family will move in. Nanami doesn’t get along very well with Wataru’s mother, and isn’t very happy with the idea. But the rent they will save can go towards buying their own home and the mother-in-law can help with the kids so she can start working again. Wataru uses these possibilities to persuade Nanami and they move in. But is it the start of a host of problems...?

The universal theme of friendship, in all its vulnerability, tenderness, and purity, is explored in this drama. The flow of seasons forms a thematic continuity to the action: the severity of youth in summer, the sentimentality of autumn, and the frustration of winter. Together, this group of boys cope with common adversity, face the death of a friend, and prepare to deal with the world of adulthood.