Face To Face

28min

Documentary

Talk

In conversation with... Japan expert Robert Campbell sits down with individuals from all walks of life whose drive and perspectives are changing Japan.

Production Companies

NHK

NHK Educational

Kyodo Television

Episodes

Cast

Naoki Matayoshi: Creativity Inspired by Human Observation

1. Naoki Matayoshi: Creativity Inspired by Human Observation

28min

28th Apr 2015

Tetsuko Kuroyanagi: The Enduring Power of Television

2. Tetsuko Kuroyanagi: The Enduring Power of Television

28min

25th May 2015

Seiji Fujishiro: Expressing the Joy of Life through Light and Shadow

3. Seiji Fujishiro: Expressing the Joy of Life through Light and Shadow

28min

29th Jun 2015

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. 80% of the Japanese population was born after the war, and the people who are old enough to remember it are all elderly. How will they pass on their stories? One man who is telling his story is the artist Seiji Fujishiro, age 91, well known in Japan for his "shadow pictures”. Why did Fujishiro feel compelled to make art about his experience of war? We ask this and many more questions as we explore Japan 70 years after the war.

Ken Endo: Legs to Stand On

4. Ken Endo: Legs to Stand On

28min

28th Jul 2015

In 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games, it will also host the Paralympic Games. Japan has traditionally lagged behind in the development of artificial limbs - one man trying to change that is prosthetic leg engineer Ken Endo. He has done very promising work on robotic limbs at the MIT Media Lab, with a particular focus on artificial legs for athletes. Endo's conviction is that "disabilities lie not in humans but in technology". We speak with this visionary engineer.

Eiji Mitooka: Trains of Thought

5. Eiji Mitooka: Trains of Thought

28min

1st Sep 2015

Kashiwa Sato: Communication Design

6. Kashiwa Sato: Communication Design

28min

27th Oct 2015

During Japan's period of rapid growth that began in the mid-1950s, large housing developments known as danchi were built in cities across the nation. In March of this year, a project was launched to revitalize one of these now-aging complexes. It is being spearheaded by Kashiwa Sato, who is among Japan's leading creative directors.

Kundo Koyama: Shedding Old Skin

7. Kundo Koyama: Shedding Old Skin

28min

1st Dec 2015

Kundo Koyama was tasked with creating a mascot for Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan. The resulting character, a bear named Kumamon, went on to generate 120 billion yen for Kumamoto in 2 years. Koyama's strategy is always to keep things extremely simple, and come up with ideas that he really likes. However, that way of doing things isn't always easy in Japan. He speaks with Robert Campbell about everything from the Japanese way to thinking to how he plans out his creative projects.

Marie Kondo: A Clean Bill of Life

8. Marie Kondo: A Clean Bill of Life

28min

21st Dec 2015

First air date

28th Apr 2015

Last air date

7th Feb 2025

Status

Returning Series

Type

Scripted

Original language

en

Networks