CHANGE is a

Japanese television drama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thrill ...

which aired on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network S ...

starting May 12, 2008.

Plot

Keita Asakura, an elementary school teacher who has no interest in politics, suddenly gets taken to the position of the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

. He is forced to campaign in the

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

for a seat in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for the Seiyu Party when his father and brother, both involved in

Diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

politics, die in a plane crash ''en route'' from

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. Asakura wins the prefectural elections, and heads to Tokyo to take his father's place in the House. After being sworn in, Asakura is dubbed the "Prince of the Parliament" (''kokukai ouji'') by the news media. The current Prime Minister is embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal and resigns, leading Kanbaya, one of the most senior politicians in the Seiyu Party, to propose that Asakura run for the party's leadership. This puts Asakara in the running for the premiership should the Seiyu Party win a majority in an upcoming general election. Nirasawa and Hikaru arrives in Tokyo from Fukuoka and stays over at his residence, in time becoming his trusted aides. One night, Asakura escapes from the Prime Minister's residence at night and goes to his parents' house, conducting research on the Yakushima affair with the help of Nirasawa and Hikaru. He promises Miyama that he will not neglect his official duties. Onoda, a senior Seiyu politician involved in the Yakushima affair, is asked by Kanbaya to dissuade Asakura's crusade against the dam. However, Onoda comes to respect Asakura and ultimately helps him. Asakura apologises to the public at a press conference and vows to compensate all those affected by the dam.

Cast

Takuya Kimura is a Japanese actor, singer, and radio personality. He is regarded as a Japanese icon after achieving success as an actor. He was also a popular member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. A 1996 television drama series, ''Long ...

as Keita Asakura * Eri Fukatsu as Rika Miyama * Hiroshi Abe as Katsutoshi Nirasawa *

Akira Terao is a Japanese musician, singer and movie actor. As of 2012, he is the only male actor to have received both the Japan Record Award and the Japan Academy Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. Early life Terao was bor ...

as Masaichi Kanbayashi *

Rosa Kato is a Japanese actress and commercial model. Biography Career From April 2004 to March 2005, Kato was a regular guest student on ''Italian Conversation'', a 25-minute NHK TV program for beginners of Italian. She subsequently began appearing in ...

as Hikaru Miyamoto

Reception

''CHANGE'' began okay with a 23.8% rating on its first episode. As the week progressed, the rating dropped to below 20%, which is unusual for a

. It hit 31.2% at 22:15 during the 60-minute extended finale episode. The single episode ratings are as follows:

Special campaign

Takuya Kimura is currently appearing in

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

's commercial. Collaborating with Toyota, there will be a quiz after every episode, and the "Change" original car "STAR Fielder" made by Toyota (model based on

Corolla Fielder The is a series of compact cars (formerly subcompact) manufactured and marketed globally by the Toyota Motor Corporation. Introduced in 1966, the Corolla was the best-selling car worldwide by 1974 and has been one of the best-selling cars in ...

) will be given to one of the viewers. From May 12, 2008, Takuya will continue appearing in Toyota's commercial but as Keita Asakura, this drama's character. On 10 and 12 May, two specials will be broadcast prior to the premiere, and Takuya and Eri Fukatsu will appear live on ''Mezamashi Terebi'', ''Toku Dane!'', and ''

Waratte Iitomo was a Japanese variety show aired every weekday on Fuji TV. The show was hosted by Tamori (Kazuyoshi Morita) and ran from 1982 to 2014. The show was produced in the Studio Alta building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The show featured a series of regular ...

'' (only Takuya), promoting the drama.

International broadcast

External links

Official Website
*

References

{{Reflist Japanese drama television series Political drama television series 2008 Japanese television series debuts 2008 Japanese television series endings Television shows written by Yasushi Fukuda Fuji TV dramas