was a long-running prime-time popular television detective series in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It aired on Saturday nights in the 9:00–9:54 p.m. time slot on the

Tokyo Broadcasting System formerly is a Japanese media and licensed broadcasting holding company. It is the parent company of the television network and radio network . It has a 28-affiliate television network called JNN (Japan News Network), as well as a 34-affili ...

(TBS) network from May 24, 1975 to April 3, 1982. A sequel, ''G-Men '82'', followed, as did the specials. It had also been broadcast in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Since Hong Kong was one of the filming locations, it was very popular there. With several updates and cast changes, it ran for 7 years. Selected episodes are available on DVD.

Plot

The story revolved around a special detective agency, the eponymous G-Men. The principal character, who spanned the entire series (and continued into the sequel and specials), was Superintendent Tetsuya Kuroki, who was portrayed by

Tetsurō Tamba was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He is best known in the West for his role in the 1967 James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' as Tiger Tanaka. Biography Tamba had a part-time job as an interpreter at Supreme Commande ...

. Kuroki directed the members of the group. The original cast also included

Yasuaki Kurata is a Japanese martial artist and actor, best known for his work in Hong Kong action films. He holds dan ranks in Karate (7th degree), Judo (3rd degree), and Aikido (2nd degree). Biography Kurata was born and raised in Sakura-mura, Niihari Dis ...

as Detective Yasuaki Kusano, trained in karate.

Gō Wakabayashi is a Japanese film and television actor from Nagasaki. A graduate of Senshu University, Wakabayashi became a member of Shin Kokugeki, then Wakabayashi Promotions. Currently he is a member of Toho Entertainment. After some roles in minor televi ...

joined in Episode 105, and remained to the end of the series (and the sequel). His character, Lieutenant Goro Tachibana, replaced a detective who was written out of the script.

Music

Shunsuke Kikuchi was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working princi ...

wrote the opening theme songs. Various artists, including some cast members, wrote and performed the closing songs. For most years, the lyrics were by

Junya Sato was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His son is a fellow film director . Career Born in Tokyo, Satō graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 with a degree in French literature. He joined the Toei studio and worked as an assist ...

, set to Kikuchi's music. Veteran announcer Takayuki Akutagawa narrated the series.

Ending songs

*"Omokage" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 1-58) *"Tsuiso" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 59-144) *"Michi" by Kaori Shima (Episode 145-174) *"Omokage" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 175-204) *"Requiem" by

Isao Sasaki is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and singer. He has had voice roles in anime such as '' Legend of the Galactic Heroes'', ''Space Battleship Yamato'', and '' Gatchaman''. He has also performed the opening themes for anime such as ''Yamato'', ''S ...

(Episode 205-229) *"Requiem" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 230-233, 235) *"Wing" by

Mari Natsuki , more commonly known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer, dancer and actress. Born in Tokyo, she started work as a singer from a young age. In 2007, Natsuki announced her engagement to percussionist Nobu Saitō, with their marriage taking ...

(Episode 234, 236-248) *"Harukanaru Tabiji" by Popla (Episode 254-306) *"Again" by Yuri Shimazaki (Episode 307-354)

Opening sequence

The opening sequence featured the main cast walking along a runway with a "75" placed at the bottom, with an arrow beside it, as their characters were viewed in separate close-ups (with the name of their actors accompanying). The placement of the arrow and the "75" logo were changed as the series progressed. It was intended to film the opening at

Haneda Airport , officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...

, but permission was not granted, so it was filmed instead at Yashio, a district of Tokyo's Shinagawa ward, and later openings at the

JMSDF Tateyama Air Base is a military aerodrome of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. It is located outside the city of Tateyama in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula. Operations JMSDF Tateyama Air Base is currently the headquarte ...

''G-Men '75'' cast

as Tetsuya Kuroki (ep.1-355) *

Yosuke Natsuki was a Japanese actor. He had participated twice in the Dakar Rally as a racing driver. He did a lot of work for the Toho Company and made his debut in the film ''The H-Man''. He appeared in Akira Kurosawa's ''Yojimbo'' in 1961. In the same year ...

as Noriyuki Odagiri (ep.1-223) *

as Yasuaki Kusano (ep.1-202) *

Yū Fujiki , born , was a Japanese film and television actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1954 to 2005. Career Born in Tokyo, Fujiki graduated from Doshisha University and joined the Toho studio in 1954. He began by playing straight male leads, ...

as Hachibe Yamada (ep.1-204) *Daijirō Harada as Ichiro Sekiya (ep.1-33) *Fujita Okamoto as Shinichi Tsusaka (ep.1-104) *Mihoko Fujita as Keiko Hibiki (ep.1-103) *

as Gorō Tachibana (ep.101-355) *

Maria Mori is a former singer and actress from Sapporo, Japan. She was also known as Maria Elizabeth. The daughter of an American Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI agent and a Japanese mother, she was a member of the Golden Half singing group, whose o ...

as Ryoko Hayami (ep.105-203) *Gō Ibuki as Takeshi Nakaya (ep.105-306) *

as Keiko Tsugawa (ep.205-251) *Hiroshi Chiba as Akio Taguchi (ep.205-330) *Toshihiko Yuuki as Tatsuya Murai (ep.205-226) *

Yūsuke Kawazu was a Japanese actor. Life and career Kawazu was born in Tokyo on 12 May 1935. While still a student at Keio University, Kawazu signed with Shochiku in 1958 and debuted in Kinoshita's ''The Eternal Rainbow''. He became one of the studio's lead ...

as Yoshiaki Nagumo (ep.227-305) *

Hiroshi Miyauchi is a Japanese actor and singer from Chiba Prefecture. Miyauchi graduated from Nihon University. In 1969, he signed with Toei Company and made his film debut with ''Nagasaki Blues''. He first attracted attention after landing a role in a televisio ...

as Kazuhiko Shimaya (ep.227-306) *Harumi Nakajima as Kyoko Fubuki (ep.253-306) *

Takeshi Kaga , real name , is a well-known stage and movie actor in Japan who is best known internationally for his portrayal of Chairman Kaga in the Japanese television show ''Iron Chef'' produced by Fuji TV. Biography Kaga was born on October 12, 1950, i ...

as Shigeru Kusaka (ep.307-355) *

Kyoko Enami was a Japanese film and television actress. Career Enami was the daughter of the actress Kazuko Enami. She joined the Daiei Film studio in 1959 and made her screen debut in 1960 with ''Ashita kara otona da''. Her first starring role as Noboriry� ...

as Saeko Tsumura (ep.307-355) *

Bunjaku Han (Chinese: Fàn Wénquè) was a Japanese-speaking Taiwanese people, Taiwanese actress who lived and worked in Japan. Career She was mostly known as a character actress. She became famous playing an unfortunate half-Japanese, half African-America ...

as Yoko Kagawa (ep.307-355) *Sarah Lowell as Mariko Teraoka (ep.307-330) *Masahiko Tanimura as Hajime Furuta (ep.331-355) *Kiyohiko Fujikawa as Daichi Kazama (ep.331-355)

''G-Men '82'' cast

*Tetsurō Tamba as Tetsuya Kuroki *Gō Wakabayashi as Gorō Tachibana *Kyoko Enami as Saeko Tsumura *Bunjaku Han as Yoko Kagawa *

Saburō Shinoda is a Japanese actor who has played roles in films and television dramas. He signed with Daiei film and made his film debut with ''Gan'' in 1966. He is famous for playing the role of Kotaro Higashi in ''Ultraman Taro''. He is the only original U ...

as Hayasaka *

Kentaro Shimizu is a Japanese actor and singer. Born , he graduated from the Ashikaga Institute of Technology. He has been arrested several times, and served prison terms, for various offences, among others illegal drug use. Discography (selection) * 1991 ...

as Sawada *Koichi Miura as Shima

TV specials

*''G-Men '75 Haru Dai Ikyou Satsujin no Onna'' (1993) Tetsuro Tamba,

Masatoshi Nakamura is a Japanese actor/singer from Onagawa, Miyagi. He graduated from Keio University. Nakamura joined the Bungakuza theater troupe in 1973 and made his television debut in 1974 with "Warera Seishun. Masatoshi made his film debut with "Fureai" in ...

, Mari Natsuki,

Show Aikawa is a Japanese actor. Career Show Aikawa was born in Tokushima and raised in Kagoshima. Aikawa has appeared in a number of Kiyoshi Kurosawa's films, including ''Eyes of the Spider'', ''Serpent's Path'', ''License to Live'', ''Seance'', and ''Pu ...

*''G-Men '75 Special Kaettekita Wakashishitachi'' (2000) Tetsuro Tamba,

Nenji Kobayashi is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 23rd Japan Academy Prize for ''Poppoya''. Kobayashi signed with Toei in 1961 and started his acting career with small roles. Filmography Film * '' Soshiki Bōryoku'' (196 ...

Junichi Haruta is a Japanese actor from Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture. His real name is . Haruta joined the J.A.C (Japan Action Club), a theater troupe founded by Sonny Chiba, after leaving high school. Filmography * ''The Yagyu Conspiracy'' (1978) - Harut ...

*''G-Men '75 Special Tokyo-Hokkaido Trick Satsujinjiken'' (2000) Tetsuro Tamba, Nenji Kobayashi, Junichi Haruta,

Raita Ryū is a Japanese actor. He is well known for his role as Gorisan (Detective Ishizuka) in ''Taiyō ni Hoero!''. He has a son , who is a musician and guitarist. Once, he belonged to Toshiro Mifune's production company. Selected filmography Films *' ...

References

External links

DVD Selection
from Toei *{{IMDb title, 0185802

音楽録音・映像資料の部 (Audio recordings and film materials) Japanese detective television drama series 1975 Japanese television series debuts 1982 Japanese television series endings Japanese drama television series Shunsuke Kikuchi Detective television series Japanese crime television series