[luthien]

Overview
Title: 官僚たちの夏
Romanji: Kanryoutachi no Natsu
English: The Summer of the Bureaucrats
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Politics, Drama
Broadcast Network: TBS
Broadcast Period: 2009 July to (to be announced)
Timeslot: Sundays 21:00
Official Website: http://www.tbs.co.jp/kanryou09/

Production Crew
Original Writing: "Kanryotachi no Natsu" by Shiroyama Saburo
Screenwriter:
Producer: Isano Hideki
Director:

Cast
Sato Koichi as Kazakoshi Shingo
Sakai Masato
Takahashi Katsumi
Sano Shiro
Nishimura Masahiko
Sugimoto Tetta
Fukiishi Kazue
Tanaka Kei
Tokoshima Yoshiko
Murakawa Eri
Takahashi Katsunori
Funakoshi Eichiro
Kitaoji Kinya

Synopsis
Following Japan’s defeat in WWII, a passionate group of bureaucrats from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry are filled with a sense of mission to tranform Japan into an affluent country that is on equal footing with the world. Centring on Kazakoshi Shingo (Sato Koichi), a man called “Mister Ministry of International Trade and Industry”, a battle unfolds between the “industrialists” who call for the protection of domestic industries, and the “internationalists” whose ideal is free trade aimed at globalisation.

Translation and Credits: Jade_Frost at jdrama.wordpress.com


News

Koichi Sato leads "Kanryotachi no Natsu" drama
Source: Nikkan Sports
Translated by: Tokyograph
Tuesday, 2009 May 19, 0826 (JST)

The novel Kanryotachi no Natsu by Shiroyama Saburo is being turned into a live-action drama series on TBS this summer. The show will feature a strong lineup of well-established actors, led by Sato Koichi.

Kanryotachi no Natsu (The Summer of the Bureaucrats) was originally serialized and later published in book form during the 1970s. The story focuses on Japan's economic boom following World War II. Sato plays Kazakoshi Shingo, a bureaucrat in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which was critical to the nation's recovery.

With modern bureaucrats developing a negative public image and calls increasing for government reform, TBS producer Isano Hideki felt it was time to create a drama based on the novel, which showed the ability of dedicated bureaucrats to effectively shape the country's economic success. Isano said he also hopes to find some hint of a way out of the current recession.

Aside from Sato, the cast includes Kitaoji Kinya, Sakai Masato, Takahashi Katsumi, Takahashi Katsunori , Sano Shiro, Nishimura Masahiko, Sugimoto Tetta , Fukiishi Kazue , Tokoshima Yoshiko , and Kunihiro Tomiyuki .

Broadcast is set for Sundays at 9:00pm, beginning in July.

[jade_frost]

Check out the cast! Hopefully this turns out as good as it sounds. I always love watching Sato Koichi. He's dependable.

The other character name is Kitaoji Kinya as Ikeuchi Nobuto, the Minister of International Trade and Industry.

[luthien]

^^ Kitaoji Kinya played as older Manpyou in Karei Naru Ichizoku right? When I read that name, I was totally sold into this drama.

The story seems interesting too.. post WWII when Japan is trying to rebuilt itself, and it highlights the changes in politics, business and society. I LOVE Karei Naru Ichizoku... but later in that drama, it was more as a personal struggle between the father and son. Hope this one focuses more on the politics among these men.

Once again, Japanese TV trying to reflect soceity.. Considering how much the global economic downturn affected Japanese industries.. I wonder if this drama will reflect the current situation? Or maybe send a message or something, that Japan had a tough time in the past too. She was able to overcome it and come out as a strong economic leader. In the most depressing times, one needs to be given hope that there is light up ahead... if tackled wisely, future can be brighter once again.

I really shouldn't raise my hope a lot until I watch it myself.

[jade_frost]

^^ Kitaoji Kinya played as older Manpyou in Karei Naru Ichizoku right? When I read that name, I was totally sold into this drama.

The story seems interesting too.. post WWII when Japan is trying to rebuilt itself, and it highlights the changes in politics, business and society. I LOVE Karei Naru Ichizoku... but later in that drama, it was more as a personal struggle between the father and son. Hope this one focuses more on the politics among these men.

Once again, Japanese TV trying to reflect soceity.. Considering how much the global economic downturn affected Japanese industries.. I wonder if this drama will reflect the current situation? Or maybe send a message or something, that Japan had a tough time in the past too. She was able to overcome it and come out as a strong economic leader. In the most depressing times, one needs to be given hope that there is light up ahead... if tackled wisely, future can be brighter once again.

I really shouldn't raise my hope a lot until I watch it myself.

Yup. And also the head of criminal investigations in the disastrous Triangle. I hope they give him a role that makes better use of his acting this time. Same for Sakai Masato who hasn't had good drama roles so far.

My first thought when I read the synopsis for the drama was that it sounded rather nationalistic like trying to evoke the nostalgia of the era of Japan's heyday in the 70s and 80s and to inspire the people to look to a similar future where they'd rise above the difficulties the country faces now.

[jade_frost]

From Yomiuri Daily:

TELEVIEWS / The little guys get their day in the TV sun

Koichi Sato stars in Kanryo-tachi no Natsu (Sundays, 9 p.m., TBS), an ode to the 1950s bureaucrats credited with crafting Japan's emergence as a postwar industrial power.

But with their pension funds and safety nets now disappearing, will viewers really feel like waxing nostalgic over past bureaucratic successes?

With Sato and an all-star cast, Kanryo-tachi no Natsu certainly has an acting advantage ... TBS attempts to retell the more-or-less official version of Japan's rise to economic power. NHK already did that extremely well with its 2000-05 Project X documentaries, and now TV Asahi is winning over viewers with its increasingly popular Documentary Sengen (Mondays, 7 p.m.), which carries real-life reports on 21st-century Japanese fighting for their rights in the schools, courts and society.

The TBS drama has authentically recreated mid-1950s fashions, furnishings and even the smoke-filled offices, but some things just didn't ring true. One of the Americans mocking Japanese cars definitely sounded Australian and even back in the bureaucratic good old days, no reporter would be allowed to hang around and be privy to as much inside information as Nishimaru (Shiro Sano) gets.

The ratings will tell, but I'm afraid Kanryo-tachi no Natsu represents yet another TBS miscalculation, like their less-than-dazzling two-hour evening news and the decision to bring top actors (Katsunori Takahashi, Yasufumi Terawaki, et al) into their midday Hiru-obi program.