The March 2011 accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant forced the relocation of hundreds of families, and since then television has made a concerted effort to keep us informed as to their situation. On Tuesday, NHK will air a special about family members who tend to get less attention: pet dogs.
"Iitate-mura no Inutachi Kazoku ni Ai ni Iku" ("Iitate Village's Dogs Visit Their Families"; NHK-G, 10 p.m.) chronicles the circumstances of 21 dogs that were evacuated from the village of Iitate in Fukushima Prefecture to the facility of a nonprofit group in Gifu Prefecture, 800 km away. The group is taking care of the dogs for free, and on March 10 it brought all its charges back to Fukushima for a one-week reunion with their families.
Around 10 years ago, the airwaves were filled with people who possessed "super powers," which usually meant extraordinary mental gifts such as the abilities to read minds and bend spoons. The fad is revived for a racy new comedy series, "Minna! Espa da yo!" ("Everybody Has ESP!"; Tokyo TV, Fri., 12:12 a.m.), which takes place in a high school.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.