There are few happy stories on the environmental front these days, but NHK will cover one of them on its nature program, "Chikyu Fushigi Daishizen (The Earth's Amazing Nature)" (NHK-G, Mon., 8 p.m.). Ashio Mountain in Gunma Prefecture has been bare for almost a century, the victim of sulfur-dioxide pollution produced by the Ashio copper mine, which went into operation in 1610.
As early as the Meiji Restoration in the mid-1800s, Ashio was already a wasteland, and the poisonous effects of the mine were recognized in 1890. The mine didn't shut down until the 1970s, but thanks to a number of environmental groups that have spent the last 30 years trying to revitalize the mountain by planting trees and other forms of vegetation, the area has become green again, and last year it was discovered that bears had returned to the mountain.
Once a year, Nihon TV solicits nonfiction story ideas with women's themes from the public and turns one into a two-hour drama called "Woman's Beat." This year, the winner is the story of an alcoholic housewife called "Oboreru Hito (A Person Drowning)" (Tues., 9:03 p.m.).