The new television season kicks into high gear this week with TBS's bold experiment "Soryoku Hodo The News" ("Combined Power Information The News") (Mon.-Fri., 5:50 p.m.). Though live news shows are as old as television itself, "The News" marks the first attempt by a Japanese commercial broadcaster to schedule such a program during early prime time. In effect, TBS's two-hour news show will go up against NHK's 7 p.m. news bulletin, which has never been challenged during that time slot.

Hosted by veteran journalist Kenji Goto, who succeeded the late Tetsuya Chikushi as the anchor for TBS's "News 23" (which will continue at 11 p.m., but only as a half-hour program), and popular freelance announcer Maya Kobayashi, "The News" will emphasize live reports that convey a sense of what is actually happening at the moment with regard to the stories it covers.

The government's scheme of spreading Japanese culture worldwide gets some traction with the new series "Trad Japan" (NHK-E, Tues., 11:20 p.m.), which aims to provide viewers with the means to explain in English "profound cultural experiences" that are unique to Japan.