In addition to singing and dancing, the popular male idols managed by Johnny & Associates do a lot of educational TV, including "Aiba Manabu" ("Aiba Learns"; TV Asahi, Sun., 6 p.m.), in which Masaki Aiba, a member of boy band Arashi, learns about some common process. In the past, Aiba and his guests have had hands-on lessons about how to plant rice and how to catch tuna.

This week they go to an ironworks and a steel mill to learn how iron ore is turned into steel. They watch as molten pig iron flows into a huge vat, and Aiba himself handles a giant ladle to transfer the liquid into other containers. Then they go to the plate mill where they are shown how different cooling processes produce different kinds of steel, depending on the purpose.

Koji Ishizaka is one of Japan's most distinguished actors, but like all show business professionals, he also appears on variety shows. For many years he was the co-emcee of the popular antique appraisal show "Nandemo Kanteidan" ("The Appraisal Team for Anything"), but he left in April, reportedly because he didn't get along with the show's producer any more.