Japanese dramas, Q2 2025: the quarter in review

It aired 10 episodes in TBS's Sunday Theater slot from April 13 to June 15. In this news drama, an original script by Ken Tsuchiya and others, anchor Soichi Shindo (Hiroshi Abe), brought in to revive a commercial network's news program with falling ratings, takes on the taboos inside the broadcaster. Mei Nagano, Shunsuke Michieda and Kanato Tsukishiro co-star.

Its 14.2% premiere was the series high; the final episode drew 12.0%, and its 11.0% average was the highest among the spring season's commercial-network serials. It spent seven weeks in Netflix's Top 10 for TV in Japan, one of them at No. 1. At the 29th Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix (spring), it won Best Drama and Best Actor (Hiroshi Abe).

It aired 11 episodes in Fuji TV's Monday 9 p.m. "Getsuku" slot from April 14 to June 23. A sequel to the series that aired in 2012 and 2014, this grown-up romantic comedy set in Kamakura follows the everyday lives of Chiaki Yoshino (Kyoko Koizumi) and Wahei Nagakura (Kiichi Nakai), now in their 50s and 60s, and the Nagakura family. As with the earlier series, Yoshikazu Okada wrote the script, with Naoko Iijima, Yuki Uchida and Kenji Sakaguchi co-starring.

Its 9.4% premiere was the series high; the final episode drew 8.2% and it averaged 7.7%.

It aired 10 episodes in Fuji TV's Thursday Theater slot from April 24 to June 26, and a special episode was released on FOD on the final day. Set in the early Showa era, this romantic comedy depicts the awkward love between newlyweds Takimasa Ebata (Kyoya Honda), a lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Navy, and his wife Natsumi (Kyoko Yoshine), and is based on the manga of the same name serialized in Kodansha's Comic DAYS. Yoko Izumisawa wrote the script, with Maika Yamamoto and Yuta Koseki co-starring.

Its ratings were 5.9% for the premiere, a high of 6.4% (episode 9) and a 5.8% average, while catch-up plays of episodes 1–4 passed a cumulative 13 million before episode 5 aired. At the 124th Television Drama Academy Awards, it won Best Drama, Best Actress (Kyoko Yoshine), Best Supporting Actor (Kyoya Honda), Best Supporting Actress (Maika Yamamoto) and Best Director. A sequel is scheduled to air on October 15, 2026.

Produced by Kansai TV, it aired 11 episodes in the Monday 10 p.m. slot on the Fuji TV network from April 21 to June 30. In this suspense drama centered on family relationships, an original script by Natsuko Ikeda, Hiromi Nakagoshi (Keiko Kitagawa), a mother who lost her daughter in a food-related accident, runs away with the daughter of the owner of the deli responsible for the accident. Nao Omori and Mitsuomi Takahashi co-star.

Its 6.0% premiere was the series high, and it averaged 5.0%. On Netflix, by contrast, it spent 10 weeks in the Top 10 for TV in Japan, from the week of April 27 to the week of June 29, three of them at No. 1. Of the Japanese dramas that began in the second quarter, it stayed in Netflix's Top 10 in Japan the longest.

This TV Asahi Thursday drama aired nine episodes from April 24 to June 19. In this workplace drama, an original script by Izumi Takahashi, instructor Seiji Usami (Seiyo Uchino) and his trainees clash and grow at the training unit that produces pararescue jumpers (PJs) for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's Air Rescue Wing. Fuju Kamio, Anna Ishii and Kentaro Maeda appear as trainees.

Its 8.8% premiere was the series high; the final episode drew 6.0% and it averaged 6.5%. It spent two weeks in Netflix's Top 10 for TV in Japan, peaking at No. 8.

This TBS Tuesday drama aired 10 episodes from April 1 to June 3. Shiho Murakami (Mikako Tabe), who chose to be a full-time homemaker, clashes with neighbors in different situations, such as a mother in a dual-income household and a father on parental leave, in a story that questions the value of "housework." It is based on Kaeruko Akeno's novel Taigan no Kaji (Kodansha), with Noriko Eguchi, Dean Fujioka and Wataru Ichinose co-starring.

It opened at 6.5%, reached its series high of 6.6% with episode 6, and drew 6.1% for the final episode, averaging 6.0%.

This 10-episode series was released on Amazon Prime Video every Friday from June 27. Based on Sungsojak's web novel Marry My Husband, which was also adapted as a tvN drama in 2024, it follows Misa Kanbe (Fuka Koshiba), who dies after being betrayed by her friend and her husband and goes back 10 years to change her fate. Korea's Ahn Gil-ho directed and Satomi Oshima wrote the script, with Takeru Satoh, Yu Yokoyama and Sei Shiraishi co-starring.

It won an Award for Excellence in the streaming drama category at FILMARKS AWARDS 2025.