Date: From 9.00 p.m., 12 August 2017
Scriptwriter: Nishioka Takuya (Shokuzai no Sonata, Deiri Kinshi no Onna)
Original Work: Boku wa Okinawa Torimodoshita ~ Ishoku Gaikokan Chiba Kazuo by Miyagawa Tetsuji
Cast: Iura Arata, Toda Naho, Omi Toshinori, Nakajima Ayumu, Sano Shiro, Osugi Ren, Ishibashi Renji
Synopsis: Chiba Kazuo (Iura Arata) was a radio operator during the war and could only intercept the radio transmissions of the US army which attacked Okinawa with an overwhelming use of force. Proficient in English, he became the director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ First North America Division after the war. He strongly felt that there was only want thing he wanted to do in the ministry. That was to reclaim Okinawa and he vowed to his wife Keiko (Toda Naho) that he would take it back someday. He led diplomatic negotiations for the return of Okinawa which began in the 1960s. Okinawa was cut off from the mainland and under the rule of the US. It became the base for the US Army to make sorties during the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons were even deployed. Chiba repeatedly negotiated with the US to withdraw the nuclear weapons from Okinawa and tried to urge them against making it a base for sorties. He also visited Okinawa several times and listened attentively to the people’s woes. He firmly believed that matters relating to Japan and Okinawa should be determined by the Japanese themselves, and earned the respect of his negotiating partners. The love and bond between Chiba and Keiko, who was modern in her thinking for a woman of her time, gave him great emotional support.
Official Website: www4.nhk.or.jp/koushonin
All text copyright © jdramas.wordpress.com.
Jdrama Weblog 