Change (TV series)

CHANGE
Genre	drama, politics
Starring	Takuya Kimura Eri Fukatsu
Ending theme	Miles Away (Madonna)
Country of origin	Japan
Original language(s)	Japanese
No. of episodes	10
Production
Producer(s)	Hiroyuki Goto, Kazuyuki Shimizu
Location(s)	Tokyo
Running time	54 min./episode
Release
Original network	Fuji TV
Picture format	NTSC
Original release	May 12 – July 14, 2008
External links
Website

CHANGE is a Japanese television drama which aired on Fuji TV starting May 12, 2008.

Episode 1: (2008/5/12)

Keita Asakura, an elementary school teacher who has no interest in politics, suddenly gets taken to the position of the Prime Minister. He is forced to campaign in the Fukuoka Prefecture for a seat in the House of Representatives for the Seiyu Party when his father and brother, both involved in Diet politics, die in a plane crash en route from Vietnam. Asakura wins the prefectural elections, and heads to Tokyo to take his father's place in the House.

Episode 2: (2008/5/19)

After being sworn in, Asakura is dubbed the "Prince of the Parliament" (kokukai ouji) by the news media. The current Prime Minister is embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal and resigns, leading Kanbaya, one of the most senior politicians in the Seiyu Party, to propose that Asakura run for the party's leadership. This puts Asakara in the running for the premiership should the Seiyu Party win a majority in an upcoming general election. Nirasawa and Hikaru arrives in Tokyo from Fukuoka and stays over at his residence, in time becoming his trusted aides.

Episode 3: (2008/5/26)

Asakura decides to run for the party leadership, but performs disastrously in two televised debates. Supporting his campaign, three other Seiyu politicians educate him in the various aspects of Japanese law, economics and politics. In the final debate, Asakura looks confused when two other candidates start discussing the topic in political verbiage. Finally, he states that he did not understand what they were saying, as do the majority of the Japanese citizens. With this obvious point brought out, he wins the party's internal elections by a landslide, leading to his election as Prime Minister.

Episode 4: (2008/6/2)

After appointing his ministers, Asakura is asked to sign a document denying the government's responsibility for the commercial impact of a dam built in Yakushima. Asakura does not understand the denial, and sets out to get a proper explanation in order to make the right decision. Members of the government, including Kanbaya, are furious at this development, as Asakura's stand opens the government to the possibility of compensation paid to local fishermen in Yakushima.

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Wikipedia