7 Up Japan

Granada Television and NHK meet a selection of seven-year-olds from all over Japan, including a young girl from the far north who can see across to the island where her grandfather grew up until the Soviet Union occupied it; the son of a rice farmer; children from prosperous families; and the daughter of a ferry boat captain.

Expanding on the Up series produced in Great Britain, which starts with a group of 7-year-olds and revisits them every seven years, the Up: Japan chronicle focuses on 13 youth living in different parts of Japan. In this program, which captures the subjects at age 14, they are asked to talk about their lives, families, and future with the same honesty and frankness displayed in the original British production. Counteracting the percieved homogeneity of Japanese society, the circumstances of these young people are vastly different from each other. Some, such as Eri and Maki, live in politically sensitive areas like Okinawa, near a U.S. military base. Sanae lives near the disputed Kuril Islands, while others like Yoshio and Mitsukatsu carry the heritage of two different ancestral cultures.

Modeled on the Up series produced in the United Kingdom, which begins with a group of 7-year-olds and revisits them every seven years, the Up: Japan chronicle focuses on 13 youth living in different parts of Japan. In this program, which rejoins the participants at age 21, they are asked to talk about their lives, families, and future with the same honesty and frankness displayed in the original British production. Contradicting the perceived homogeneity of Japanese society, the circumstances of these young adults are vastly different from each other. Some, such as Eri and Maki, live in politically sensitive areas like Okinawa, near a U.S. military base. Sanae lives near the disputed Kuril Islands, while others like Yoshio and Mitsukatsu carry the heritage of two different ancestral cultures.

This is the fourth installment in the documentary of a lifetime. It follows 13 Japanese people from various regions and social backgrounds.