TBS cancels drama after Akihabara stabbing spree

It mimics reality of which many enjoy nowadays.

pffft most japanese dramas involve a stabbing scene, and usually end with a police showdown on a beach

lipscombe: haha, so true.

Luckily it wasn't shown on Saturday night. Is it possible there is a link between Jp TV dramas, manga, video games, the high school system, workers rights (none), the lack of family unity and the high suicide and sadistic murders? Wow! Now there's a thought!

Nobody talking about freedom of expression?

Nobody talking about freedom of expression or never give in to terrorists?

Why should they? TBS says that they decided not to air the programme, not that they were ordered not to.

Good on TBS for that decision. Don't know why some are bashing the writers of the drama. Just the other night I watched the new version of "Night stalker", as if that show couldn't give some new ideas to people to do nasty stuff.

i'd say: Good move.

TBS was not ordered but exercised self discipline.

Just edit out the stabbing spree part, whats the problem.

Why do Japanese dramas continue to have this infatuation with knives and stabbings ? TBS should never had contemplated producing this drama in the first place anyway and are taking advantage of the Akihabara killings to try and gain some brownie points for themselves. Pathetic.

There certainly are, but think before you question something. These crime dramas are controlled by an extremely strict censorship office. I used to work for many years for ITV's censorship office and you would not believe how much time and checking is carried out to ensure that certain scenes, certain language, offending items etc etc are not aired. We show knife scenes in the UK but we show them as part of a moral story. Unlike the Japanese programmers who appear to see knife stabbings as a fashion.

TBS' decision to make that statement after it has already filmed a stabbing scene is just to earn brownie points. If TBS had consideration for any family of stabbing victims then it would not have filmed that drama in the first place.

We show knife scenes in the UK but we show them as part of a moral story. Unlike the Japanese programmers who appear to see knife stabbings as a fashion.

Huh? This is a drama based on a novel by Seiichi Morimura who is one of the most well established suspence/crime related novelist. The implication that UK does more on censorship as opposed to Japan on crime related drama's is pure BS. Please take your superior complex somewhere else.

Just because a drama is 'based' on a novel by an established novelist doesn't give it automatic credibility does it ? 'Based' or an exact rendition ? Your argument has no evidence to prove what the Japanese are doing to censor their programmes and commercials and I get the impression that it is not very much at all under pressure from commercially-minded sponsors who just want viewing figures. Have you been sleeping in the woods or something ? Or maybe you really don't live in Japan at all ? Just take a look at what is shown on Japanese tv and on the commercials here. I can make an argument because television censorship was my job for many years. Huh.

The threshold in the UK is 9pm. However not everything passes just because of the 9pm slot. And also not every programme with a knife scene is edited out otherwise there are issues with freedom of expression therefore scenes which end well morally are kept.

However my original argument was against TBS having to make this statement pretending to show concern after Akihabara when they were going to show that drama anyway if Akihabara had not happened at all. It would have been braver for TBS to state that they would completely rehaul their censorship process after Akihabara.

<strong>Moderator: Readers, how programs are regulated in other countries is irrelevant to this discussion.</strong>

If TBS had consideration for any family of stabbing victims then it would not have filmed that drama in the first place.

I couldn't agree more. If TBS really cared about what had happened earlier that day, they would have jumped in a time machine, gone back the weeks or months to when the drama was first filmed, and stopped it from taking place. Shame on them for not doing so.

In fact, now that I think about it, all depictions of any crime should no longer be filmed out of respect of any future victims of said crimes.

meija,

Thank you. The cheap part of it is that TBS are milking this to get some kind of brownie points from a stabbing scene they had already passed for airing. Sad for them but all the commercial-led Japanese stations are sad.

I think TBS made the right choice. I don't see them milking the situation for brownie points, however. (milk and brownies?? YUM!) They made a wise business decision. Had they allowed the drama to air as originally scheduled, the outrage would be potentially devestating. (And certain naysayers here would certainly harp on the insensitivity of TBS airing such a programme so soon after the Akihabara incident).

As for criticizing TBS for filming the drama in the first place..well, TV stations are in business to entertain people and make money through ad revenue. They make what they think the people will want to watch.

Considering some of the stuff I have seen from TV shows in other countries, a stabbing on a crime drama here is nothing. CSI anyone???

Hmm... I wish this thing came with sarcasm indicators. I thought the "time machine" reference was a dead give-away. I guess not.

Considering some of the stuff I have seen from TV shows in other countries, a stabbing on a crime drama here is nothing. CSI anyone???

Now there's a comment I do agree with.

well, TV stations are in business to entertain people and make money through ad revenue. They make what they think the people will want to watch.

So Nagoya, we'll all sit down at home and watch gang rapes, pornographic videos, violence, girls with no clothes. You know, the kind of mindless stuff that millions will tune in to out of curiosity and create millions of viewers for the sponsors to be happy about.

"So Nagoya, we'll all sit down at home and watch gang rapes, pornographic videos, violence, girls with no clothes."

"Sit down at home" ? Nonsense ! You can see all that and more by just heading in toooo, you guessed it... Akihabara !

So Nagoya, we'll all sit down at home and watch gang rapes, pornographic videos, violence, girls with no clothes. You know, the kind of mindless stuff that millions will tune in to out of curiosity and create millions of viewers for the sponsors to be happy about.

That's just the western media. Japan TV only shows lame stuff. I'd rather go out and get a beer than watch that rubbish.

lipscombe "most japanese dramas involve a stabbing scene, and usually end with a police showdown on a beach" Yeah! What is it with the beach?

northlondon--I havent seen any gang rapes or truly pornogaphic vids, or naked women on regular old TV here. (I have seen a very very few topless ladies, but not on a regular basis, and usually well after 9 PM. Most often, I see this stuff in the foreign movies broadcast on TV.) I think you are mixing up the internet with TV. I also think you are engaging in a bit of hyperbole here... Then again, I usually don't watch much TV here after midnight...maybe in the wee hours of the morning, such crap is on.

i Think TBS did the right thing By pulling it. WOW some people DON'T know anything about Japan! why knifes? - NO GUNS allowed in country (good thing) whats with the Beach scenes? - its an Island country