JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope

In 2023 in Tokyo, Prime Minister Eiichi Higashiyama pushes for COMS at the World Environment Conference. COMS is a method to liquify pollutants and store it in the crack of the sea floor. Prime Minister Eiichi Higashiyama gathers young and talented bureaucrats and launches Japan Future Promotion Conference, which is to benefit the future of Japan. Keishi Amami of the Ministry of the Environment and Kōichi Tokiwa of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry are members of that conference.

JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope (2021) is a Japanese television miniseries broadcast on TBS, a ten-episode limited series of roughly fifty-four minutes each. Shun Oguri plays Keishi Amami, a Ministry of the Environment official, alongside Kenichi Matsuyama as Kōichi Tokiwa of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, and Teruyuki Kagawa as Yūsuke Tadokoro. Set in 2023 Tokyo, the story follows Prime Minister Eiichi Higashiyama (Toru Nakamura), who pushes a controversial plan called COMS to liquify pollutants and store them in cracks in the seafloor, then gathers young bureaucrats into a Japan Future Promotion Conference. Their engine is a race against a looming environmental catastrophe, with every episode built from closed-door meetings, policy battles, and a public kept uneasy by competing narratives and media manipulation. The tone is sober and tense, with a focus on national survival and the moral cost of decisions made in the name of the future. Viewers who enjoyed the political weight of Chernobyl and the national-scale dread of Shin Godzilla will find resonance here.

• Chernobylslow burn disaster politics, national crisis drama with bureaucratic intrigue
• Contagionglobal crisis thriller, government response to catastrophe as serialized drama
• Shin Godzillajapanese disaster drama, national catastrophe with political stakes

Release Date

2021-10-10

Episode runtime

54 min

Rating

6.5 / 10 (22)

What is JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope about?

Young Japanese bureaucrats scramble to plan the nation's future as a global environmental crisis threatens the country.

What is JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.

Is JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope violent?

No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope.

Which shows are like JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope?

Shows with a similar feel include Chernobyl, Contagion, and Shin Godzilla.

How long is JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope?

JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope: 1 season, 10 episodes.

Is JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope still running?

No, JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope has ended.

Where can I watch JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope?

In United States, JAPAN SINKS: People of Hope streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.