The Professionals

This episode focuses in on Paul Smither, a garden designer from England who's popular in Japan. Smither's gardens are filled with lively plants and trees, season by season. He uses no agrichemicals or chemical fertilizers, drawing instead on plants' natural strengths. As a result, his gardens have been praised as "more natural than nature itself". Smither trained at England's renowned Royal Horticultural Society, and has lived in Japan for 25 years. His philosophy about creating gardens is exceedingly simple - prepare a place where plants can thrive. To Smither, analyzing the complex variations in the environment of each garden, and planting the most suitable vegetation, are the most important things. He notes that Japan is home to some of the richest plant life in the world, but there are still very few people who appreciate it. "There are so many great plants in Japan", says Smither. "I want as many people as possible to like them". Smither believes that by valuing nature, each and every person will help build a bright future.

Every year, 30,000 people in Japan die from liver cancer. Tadatoshi Takayama has performed more operations than any other liver surgeon in the country, completing 300 per year. He's an expert who expanded the potential for treatment by becoming the first to accomplish a new type of procedure. Because the liver contains an intricate network of countless blood vessels, it's referred to as a "clump of blood". One wrong move could trigger massive bleeding. But Takayama's careful approach incorporating extremely delicate techniques have allowed his surgeries to succeed. When operating on liver cancer, a slip of just a few millimeters can prove fatal. With uneasiness as his constant companion, Takayama keeps a certain thought in mind. "I think my surgeries succeed", he says, "because I'm uneasy and I worry". His philosophy has been honed through countless difficult challenges. On this program, we follow a dedicated surgeon who devotes himself body and soul to performing life-or-death operations.

A global boom in Japanese cuisine has put the spotlight on Japan's super-premium wagyu, literally "Japanese beef". Many acclaim Miyazaki beef as the finest wagyu, and one producer of Miyazaki beef in particular has been hailed as the "god of wagyu": 52-year-old Hidetoshi Kamada. His beef was chosen as the best in Japan at a national competition held every 5 years. Beef cattle farmers across Japan look up to him, and the perfectly marbled meat from his ranch commands 5 times the average price. Kamada scrupulously pampers each one of his 200 cattle. Cows are very sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity, so he goes to extraordinary measures to maintain comfortable conditions for them. "Cows just want to live a good life. I owe it to them to give them everything I have. That is my job".

Kentaro Ishikawa, Hikiya Building Mover In this episode, we focus on a major project to move the tower of Hirosaki Castle, designated an Important Cultural Property by the Japanese government. The task is entrusted to a craftsman who specializes in a traditional engineering technique called hikiya . It has been used for more than 5 centuries to move all kinds of structures in their original form. Many hikiya craftsmen are getting on in years and their numbers are declining.

Hitoshi Ishihara, a chef in Kyoto, has been awarded 3 Michelin stars in 6 of the past 7 years. His 15-course meals, prepared in the kaiseki tradition of Japanese haute cuisine, are a kaleidoscope of the finest ingredients, season by season. Ishihara's restaurant serves only one meal a day and has just 14 seats, so he can offer the most attentive service to each guest. He attends carefully to every detail, from food preparation and presentation to flowers and other decorative details. "Entertaining means more than simply cooking. It's about having guests savor the whole experience", Ishihara says. "That's the essence of Japanese cuisine". We take a close look at one man's single-minded quest to get to the heart of Japanese hospitality.

Japan's publishing industry is slumping, but the country's number one women's fashion magazine still boasts a huge readership. Its editor-in-chief is Asako Imao. She revolutionized the market with special features for housewives and moms like "Fall Fashion for the Grocery Store" that offer realistic advice mixed with stylish tips. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how Imao, herself a mother of one, creates content Japanese moms love.

Removal expert Hideo Ito. He specializes in the complex operations of international moves. Everything is classed as an import, and every country has different restrictions on content and volume, so Ito needs a wealth of knowledge.

Ito's motto for packaging is "minimum makes maximum". Since he has to work fast, he measures furniture by eye, perfectly adapting cardboard boxes on the fly. He creates pillars out of cardboard to strengthen boxes, and uses the cardboard's grain to provide extra support. Despite taking only half the time of other workers, his creations are tough. One of his TV boxes easily bears the weight of 5 adults. Ito's techniques are now used in 120 cities around the world.

But it's not just his skills that make Ito a true expert. He puts himself in the shoes of his customers and works hard to help them with the frustration of moving and the fears about living in a new country. How much support can he provide in the limited time he has? That is Ito's constant concern.

When elderly people already weakened by age suffer a stroke or develop aspiration pneumonia, they may be told by their doctors that eating is no longer an option. That's where a Japanese nurse named Tamami Koyama steps in. She's an expert in helping patients with difficulty swallowing recover the ability to eat. Taking food by mouth stimulates the senses of sight, smell and taste and activates the brain. It also encourages the secretion of saliva, with enzymes and antibodies that fight infections and bolster immunity. Most of all, eating nurtures the joy of being alive. Of the roughly 2,000 people Koyama has assisted, 90% have successfully resumed eating. Her attentive care and meticulous techniques help patients reclaim a core part of their existence.

Drone pilot Hiroichi Ukegawa takes on the biggest challenge of his career. With his intuitive control of his device and 30 years of experience, will he manage to film a shot thought to be impossible?

Veteran childminder Chieko Nojima has won a lot of attention for her revolutionary methods. She is a leading proponent of inclusive childcare, a philosophy where children of all ages and abilities are grouped together. Her methods can also provide plenty of inspiration for firms looking for new ways to develop their human resources. Assigning children to a mixed group, she gently guides them towards their own solutions to whatever problems may arise. What happens at the start of a tough new term?

An NGO founded after the 1995 earthquake in Kobe Prefecture, Japan provides relief to disaster-hit areas overseas. The man leading these efforts is Masamichi Yoshitsubaki. He listens intently to people in areas that are difficult for aid to reach, to find out what they truly need. His activities are funded on a shoestring, mainly through donations from citizens. Yet he has carried out a variety of relief projects in 34 places around the globe. Instead of short-term emergency relief, he focuses on longer-term recovery projects. We follow Yoshitsubaki as he heads to Gudel, a village at the foot of the Himalayas that was damaged in the April 2015 Nepal earthquake. He teams up with local builders to reconstruct homes. He believes that entrusting the villagers with rebuilding is the best way to get them back on their feet. To Yoshitsubaki, assistance is just the first step. His hope that is help given today will lead to a better future.

Fumio Usui is Japan's top maker of prosthetic legs, and a key figure in the world of para sports. But Usui doesn't just cater to elite; he also crafts prosthetics to snugly fit the bodies, and lifestyles, of ordinary people. From limbs finely tuned to the needs of clients who want to play sports, to designs that enable their users to wear high heels with confidence, Usui has built his reputation on providing devices that turn amputees' hopes into reality. According to his personal philosophy, rediscovering the joy of walking is a key step for people to move forward in their lives. Usui's dedication to this cause has earned him the nickname, "The prosthetic leg wizard".

Eiji Teramoto, an employee in the Ohnan Town Office in Shimane Prefecture, is drawing attention from local officials around Japan. More than 40% of the 11,000 townspeople are elderly. Depopulation is a serious concern, but he's helped keep the population stable for 3 years running. He's achieved this through local revitalization projects centered on the concept of gourmet dining. By highlighting the town's unique products and cuisine, he's attracted both tourists and new residents to Ohnan. The philosophy underpinning his approach is "nurture local pride". As he says, "Local food is the best, and it's the local people make that food. And that's why local people shine. I take pride in that and it guides my life". Take pride in one's town and the local resources it produces. Convinced that both of these ideas hold the key to reviving communities, Teramoto is always on the move, for the sake of his town.

The seaside town of Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, is home to a remarkable care facility that has recently found its way into the national spotlight, as it specializes in helping sometimes-difficult dementia patients to enjoy rewarding lives. Asking himself what sort of contribution patients in his care can make to their communities, young center manager Tadasuke Kato is known for employing a rather unconventional approach. The essence of his methods, thanks to which over a third of elderly patients show a marked improvement in their condition, is keen attention to care recipients' emotional wellbeing. We focus on an innovative approach to dementia care that is helping patients to realize their forgotten potential.

39-year-old startup CEO Hiroshi Michiwaki is in constant demand from leading companies. His inventions cut through Gordian knots with a simple reexamination of the facts. A screw he invented stands up to any shock and there are hopes it will be used in space. Another product absorbs noise on a highway by using a series of carefully calculated angles to reflect sound. His extraordinary flow of ideas addresses a wide variety of challenges. And the roots of his inspiration lie in a decision to leave school at age 11 before working a series of different jobs. As we follow him at work, we gain insights into the thought processes of a genius with almost no formal schooling.