Kathryn Morris UK

They’re all there:  Will, John, Lilly, Nick, Scotty, file boxes.  But some how they look different.

The locally created Japanese version of Cold Case premièred today (22nd October 2016).  Or was it yesterday?  At the time of writing it is very late in the day in Tokyo.  Is it now?  It all makes my head ow.  Speaking of which the show is being broadcast on the WOWOW TV network in Japan, the home of the American version there too.

The news of this local version being in the works broke back in April, at the time it was said that 10 episodes had been commissioned.  From looking at the WOWOW website (even though I cannot read Japanese) it looks like that is still the case.

Cold Case Japan is set in the Kanagawa Prefecture.  This is south of Tokyo and has a mix of topography from major cities like the capital Yokohama, to more mountainous regions, and ancient areas.  The large bay and the fact that Yokohama is such a major port for the country makes it a good replacement for Philadelphia.  The Prefecture gives a lot of scope for vary varied stories across all aspects of Japanese life now and, as is so important to the show, the past.  The theme music is based on “Nara” by E.S. Posthumus too.

Yō Yoshida leads the cast as ‘Yuri Ishikawa’.  In a lovely nod to the original ‘Yuri’ translates as Lily.  ‘Ishikawa’ apparently is a combination of the words ‘stone’ and ‘river’ or ‘stream’.  That sounds like Lilly Rush:  a stone, with hidden undercurrents.

I hope the Japanese viewers enjoyed their new TV show as much as they enjoyed the American original.  If you have seen the programme and want to tell us what you thought then please contact me or post a comment below.  We’d love to hear from you.

I’ve a new ‘Global versions’ sub-section to the Cold Case area of the KM UK Gallery, kicked things off with a Japan album and put the above photo and a short promo video to it.  You can see it here.