The Days (Japanese TV series)

The Days is a Japanese biographical drama series on Netflix with all 8 episodes released on June 1, 2023.

Premise
The series follows Japanese government officials, Tokyo Electric Power Company employees and Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant employees in Okuma, Japan in the wake of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The massive waves and structural damage cause damage to the Nuclear Power Plant leading to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The series explores the series of events in the immediate aftermath, where some consider the people involved to be heroes who prevented a much larger nuclear disaster, while others blame them for not preventing the disaster that occurred.

Cast

 * Kōji Yakusho as Masao Yoshida
 * Yutaka Takenouchi
 * Fumiyo Kohinata as the Prime Minister Shinji Azuma (based on Naoto Kan)
 * Kaoru Kobayashi
 * Takuma Oto'o
 * Ken Mitsuishi
 * Ken'ichi Endō
 * Yuriko Ishida
 * Yūki Izumisawa
 * Ōji Suzuka
 * Mitsuru Fukikoshi
 * Tomomi Maruyama
 * Hajime Inoue as the Chief Cabinet Secretary (based on Yukio Edano)
 * Shigemitsu Ogi as the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (based on Banri Kaieda)

Production
In September 2022, Netflix announced its new series The Days would be developed, written, and produced by Jun Masumoto and directed by Masaki Nishiura and Hideo Nakata. Masumoto cites three specific publications as primary sources for the creation of the series: The Yoshida Testimony, which is the station manager Masao Yoshida’s first-hand account of events; the official Fukushima Nuclear Accident Analysis Report; and journalist Ryūshō Kadota's bestselling book - On the Brink: The Inside Story of Fukushima Daiichi, for which he interviewed more than 90 people who responded to the accident.

Filming
The series was filmed in Japan, in the region where the actual disaster took place, the Fukushima prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Honshū. Filming began in June of 2021 and was completed in October 2021.

Casting
The first cast member announced was Kōji Yakusho, set to lead the series as Masao Yoshida the real life plant manager at Fukushima.