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• Update (12.2.09): this press release has been updated to reflect new transmission details.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four turns Japanese next month with a unique collection of programmes dedicated to discovering the hidden soul of Japan.

Three authored films form the centrepiece of a month long season of documentaries, animations and dramas inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the more beguiling aspects of this far eastern country; from Japan's profound fixation with fish; the somewhat incomprehensible philosophy of wabi sabi; and the peculiar world of the salary man.

In Search Of Wabi Sabi follows Marcel Theroux as he sets off across Japan to define the elusive concept of "wabi sabi" – an idea at the heart of the Japanese psyche but notoriously hard to pin down. Wabi sabi can be represented by a cherry blossom, a chipped cup, a wrinkled face or a tea ceremony.

Theroux begins his journey not from the obvious starting point of Tokyo but the remote north visiting islands, Buddhist communities, film studios and cherry blossom festivals.

Fish! A National Obsession sees the "rabid piscatorian" Charles Rangely-Wilson seek to understand the Japanese through their fixation with fish.

Charles uncovers the quixotic pride the elders attach to eating whale; the emerging gulf between young and old when it comes to sushi etiquette, and how the eating of the poisonous puffer Fugu typifies Japanese notions of masculinity. The series concentrates on Japanese eccentricity through a cultural symbol that is far more than just food.

Japan: A Story Of Love And Hate creates an intimate portrayal of Japanese life from within. Acclaimed documentary maker Sean McCallister follows Naoki, a former successful entrepreneur who lost everything in the economic crash of the early Nineties.

He is now forced to work for a pittance in the Post Office in Yamagata while his girlfriend works as a hostess in a bar. This story of love and survival gives a rare window onto ordinary Japanese working life.

Also featured in the season will be Japan In Colour: The Wonderful World Of Albert Kahn which tells the story of French banker and philanthropist Albert Kahn, his archive of the planet and how he was inspired by the people and culture of Japan.

Everything in the season will be given a Japanese twist – from the wide-ranging content including documentaries by award-winning directors, classic animations and 30-second language lessons to the identity of the channel itself with channel idents, logos and specially shot promotional films all given a Japanese makeover.

The Japan Season promises to go beyond the predictable and focus on the weird and wonderful ways of an enthralling nation – from Buddhist priests who mummify themselves alive; professors who want to fly paper aeroplanes into space; homeless people who sleep in internet booths and ikizukuri sushi that literally gulps its last breath as you eat it…

Announcing the new season, Richard Klein, Controller of ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four, says: "To western eyes and cultures, Japan remains an enigma. ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four has commissioned three authored films to recalibrate Japan through three very different lenses: through its obsession with fish; through the philosophy of wabi sabi; and through the strange and weird world of the salary man.

"Combining these documentaries with drama and animation, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Four will get under the skin of one of the most famous and yet incomprehensible countries in the world."

Programmes

• Fish! A National Obsession (Keo Films)
• Japan: In Search Of Wabi Sabi (Keo Films)
• Japan: A Story Of Love And Hate (Ten Foot Films)
• Japan In Colour: Albert Kahn (³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Productions)
• The Kawasaki Candidate
• In The Shadow Of Fujisan
• AGD Goes Samurai
• Great Railway Journeys: Tokyo To Kagoshima
• Natural World: Buddhas, Bees & Hornets
• Spirited Away
• Geisha
• Gohatto
• Twilight Samurai
• The Sumo Tokoyama
• Secret Life Of A Masterpiece – The Wave
• Natural World : Garden Of The Gods – Hokkaido
• Natural World: Satoyama – Japan's Water Garden

Programme titles are subject to change.

Notes to Editors

The Japan Season is scheduled to broadcast on Saturdays and Mondays from 16 March to 6 April 2009. Schedules are subject to change.

JF/FB