Front Runners
(1986)Streaming Episode Guide
Season 2
Drone Entrepreneur - Kawanoue Kazufumi
Episode 13 - 11-20-2024
In Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, heavy traffic hinders the delivery of blood for transfusions. Kawanoue Kazufumi hopes to overcome this challenge using drones, and build out a new aerial infrastructure.
Haven't Seen
International Mountain Medic - Oshiro Kazue
Episode 12 - 10-30-2024
Dr. Oshiro Kazue is a skilled mountain medic, dedicated to promoting awareness of alpine safety, and even spending her summers treating climbers from a cabin near the peak of the iconic Mt. Fuji.
Haven't Seen
Nebuta Artist - Kitamura Asako
Episode 11 - 9-25-2024
Kitamura Asako is the first female floatmaker in the 300-year history of Aomori's Nebuta Matsuri, battling prejudice as she upholds this very male tradition while also imbuing a fresh new sensibility.
Haven't Seen
Coconut Entrepreneur Tackling Poverty - Mizui Yu
Episode 10 - 8-21-2024
Mizui Yu is tackling poverty in the Philippines using coconuts—he develops food and cosmetics for sale in Japan. His business is improving lives. What products will he develop next?
Haven't Seen
Accessibility NPO Founder - Oda Yuriko
Episode 9 - 8-14-2024
Oda Yuriko suffers from a progressive disease, but by running a patient association, developing an app and other activities, she's working toward a society in which anybody can enjoy life.
Haven't Seen
Ainu Cultural Advocate - Monbetsu Atsushi
Episode 8 - 6-26-2024
Monbetsu Atsushi is a cultural and wildlife advocate working to preserve Hokkaido Prefecture's traditional Ainu culture through ancient practices including bowhunting and forest management.
Haven't Seen
Cricket Food Producer - Ashikari Seiya
Episode 7 - 6-19-2024
Ashikari Seiya explores the potential of crickets as a nutritious solution to the global food crisis. He works with farmers in Cambodia to establish green, sustainable production methods.
Haven't Seen
Orthopedic Shoe Meister - Nakai Yosuke
Episode 6 - 5-29-2024
Meet Nakai Yosuke, a qualified prosthetist and German-certified orthopedic shoe "meister" leveraging his skills to help Japanese seniors maintain their mobility and independence well into old age.
Haven't Seen
Supporting Street Children - Watanabe Hiroki
Episode 5 - 5-01-2024
Watanabe Hiroki is co-founder of an NGO in Bangladesh. It gives long-term support to underprivileged children on the street, proving that they can make a positive contribution to society.
Haven't Seen
Snow Country Chef - Kuwakino Keiko
Episode 4 - 4-24-2024
Globally-renowned chef Kuwakino Keiko uses a new take on traditional methods to showcase the culture, climate and produce of Minami-Uonuma, one of the snowiest places in Japan.
Haven't Seen
Poet & NPO Founder - Ueda Kanayo
Episode 3 - 3-20-2024
Meet Ueda Kanayo, an Osaka-based poet, activist and NPO founder helping disadvantaged former manual laborers to build community and discover themselves through the creative arts.
Haven't Seen
Medical Interpreting Pioneer - Minamitani Kaori
Episode 2 - 2-28-2024
Follow Dr. Minamitani Kaori, head of a pioneering medical center in Osaka Prefecture that is leading the way in providing care to patients from overseas with limited Japanese skills.
Haven't Seen
Master Salt Maker - Sato Kyojiro
Episode 1 - 1-31-2024
Meet salt maker Sato Kyojiro, whose unique, naturally produced, labor-intensive creations have earned fans among Japan's leading chefs.
Haven't Seen
Season 1
Pioneering Neurosurgeon - Kato Yoko
Episode 11 - 12-27-2023
Dr. Kato Yoko is an expert in the treatment of deadly strokes, with over 3,000 surgeries to her name across a career spanning almost five decades. She also trains med students from around the world.
Haven't Seen
Thatching Innovator - Sagara Ikuya
Episode 10 - 11-15-2023
The thatched roofs found on traditional Japanese houses are declining in number. They're hard to maintain, and passing on the relevant skills is difficult. However, Sagara Ikuya is giving this ancient craft an innovative twist. He also works hard to develop the skills of young people. Thatched roofs represent the wisdom of our ancestors, who struggled to coexist with nature, and we discover how Sagara is using that tradition to explore new possibilities.
Haven't Seen
Kyoto Kimono Dyer - Tabata Kihachi
Episode 9 - 9-27-2023
Kyo-yuzen is a famous dyed textile from Kyoto Prefecture, used in kimono. The Tabata family have been top producers for decades; they've produced garments for a royal wedding, costumes for maiko in a popular dance performance and modern kimono too. The 88-year-old, 5th generation owner, Tabata Kihachi, produces dynamic, contemporary designs that preserve traditional techniques. At a solo exhibition in Tokyo, he shares his wisdom with visitors, and explains why people wearing kimono seem to glow.
Haven't Seen
Helicopter Physician - Tsugita Nobuyuki
Episode 8 - 8-30-2023
Airborne physician Tsugita Nobuyuki provides a vital service to island communities in west Japan's Seto Inland Sea. Despite aging populations, the islands of Momoshima and Sagishima lacked their own medical facilities. To address this situation, doctor and air-show exhibition pilot Tsugita opened clinics in both communities, and trained for a helicopter license. He flies between them, providing consultations and home visits as well as round-the-clock emergency care.
Haven't Seen
Master Gardener - Kitayama Yasuo
Episode 7 - 7-26-2023
Kitayama Yasuo is a 74-year-old master gardener. He has created over 70 of Japan's famous gardens, and receives commissions from all over the world. His specialty, the traditional rock garden, involves the careful manipulation of light and shadow. Rocks and pebbles are used to represent water. His final major project is in a city devastated by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. We follow Kitayama as he works hard to create a garden where people can heal, through love for life.
Haven't Seen
Japanese Cheese Trailblazer - Shibata Chiyo
Episode 6 - 7-19-2023
In rural Chiba Prefecture, Shibata Chiyo runs a pioneering cheeseworks out of a 120-year-old farmhouse. Her focus is 100% local fermented cheeses, and just three years after launching in 2014, she became the first female cheesemaker to win a prestigious award from Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, before going on to place third out of 3,804 entries in the 2019 World Cheese Awards. This time on FRONTRUNNERS, we follow a cheesemaker with a uniquely Japanese approach to fromage and sustainability.
Haven't Seen
Vegan Washoku Chef - Kusumoto Katsumi
Episode 5 - 6-28-2023
A restaurant in Tokyo emerged as the top-rated business on a popular online guide carrying consumer ratings for over 110 thousand vegan restaurants worldwide. And as well as being entirely plant-based, owner Kusumoto Katsumi's menu also caters to those with faith-based dietary restrictions or allergies by eschewing alcohol and artificial ingredients. This time on FRONTRUNNERS, we follow a chef promoting a truly borderless approach to traditional Japanese cuisine.
Haven't Seen
Children's Hospice Founder - Tagawa Hisato
Episode 4 - 5-24-2023
Tagawa Hisato is the founder of a unique children's hospice in Yokohama that aims to support families left socially isolated and emotionally and financially drained by intensive treatment for incurable pediatric conditions. Motivated by the loss of his own daughter to cancer aged just six, and remorse at having neglected quality time to focus on treatment, Tagawa works to provide memorable palliative care that helps families to face the end with peace and positivity.
Haven't Seen
Rope Rescue Expert - Hayashida Akihiro
Episode 3 - 4-19-2023
Rope rescue is an emergency practice that deftly deploys cords, clasps and pulleys to reach individuals stranded on hillsides and cliffs, or amid floods, rubble, and in other locations that helicopters and emergency vehicles struggle to reach. Hayashida Akihiro leads a fire service rope rescue team that, in 2022, won first prize at a global rope skills tournament in Belgium. We follow his efforts to promote these lifesaving techniques to rescue services across Japan.
Haven't Seen
Kyoto Foraging Master - Nakahigashi Hisato
Episode 2 - 3-29-2023
Near Kyoto, in the mountain village of Hanase, is a traditional inn with 130 years of upholding approaches to cuisine and hospitality attuned with the rich local nature and the passage of the four seasons. It is run by fourth-generation head Nakahigashi Hisato, whose refined take on wild food and foraging has made fans of some of the world's leading chefs. We follow Nakahigashi through the winter months and gain unique insights into his pioneering update on time-honored culinary lore to suit modern tastes.
Haven't Seen
Prosthetics Pioneer - Usui Fumio
Episode 1 - 3-22-2023
Usui Fumio is one of the most trusted prosthetists in Japanese para-sports. An early pioneer in the discipline, having developed sporting limbs since the 1980s, he now works arm-in-arm with athletes to craft prosthetics that match their precise needs, underpinning countless successes on both track and field. Away from sports, he also strives to create prosthetics that express users' own identities, appearing on stage in both dance events and fashion shows.
Haven't Seen
