Japan’s NHK Drama ‘Percent’ Highlights Issues About How Disability is Depicted

The NHK TV drama ‘Percent’ premiered on Saturday 11th May on NHK G. The drama concerns Mirai (Miku, Marika Ito) who joins a TV station because she admires their drama production, and one day, her project is accepted for the first time. Her joy is short-lived, however, when her programming manager Fujitani (Satoshi Hashimoto) tells her to change the character of her main character to a person with a disability in a special drama for "Diversity Month.'' Although she is confused, she begins to interview, during which she meets Haru (Yui Wago), a high school student in a wheelchair. She feels a strange attraction towards Haru, but she rejects her, saying, "She doesn't want her disability to be taken advantage of.'' Episode Notes: NHK ‘Percent’ TV Drama webpage: https://www.nhk.jp/p/ts/8N2ML9PMRG/episode/te/V2QYW74VX6/