Radio: Cut It Short

At first, to Japanese radio listeners, American-style soap opera was a popular import. But by last week the pleasant novelty was wearing thin. The sad fact is that Japanese audiences do not enjoy the soap opera's daily cliff-hang ending. As one top Japanese radio-TV official says: "They love intense drama, but it has to be short and complete."

Outstanding current soap operas in Japan are Himawari Musume (Sunflower Maiden), about a teen-ager who has just got an office job and is spatting with her mother over unchaperoned dates; Saku-ranbo Taisho (General Cherry), a war orphan who was in hot water last week...

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