Furuhata Ninzaburō is a Japanese television series that ran periodically on Fuji Television from 1994 until its final episodes in 2006. It was written by Japanese playwright Koki Mitani and is often referred to as the Japanese version of Columbo. It is a police detective drama starring actor Masakazu Tamura as Ninzaburo Furuhata and his stereotypically bumbling sidekick, Shintaro Imaizumi, portrayed by actor Masahiko Nishimura. The program aired weekly and featured a guest villain each time, usually a famous talent in Japan. Pop-stars like SMAP , television hosts like Sanma Akashiya ... and even sports figures like Ichiro Suzuki have been featured on this program. It was one of the most popular television dramas in the history of Japanese television having spawned several seasons and TV specials. Furuhata opens each episode with a humorous monologue that at first appears to be a non-sequitur but really contains a hint or clue relevant to the following mystery. Then the opening credits appear The viewers witnesses the ingenious murder, and watches as the killer covers up the crime .
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| On the air: | April 13, 1994 |