Inside the Battle for Power: The Best Dramas About Ambition, Loyalty, and Survival
Special Entertainment Research Project [Part 2]
From blockbuster hits to hidden gems
Using every tactic available—building voting blocs, setting traps, and recruiting powerful allies—to eliminate rivals and climb to the top.
It is a scene that plays out in every kind of organization, from private companies to the political world. Because it makes for compelling storytelling and is a familiar reality for many viewers, countless dramas centered on power struggles have been produced. Some even became cultural phenomena, posting peak ratings of over 40 percent.
So which power struggle dramas are truly worth watching? “FRIDAY” interviewed six drama experts, including former television producers and television columnists, to select the Top 10.
Bayside Shakedown (Fuji TV, 1997)
“Bayside Shakedown,” which aired in 1997 on Fuji TV, depicted power struggles within the police organization and became such a massive hit that it was adapted into a film series.
“The drama features Yuji Oda’s famous line, ‘Incidents don’t happen in the conference room—they happen in the field.’ But what made the series so compelling was how brilliantly it portrayed the police hierarchy, where decisions are made in conference rooms, and the power struggles within that organization.
The righteous protagonist constantly clashes with senior officials whose top priority is protecting the organization. The character who best symbolizes this conflict is Muroi Shinji, the elite police bureaucrat played by Toshiro Yanagiba (65). Muroi entered the National Police Agency as a career bureaucrat and is always driven by his desire to rise through the ranks. The series masterfully contrasts Muroi—caught between the upper echelons and the front lines—with the protagonist, whose actions are guided by an unwavering sense of justice,” said Takahiko Kageyama, professor at Doshisha Women’s College of Liberal Arts.
Among police dramas, “64 (Rokuyon),” which aired on NHK in 2015, also receives high praise. Freelance writer Wakako Takō, an expert on television dramas, spoke highly of the series.
“The protagonist is a former detective who now serves as the public relations officer for D Prefectural Police. As a case involving the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency is gradually covered up, he finds himself crushed by the organization. Even though he knows deep down that what is happening is wrong, he cannot oppose it and instead becomes complicit in the cover-up. The series realistically portrays the sorrow of a middle-aged organizational man caught in the middle of a power struggle.”
Works elevated by outstanding performances
In recent years, one standout political drama has been “The Trap of War” (“Wana no Sensō,” Fuji TV, 2023), which has become one of Tsuyoshi Kusanagi‘s signature works.
“Kusanagi plays a political secretary whose son is pushed from a pedestrian overpass and seriously injured. He sets out to take revenge on both the culprit and the Diet member who tries to cover up the incident. It’s a classic story of the powerless challenging those in authority, but what truly elevates the drama is the cast’s acting. In particular, Hakutaro Honda, who plays the Minister of State for Special Missions, is outstanding. Publicly he presents himself as a kind-hearted politician, while privately blaming every failure on his secretary. He is also the key figure who works to have the attack on the protagonist’s son treated as an accident. The process by which the protagonist ultimately exposes his bribery scandal and brings about his downfall is gripping from beginning to end.” (Television producer Hiromichi Shizume)
Another acclaimed political drama is “The Summer of the Bureaucrats” (“Kanryō-tachi no Natsu,” TBS, 2009).
“The protagonists enter the Ministry of International Trade and Industry with the lofty ideal of making Japan a richer country. However, they soon discover that drafting policy requires constant behind-the-scenes negotiations with politicians and industry leaders. As fellow bureaucrats become consumed by factional struggles and personnel battles, the protagonists strive to create policies free from the influence of political and business interests. The drama portrays the sense of pride and conviction that many believe today’s bureaucrats have lost.” (Sachinobu Okada, Professor, Faculty of Sociology, Yamato University)
Producer Hiromichi Shizume also passionately recommends the 2007 TBS drama “The Family (Karei naru Ichizoku).”
“The story revolves around conflict within a financial conglomerate over control of a family-owned bank. Corporate power struggles, father-son conflict, and generational rivalry all intertwine. The father launches coups and deceives rivals in an effort to protect the bank he built from the wave of financial restructuring, while his son, unable to accept his father’s methods, ultimately takes his own life. Though they love each other deeply, father and son become bitter enemies. Kin’ya Kitaōji‘s anguished performance after his son’s suicide is, in my opinion, one of the greatest scenes in the history of Japanese television.”
Period dramas have also produced memorable stories of political intrigue, notably the 2022 NHK historical drama “The 13 Lords of the Shogun (Kamakura-dono no 13-nin),” written by Kōki Mitani.
“The drama follows Hōjō Yoshitoki as its protagonist and depicts the struggle for power among the Hōjō clan, the Miura clan, and other gokenin after the death of Minamoto no Yoritomo. At first, Shun Oguri‘s Yoshitoki is an unassuming young man constantly pushed around by Yoritomo, but he gradually transforms into a ruthless figure who eliminates political enemies and even sacrifices members of his own family. There are no grand battle sequences, but the drama masterfully depicts how the pursuit of power changes people and the fate that ultimately awaits them.” (Professor Sachinobu Okada)
The lives of men struggling to survive in worlds consumed by political maneuvering, betrayal, and ruthless power struggles remain some of the finest entertainment television has to offer.
[Special Feature – Part 1] Backroom Deals, Betrayal, Ruin, and Revenge. Television Experts Recommend the Finest Power-Struggle Dramas Every Adult Should Watch.
From the June 19, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”
PHOTO： Yuri Adachi