Radio: The Tokyo Suds

Any American housewife with a command of Japanese would be perfectly at home listening to Kimi No Na Wa (What's Your Name?). A rich, ripe, full-bodied soap opera, Kimi has been running on Japanese radio for almost two years, has won more than 18 million devoted listeners, and is about to have three monuments erected to its memory at localities prominently mentioned in the script.

On to the Bridge. Though somewhat more literate, the story is just as juicy as most U.S. radio serials. The hero, Haruki, and the heroine, Machiko, meet on the...