The latest installment of NHK's large-scale nature documentary program "The Hot Spot: The Last Paradise," which follows singer-songwriter and actor Masaharu Fukuyama on a tour of the world, has been announced. The series will be titled "NHK Special The Hot Spot Spots: The Last Paradise Season 4 (tentative title)" (two episodes total), with the first part scheduled to air in December of this year and the second part in January 2026.
For this program, Fukuyama has traveled to over 20 countries around the world since 2011, looking into the ecology and evolutionary mysteries of endangered wild animals. His latest work begins in the Galapagos Islands, a World Heritage Site also known as an "evolutionary laboratory," and follows creatures from around the world adapting to rapidly changing environments.
A special exhibition in conjunction with the program, "The Great Extinctions: The Big Five in the History of Life," will run from November 1st to February 23rd, 2026, at the National Museum of Nature and Science (Taito Ward, Tokyo). Fukuyama will serve as the exhibition's special navigator. The exhibition will unravel the five largest "mass extinctions" of the past (commonly known as the Big Five) through various pieces of evidence left in fossils and rocks, tracing the history of evolution. A second venue will also feature an exhibition of photographs of endangered animals that Fukuyama has taken around the world.
◇Message from Masaharu Fukuyama (Navigator/Narration)
More than 10 years have passed since we began our "The Hot Spot" journey. During that time, the Earth has changed at a speed beyond our imagination. Perhaps the "speed and depth of our understanding of the Earth" has also changed. We, too, have survived the COVID-19 pandemic. Amidst these changes, how have living creatures adapted their lives? I want to witness their resilience and the interconnectedness of life with my own eyes. I'm excited to embark on this new journey. It's also a journey to learn about the grim reality of "extinction," a reality that all life faces. In conjunction with the National Museum of Nature and Science's "The Great Extinction Exhibition," we will explore the mysteries of evolution from a perspective that imagines the past, present, and future. The setting is the Galapagos Islands. In this vast natural environment, often referred to as a laboratory for evolution, I hope to share with you the "lifeforms of chance and inevitability" that live side-by-side with extinction.
