December, 2025 - As many around the world began marking the 100th birthday of Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, NHK, Japan's national public broadcaster, devoted the December 2025 edition of its long-running series 100 Minutes of Masterpieces (100分de名著) on NHK E-Tele to her book On Death and Dying, known in Japan as 死ぬ瞬間. The series explores one great book at a time in four 25-minute episodes.
The program was guided by religious scholar Susumu Shimazono, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo, and hosted by Hikaru Ijuin and Michiko Abe, with readings by actress Rena Tanaka. NHK Publishing also released a companion guide to the book by Professor Shimazono as part of its NHK Text series.
Written from Elisabeth's interviews with dying patients at the University of Chicago, On Death and Dying asked physicians, nurses, and families to listen to the dying and learn from them. More than fifty years after its publication, the book is published in 42 languages and continues to reach new readers around the world.