Chuugakusei Nikki is a TV series that started in 1972 on the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) and is set in a fictional public junior high school in Nagoya. Unlike most school dramas, such as 3-nen B-gumi Kinpachi Sensei produced by TBS Television, Chuugakusei Nikki gained the support of school personnel, particularly teachers. This paper aimed to examine the content of Chuugakusei Nikki, particularly its transformation from 1972 to 2012, and to investigate the program’s depiction of “chuugakusei problems” (junior high school students’ problems) over a prolonged period. This paper analyzed introductory texts written for public relations, clarified the period of Chuugakusei Nikki’s history, and examined the characteristics of the contents in each period by comparing it with other contemporary discourses on “chuugakusei problems.”

Early Chuugakusei Nikki interpreted “chuugakusei problems” as issues that could not be solved by teachers’ passion alone, linking it to social structures, such as the educational system and gender division of labor issues. This cognitive frame was an alternative that reflected the position of school teachers. From the mid-1980s onward, against the backdrop of the deteriorating environment for teachers and competition with other school TV dramas, teachers and parents came to be regarded as capable of influencing children through exemplary behaviors and lifestyles in this program. At the same time, the inclusion of teachers’ voice became more pronounced. Since 2003, the program has changed to target only the younger generation. Moreover, it began to focus more on friendships and romance among the students, and how they dealt with concerns caused by physical and emotional changes during puberty. As such, after the renewal, Chuugakusei Nikki stopped presenting school teachers’ perspectives.