MAHIRU NO TSUKI (Midday Moon)

This is a love story about a woman and a man who both understand the pains of love.  Naoki (Oda) runs a house cleaning company. His mother (Shirakawa) abandoned him and his sister (Sato) while he was in Junior high school to run off with another man.  Naoki''s father soon died from (alcohol?) so he was forced to support himself and his sister. He quit high school and started the house cleaning business. One day, Naoki meets Mae (Tokiwa) when a puppy is thrown onto the street. Both of them save the pup.  Naoki immediately likes Mae. The two begin to go out.  Several days later, Naoki receives a call from Mae saying that she wants to see him. But she never comes.  On her way to the meeting place, Mae ends up being   raped. Not knowing what has happened, Naoki continuously calls Mae's room. Later realizing what had happened,  Naoki is resolved to continue his relationship with Mae but Mae starts to change ............ Will they end up together?

When a woman is viciously raped, the traumatic event robs her of her self-confidence and ability to love as she had loved before. With special attention to her story of personal triumph over adversity, this touching drama recounts the tale of two lovers attempting to regain the happiness and level of affection that was theirs before her attack.

STARRING: Oda Yuji, Tokiwa Takako, Shirakawa Yumi Iijima Naoko, Naito Tsuyoshi, Sato Akiko
Theme song: "Anata ni Ite hoshii" by Swing Out Sister
NETWORK: TBS
DURATION: July 4, 1996 through December 23, 1996.  11 episodes.
REVIEWS:

This was a good drama and a drama that was so hard to watch.  The rape scene in this drama was so hard to watch....you can literally feel anguish for Tokiwa and want to go out and beat the hell out of those rapists.  It gets to you that much.  I don't recall a drama that ever covered life after a rape but this drama is worth watching.-KNDY

[FROM FOO SW] : My five stars rating goes to this because of the reality in the plot.   The characters are shown to be like real-life characters, their "bad-points" prominently shown.