Latest news with #TomoakiHamatsu
Daily Mirror
12 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
BBC fans appalled by ‘cruel' reality show where contestant starved and stripped
The BBC has created a documentary about the experiences of a Japanese man who entered a contest that landed him on a reality TV show with 'inhumane' stipulations BBC viewers were left stunned after watching a new documentary called Storyville: The Contestant, which is now streaming on BBC iPlayer. The film explores the shocking true story of a controversial Japanese reality show that subjected its star to isolation, starvation, and humiliation for over a year while he was completely unaware that he was being watched by millions of people. The documentary tells the story of Susunu! Denpa Shonen (Do Not Proceed, Crazy Youth), a 1998 Japanese TV programme that placed 22-year-old aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu in a flat with no clothes, no food, and no contact with the outside world. He was challenged to win one million yen (around £6,000) by entering and winning mail-in magazine sweepstakes. On top of setting aside this amount of prize money that he earned via sweepstakes, he was also tasked with using the same method to procure everything he needed to survive, including his food, clothes, and even toilet paper. Although Hamatsu (who was nicknamed Nasubi on the programme) agreed to take part in the experiment, he had no idea that his every move was being broadcast to a weekly audience of 17 million people for 15 months. The show was marketed as a social experiment, and Japanese viewers were able to tune in to watch Nasubi's struggles to survive on his segment of Do Not Proceed, Crazy Youth, which was called A Life in Prizes. BBC viewers have been absolutely horrified by the way Nasubi was treated. One person took to X saying: "Watching The Contestant and that producer should be in prison for torture and war crimes that violate the UN." Another agreed: "I don't think I've ever yelled, 'That's so damn unethical,' as much as I have while watching The Contestant." Other viewers described the programme as "inhumane" and "gut-wrenching", while praising Nasubi for being "such a sweet, genuine soul". Someone else added: "If it sounds like The Truman Show, that's because it basically is. His conditions were worse than being a prisoner in jail." During his time on A Life in Prizes Nasubi survived on meals like 5kg of plain rice and even wet dog food. In his diaries, he wrote: "I don't have enough nutrition going to my brain. Being driven to the edge has brought out a madness in me." After finally reaching the prize goal, he was released, only to be tricked into repeating the ordeal for several more weeks. When he was finally freed, the walls of a new apartment collapsed to reveal a live studio audience, and Nasubi discovered he had unknowingly become a national celebrity. 25 years later Nasubi has reflected on this horrific experience, sharing: "Even if I get hurt, I want to protect people around me. Instead of revenge, I would like to use that energy for something more positive, like helping people." Nasubi now works with charities across Japan and has managed to transform his reality TV past into a source of strength. He said: "When you put energy into other people rather than just focusing on yourself, you become stronger than you could ever imagine."
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
BBC viewers left 'in tears and screaming at the TV' after documentary about 'absurdly cruel' reality show that saw contestant stripped naked, starved and locked up alone for a YEAR
BBC viewers were left 'in tears and screaming at the TV' after a documentary about an 'absurdly cruel' reality show which saw a contestant stripped naked, starved and locked up alone for a year. Storyville: The Contestant, which hit BBC iPlayer last night, tells the incredible story of 1998 Japanese show Susunu!Denpa Shonen, or Do Not Proceed, Crazy Youth. Aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, then 22, was locked up, asked to strip naked and tasked with entering mail-in magazine competitions until he won one million yen (around £6,000). The man, who auditioned for the programme, was told he could leave at any time - but he decided to persist to complete the challenge, staying for a total of 15 months. He thought the footage would be aired on TV at a later date - but what he did not know was it was actually being broadcast live to around 17million people per week. The documentary, originally created in 2023, has shocked BBC viewers since hitting its on-demand platform last night, who took to X to express their horror. The man (pictured in the documentary), who auditioned for the programme, was told he could leave at any time - but he decided to persist to complete the challenge, staying for a total of 15 months One said: 'Watching The Contestant and that producer should be in prison for torture and war crimes that violate the UN.' The commenter mentioned the man's nickname Nasubi, Japanese for 'aubergine', a cartoon image of which was used by producers to cover his genitals on the show. They continued: 'What he did to Nasubi is absurdly cruel and the entire industry of reality television should be burned to the ground.' Another commented: 'I don't think I've ever yelled, "That's so damn unethical", as much as I have while watching The Contestant.' Someone else said: 'The Contestant was gut wrenching. Nasubi is such a sweet genuine soul. I was in tears by the end! 'I hope they compensated him even outside of the fundraising they did. One year and three months of film and book sales. 'Pay that man. Producer was wrong as hell for that.' One person added: 'If it sounds like The Truman Show, that's because it basically is. The documentary, originally created in 2023, has shocked BBC viewers since hitting its on-demand platform last night, who took to X to express their horror 'They film Nasubi's life for over a year, living in ridiculously cramped conditions and winning very little until late into the game. 'His conditions are worse than being a prisoner in jail. It's completely inhumane.' Another echoed this sentiment: 'The producer on The Contestant should be in jail.' Someone else praised Nasubi's resilience: 'The Contestant is a hard watch but Nasubi is one of the most beautiful people in the world. Wow.' Another commenter weighed in: 'This is all so very bizarre! I can't believe people watched this poor guy on TV.' Not only did he have to accrue prize money from the magazine competitions, he had to win everything he needed to survive too - including food, clothing and toilet roll. He ate undignified meals such as 5kg of uncooked rice, before he was forced to resort to eating wet dog food on day 80. Nasubi was stripped of all his belongings and clothes and left alone with nothing but stacks of magazines, postcards, running water, electricity and heating - without ever signing a contract. His mental state got to the point that he admitted he wished for death - but he tried to stay sane by writing diaries, dancing and playing games. The live stream of his endeavours was one segment, dubbed A Life In Prizes, of the larger programme, which saw lots of ordinary people take on crazy tasks. In an interview with The Sun, he said: 'The loneliness affected me much more than not being able to eat or not having clothes. 'There were so many moments where I thought it probably would be better to die now than keep going. 'The toughest moment was when the rice ran out and I needed to face up to eating dog food. I didn't want to eat it but there was no alternative.' Nasubi admitted that he was in 'such emotional turmoil that I couldn't sleep' and at points even hallucinated to the extent he believed he had been 'abducted by aliens'. In his diaries, he wrote: 'I don't have enough nutrition going to my brain. Being driven to the edge has brought out a madness in me.' When he finally reached the number of winnings needed, Nasubi was eventually freed - but producers soon conned him into returning to the hellish experience. He was flown to what he thought was a celebratory trip to Korea - where the producers worked for three hours to convince him to go through the process again. Nasubi pleaded: 'I thought my life was over. So many times I wanted to die.' He ended up competing for several more weeks, taking him to 434 days in isolation. The contestant then returned to Japan, where he entered another apartment and stripped naked, thinking he was about to be subjected to the same turmoil again. But the walls then collapsed to reveal a TV studio with a live audience of fans, with him becoming aware for the first time that his ordeal had been seen by millions. He had become an icon during his long ordeal, with the Truman Show-esque programme poking fun at him with slapstick noises and suggestive censoring. 'Without his knowledge or consent', as the BBC iPlayer synopsis explains, 'Nasubi became the most famous television personality in Japan'. As well as the record-breaking viewing figures, his diaries from inside also became a bestseller. But Nasubi was not ready to meet his new fans and reportedly needed six months to rehabilitate back into normal life. The lack of interaction and food had left his speech slow and body malnourished, while he struggled to make eye contact or talk to other people. He admitted: 'After A Life In Prizes, I lost my faith in humanity. I had a void in my heart, like a black hole. 'My loneliness could only be filled by those around me. It was their support and affection that filled that void. 'A human's love or that kind of spirit of helping each other - that's what it's all about.' The documentary about it combines clips from the show with never-before-seen footage, alongside interviews with Nasubi, his family and the programme's producer. The synopsis continues: 'This is the incredible story of how one man became a national phenomenon that presaged the global rise of reality TV.' Nasubi has recently spoken out about his experience 25 years on, telling Time he is trying to move forward despite still feeling 'hatred' for the show's producer. He said: 'I've realised that I cannot change the past but by changing how I think about who I am today I can always change the future. 'When you put energy into other people rather than just focussing on yourself, you become stronger than you could ever imagine.' Fortunately, Nasubi has managed to turn the negatives of his time on the series into positives. The contestant completed his goal of climbing Mount Everest in 2016, saying the resilience he gained from reality TV had come good for him in the climb. And the fame he garnered as a result of the show has enabled him to get regular guest appearances on a range of thankfully less traumatic panel and game shows. Taking part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything last year, Nasubi answered questions from curious fans about his traumatic experience. He explained the door had been unlocked during his time in the apartment but his mental state 'degraded' to the point he decided to stay. The contestant said: 'I was not offered a contract. I won an audition, and wanted to participate and complete the challenge. 'The option was "Do you want to do it?" and I said, "Yes". 'So, I was not forced to do it, I was not kidnapped. I was taken to a secret location and blindfolded but I wasn't taken against my will. I decided to participate.' Nasubi went on: 'It's hard to explain, but I think that the people who have experienced being locked in confinement, and felt what it's like to be trapped in those walls, will understand why one chooses to stay instead of leave. 'My mental state was degrading... instead of changing the environment, it felt safer to stay in the same situation, even though it was uncomfortable.' He added: 'I didn't think that the competition would last that long. The door wasn't locked, but I was determined to stay with it until the end. 'You could say it was Yamato Spirit, or Japanese spirt, I would not quit.' When asked if he had known he would be televised and what money he made from the show, Nasubi explained: 'Of course I didn't know it was being broadcasted. 'Back in the early days of reality TV in Japan, they didn't give contracts to participants, it was an entirely new genre of TV. The contestant completed his goal of climbing Mount Everest in 2016, saying the resilience he gained from reality TV had come good for him in the climb 'And my manager did not protect me in the same way that TV stars are protected now. 'For compensation, I made ten million yen for one year and three months and that includes the money from the sale of my diaries from the show.' He added: 'I didn't receive any kindness or support from the crew. 'And since I didn't know the show was being broadcast to an audience, I didn't have any connection to the audience to receive that support. 'After the show was over though, the two emcees that were on [the programme], they encouraged me by saying that I did a good job, and I felt like they empathised with me and my situation on the show.' Speaking about what life was like once he was released, he admitted: 'For a while it was hard to interact with people. 'But I did realise that humans cannot live alone, so I did my best to reconnect with people.' He also spoke about the parallels of his ordeal to the award-winning film The Truman Show, which was released the same year A Life of Prizes aired. He added: 'I didn't receive any kindness or support from the crew' He said: 'Yes, I saw the film. The only person who really truly understands the feeling of what Truman went through is me. It felt like it was my story. 'His life was much easier than what I had but it was a similar situation that everyone was watching both Truman and me and we had no idea we were being observed.' Nasubi added: 'I am still recognised on the street, even 25 years later. I was even recognised in London and when I went to Stonehenge in 2018! 'There were a bunch of Japanese tourists who couldn't believe I was there. I think they were more excited to take photos with me than Stonehenge.' Despite his awful experience, Nasubi said he had no desire to take revenge or legal action and explained he is now working with charities to help others. He wrote: 'I never thought of solving the problem with violence. Because violence doesn't solve anything. 'But then, would I want to sue them and punish them by law? The answer would be no, because that would make some people sad and injured, and that was not what I wanted to do. Even if I get hurt, I want to protect people around me. 'Instead of revenge, I would like to use that energy for something more positive, like helping people.' He went on: 'I am working with charity organisations in Fukushima and across Japan. 'I enjoy connecting with people in person and helping bring smiles to those in Fukushima, and the northeast area of Japan.' He even shows leniency towards 'the one who sent me to the hell that I experienced': 'After a long time, Tsuchiya, the producer, apologised to me. 'He said he wanted to do something for me and I think that his participation in the documentary shows he feels remorse.' The Contestant is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Times
The Contestant review — the truth about the most extreme reality TV show ever
It doesn't seem that long ago (except it's 30 years ago) when we would laugh along with Clive James on TV at the Japanese and their crazy game show ways — specifically those madcap endurance shows where contestants were buried in sand, or forced to hold in their bladders after drinking litres of tea (that kind of thing). I'm not sure who this reflected worse on: us or the Japanese culture we were laughing at. The Contestant, Clair Titley's thoughtful, troubling film shown in the Storyville strand, took us back to the mad world of 1990s Tokyo TV, except this time you won't have laughed once unless you really are a sadist. The 'hilarious' show in question involved a young man being duped by producers into stripping naked, then being starved and bullied in solitary confinement for 15 months. Young Japanese audiences loved it. The show became a monster hit in 1998. Before we litigate the past too hard, it should be said that Tomoaki Hamatsu, the unwitting young man in question, was also funny and loveable. Yet the popularity of watching the weekly mental disintegration of a man certainly suggests something about audience detachment. The Truman Show, the Jim Carrey film that came out in the same year, clearly didn't go far enough. Denpa Shonen was an extreme Big Brother before Big Brother even existed. Any hopeful eager to go on the show knew it was about zany endurance antics, but when Hamatsu, an aspiring comedian known at the time as Nasubi, won his Willy Wonka ticket he had no idea what he was in for. Having been led blindfolded into a small room, he was ordered to remove all his clothes (a particular humiliation for him), then stay there as long as it took him to win one million yen from magazine competitions. After a few weeks, now emaciated, he was being given bags of dry rice to eat, even though he had no saucepan. Viewers split their sides. 'I was just about not dying, but that's when the real hell began,' recalled Hamatsu, a more sober figure than the manic one seen on the show. His memories were intercut with those of the show's big-shot producer Toshio Tsuchiya, who during the ordeal went from being 'a god' to Nasubi 'to the devil' and who seemed almost impressively candid about the amorality of it all back then. • Read more TV reviews, guides about what to watch and interviews Hamatsu had turned to comedy partly to cope with the bullying he had received at school for his 'long face'. The strangest thing of all was how much Hamatsu played up to the camera as he wolfed down his treat of dog biscuits. At Day 333, he was still doing his best to entertain the single camera trained on him, even though he didn't know this was all being broadcast. In fact, he knew the door was unlocked. It seems he was caught in a kind of psychological trap — of not wanting to let everyone down, of proving himself as a clownish comic. He explained: 'You hear of people being held captive. How rather than escaping… staying put, not causing trouble is the safest option. You lose the will to escape.' Hamatsu reflected that it took years to process the 'big black void in my heart' after the show finally ended. Eventually, he turned to self-healing charity climbs up Everest, detailed in the film's lingering final third, which reached hard for a redemptive finish. Duty of care in reality TV has clearly come a long way, although the uneasy balance between emotional damage and drive for good ratings remains universal. The Contestant didn't interrogate very hard the questions around exploitation. If Tsuchiya had initially seemed the villain, by the end the guiltiest party was every viewer who screamed with laughter when Hamatsu was finally released — exposed on a stage naked, dazed, horrified, as he found out that he had been broadcast all along. Proof that audiences were laughing at him, not with him. Now this spectacle is replayed in a documentary not to laughs but astonishment at such cruelty. Which is progress of a sort.★★★☆☆ Love TV? Discover the best shows on Netflix, the best Prime Video TV shows, the best Disney+ shows , the best Apple TV+ shows, the best shows on BBC iPlayer, the best shows on Sky and Now, the best shows on ITVX, the best shows on Channel 4 streaming, the best shows on Paramount+ and our favourite hidden gem TV shows. Don't forget to check our critics' choices to what to watch this week and browse our comprehensive TV guide
Metro
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Metro
Disturbing documentary about 'most evil reality show ever' now streaming on BBC
Viewers have been shocked after discovering the details of a one-off reality series that saw its star locked up alone in a room for an entire year. In 1998 aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu attended an audition for the Japanese reality show named Susunu!Denpa Shonen or, Do not proceed, Crazy Youth. The task he was presented with was to temporarily cut himself off from the outside world and spend all of his time entering mail-in sweepstakes until he won ¥1 million (about £6,000). Although he was given the option to call it quits whenever he wanted, he decided to stay for months, determined to complete the task at hand, doing so while completely naked. For nearly a year, Hamatsu lived off winnings from magazine competitions, having to earn essential items like food, clothing and toilet paper too. Despite thinking his actions were going to air at a later date, it turned out the TV network was airing the footage live to around 17 million viewers a week in a segment called A Life in Prizes. This fact was revealed to him after being surprised by an enthusiastic studio audience at the conclusion of the show when he was taken into what he believed was another apartment, with the walls then falling apart around him. At the time he also picked up the nickname Nasubi, which he still uses today, after his genitals were covered by an eggplant (Nasubi in Japanese) in the show. The shocking story is the centre of the The Contestant, which details what unfolded at the time, whilst also investigating 'the ethical concerns of reality entertainment in the 21st century'. This week it was added onto BBC iPlayer. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video However, after tuning in, people have made it clear what happened at the time was truly 'evil'. 'Watched The Contestant and can't believe something this deceptive and cruel was allowed. He was completely humiliated for trash reality TV,' user sneeeerr posted on X. 'I'm horrified by all of this… this isn't fun or funny…,' Deja shared. 'That producer is evil,' June added. Another said the show was 'absurdly cruel', while others said they'd been left 'in tears'. Speaking to Time recently, Nasubi said 25 years after the experience, he is trying to move forward despite still holding 'hatred' towards the producer who led the show. More Trending 'I've realised that I cannot change the past but by changing how I think about who I am today I can always change the future,' he said. 'When you put energy into other people rather than just focusing on yourself you become stronger than you could ever imagine.' The Contestant is streaming on BBC iPlayer. View More » This article was originally published on May 7, 2024. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Kim Woodburn's heartfelt message to fans in final video before her death MORE: UK viewers can now watch 'masterpiece' Amazon Prime drama for free MORE: How 'Queen of the Clean' Kim Woodburn became a beloved TV star at 50
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
TV tonight: the man who spent 15 months naked in a room – unaware he was being broadcast
10pm, BBC FourThe Japanese comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu thought he was going to an audition. But when a producer asked him to strip naked and carry out a series of challenges, it turned out he wasn't being told the truth. In fact, he was being filmed and broadcast to 15 million people. Amazingly, he stayed in the room for 15 months. This documentary tells the story of an unsettling 1998 experiment. Phil Harrison 8pm, Channel 4The heat is rising as the pastry chefs take on two tricky tasks set by the patissier experts Cherish Finden and Benoit Blin: recreating the latter's legendary le café crème (with no recipe!) and conjuring up an illusion of dessert for 24 people, with a hidden vegetable cake inside. Ali Catterall 9pm, Channel 4Yet more misadventures, this time from Queen's medical centre in Nottingham. This week, the aftermath of a motorcycle accident, a fall from a roof and a city centre fight. As ever, what's really striking is the care and patience of staff in the face of situations that would panic lesser mortals. PH 9pm, Channel 5The Yorkshire vet Peter Wright checks in on his oldest clients: 95-year-old Steve Green and his wife Jean (a sprightly 73). The veteran cattle farmers have been stymied by a cold snap – which gives Jean plenty of time to mull over whether to get her first tattoo. Graeme Virtue 9pm, BBC Three 'We owe it to clubbers everywhere to accept this gift … because this pill is our gift.' So says Byron in the intro to this instalment of the excellent dramatisation of Paris Lees's 00s-set autobiography. Presumably, the resulting awful comedown that sees them hallucinate horses is also their duty, but it's stressful viewing for everyone else. Alexi Duggins 10pm, Channel 4This bleak true-crime show sees the criminologist David Wilson, the detective Graham Hill and the Silent Witness actor Emilia Fox (bringing her experience of investigating fictional crimes) explore unsolved murders. This time, they're back in 1993, looking at the case of the Lambeth council employee Bulic Forsythe, who was beaten to death in his own home. PH Walking and Talking (Nicole Holofcener, 1996), 1.15am, Film4Between television assignments, Nicole Holofcener makes witty, perceptive films about women's lives, usually set in New York. This 1996 drama was her first, and follows best friends from childhood Amelia (Catherine Keener) and Laura (Anne Heche) as their bond is stress-tested by Laura's engagement to her boyfriend, Frank (Todd Field). The title says it all, with the minutiae of female friendship, sex and relationships dissected by the pals in ways that aren't always that helpful. Simon Wardell Racing: Royal Ascot, 1.30pm, ITV1 The opening day of the festival, including the Queen Anne Stakes.
