Reality television programs have become an integral part of TV today, with popular long-standing shows such as Big Brother, Love Island, and Survivor deeply embedded in mainstream culture.
However, when it comes to the level of extremity, these shows pale in comparison to Susunu! Denpa Shonen, a Japanese show that debuted almost three decades ago and is still considered one of the most extreme series ever created.
Although it ceased airing in 2002, this show, known as the world’s ‘sickest reality show,’ is particularly renowned for its A Life In Prizes challenge. This challenge involved a young comedian who endured a staggering 15 months living in a small apartment in Japan without any food or clothes. The impact of this unique television experience has left a lasting impression on audiences worldwide.
Instead, Tamaoki Hamatsu, then 22, was tasked with surviving solely off his winnings from magazine competitions while he was placed under the watch of a camera.
However, in a twist that sounds like the plot of a Black Mirror episode, Hamatsu – better known by his nickname ‘Nasubi’ – had no idea the graphic footage was being broadcast to 17 million viewers across Japan.
Nor was he aware of the extent to which he was being manipulated by the show’s producer – Toshio Tsuchiya, a man he idolised and looked up to as a ‘god’ before discovering he was the ‘devil’ in disguise.
Recalling the moment he first brought Nasubi to the tiny apartment that would become his prison – although the door was never locked – Tsuchiya said: ‘I told him that most of it would never be aired.
‘I was smiling whilst saying it.’
The producer of Susunu! Denpa Shonen, Toshio Tsuchiya, in a still from The Contestant that revisited Nasubi’s 15-month long ordeal on A Life In Prizes in 1998
Tamaoki Hamatsu, then 22, was tasked with surviving solely off his winnings from magazine competitions while he was placed under the watch of a camera – without clothes or food
However, in a twist that sounds like the plot of a Black Mirror episode, Hamatsu – better known by his nickname ‘Nasubi’ – had no idea the graphic footage was being broadcast to 17 million viewers across Japan
These sadistic tactics are described – sometimes proudly – by Tsuchiya himself, in the 2024 documentary The Contestant as the now-68-year-old looks back on his most successful – and cruel – project yet.
The harrowing production reveals how Tsuchiya oversaw a production that failed Nasubi on every level – from the crew that ‘abandoned’ him to the doctor who gave him a clean bill of health – even though he was evidently suffering extreme psychological distress and malnourished.
And Nasubi’s well-being was a price Tsuchiya, still an influential figure in Japan’s TV industry, was willing to pay as he became ‘consumed’ by the prospect of creating an extraordinary, unprecedented show that pushed its contestants to the brink.
Under his obsessive direction, Nasubi became suicidal, emaciated, and so disconnected from reality that he, at one point, believed he had been ‘abducted by aliens’.
Japan watched as Nasubi tried to live off the prizes from magazine and radio contests, with the aspiring entertainer sending postcard after postcard until he reached the contestant’s goal of making one million yen (or $8,000) in winnings.
All he was given to cover his modesty was a thin, dirty pillow as Nasubi was filmed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for 335 days, as he tried to hit his target of one million yen in prizes won while also trying to find the ‘enjoyment in every day’.
‘Nasubi didn’t know that we had rented the room next door,’ the show’s director, Harutaro Kagawa, revealed. ‘To film Nasubi waking up in the morning, the assistant had to sneak into his room early to press record on the camera.’
This footage was then whittled down to a six-minute edit – a patchwork of Nasubi talking to the camera, eating dog food, and dancing around the room naked – that had to be approved by Tsuchiya.
The producer decided to use an eggplant cartoon to cover Nasubi’s genitalia – no doubt because his nickname translates to ‘aubergine’.
Under Tsuchiya’s obsessive direction, Nasubi became suicidal, emaciated, and so disconnected from reality that he, at one point, believed he had been ‘abducted by aliens’.
The Contestant reveals how Tsuchiya, now 68, oversaw a production that failed Nasubi on every level – from the crew ‘abandoned’ that abandoned him to the doctor, who gave Nasubi a clean bill of health – even though he was evidently suffering extreme psychological distress and malnourished
By day 10, Nasubi had submitted a total of 963 applications without winning anything – meaning he hadn’t eaten anything apart from the crackers the production team supplied him with intermittently because ‘we couldn’t let him die’.
While Nasubi was growing more frail as the days went by, the production team – undoubtedly on Tsuchiya’s instructions – was superimposing light-hearted captions, slapstick noises, and suggestive censoring onto footage he didn’t know was being aired every night.
His family, on the contrary, was painfully aware of what was happening as his sister, Ikuyo, recalled their shock at seeing Nasubi naked on national TV.
‘When I saw it, I thought, “What are you doing? You’re joking!” I felt both angry and sad, as well as embarrassed. A grown man naked on TV, with his privates airbrushed.
‘And it was my little brother.’
Watching Nasubi on TV, she realised how ‘cruel and awful’ Denpa Shonen – described in the documentary as the ‘naughty boy’ in the ‘school yard’ of Japanese TV.
‘Denpa Shonen is easy to laugh at if you’re an outside but if it’s you, or someone you’re close to, you see that what’s happening is really cruel and awful.’
Clips of Nasubi ‘farting’, holding up women’s lacy underwear, and dancing around the room after winning bottles of sake, were all included in the final edits.
All Tsuchiya gave Nasubi to cover his modesty was a thin, dirty pillow as Nasubi was filmed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for 335 days, as he tried to hit his target of one million yen in prizes won while also trying to find the ‘enjoyment in every day’
The producer callously decided to use an eggplant cartoon to cover Nasubi’s genitalia – no doubt because his nickname translates to ‘aubergine’
After Nasubi hit his goal of earning one million yen in prizes from various contests – a feat that meant he spent 335 days naked and alone in the tiny room that saw him become increasingly detached from real life – Tsuchiya picked a particularly painful way to break the news to him
During the documentary, Nasubi revealed no one from the crew would speak to him as he became increasingly cut off from the rest of the world.
At this point, Tsuchiya added: ‘But I told them to never engage with him, because the challenge was about being alone.’
Nasubi felt his intentions were more sinister than that, adding: ‘He thought that keeping me isolated would make the project more interesting.’
Buoyed by the success of his show, which predated Big Brother by a couple of years, and to prove to his detractors that the film was not scripted, Tsuchiya made the decision to live stream footage from ‘Nasubi’s room’ for internet users around the world.
‘Not just every week, but every day, minute, and second, this craziness totally consumed me, wondering what I could do next.’
After Nasubi hit his goal of earning one million yen in prizes from various contests – a feat that meant he spent 335 days naked and alone in the tiny room that saw him become increasingly detached from real life – Tsuchiya picked a particularly painful way to break the news to him.
He woke Nasubi up in the dead of night by bursting party poppers – while shining a bright light – on his face, as the frightened 22-year old was crouched in fear with streamers all over his body.
But he wasn’t done yet. Tsuchoiya decided to fly Nasubi to South Korea for what the frail comedian believed was a ‘celebratory’ trip – only to push him into repeating A Life In Prizes for an international adaptation.
While Nasubi was growing more frail as the days went by, the production team – undoubtedly on Tsuchiya’s instructions – was superimposing light-hearted captions, slapstick noises, and suggestive censoring onto footage he didn’t know was being aired every night
‘After raising him up, we dropped him right back to rock bottom,’ he said. ‘When you drop someone, they feel a shock, right? I thought I could capture that moment.
‘That’s such a cruel thing to do, isn’t it,’ Tsuchiya continued.
This was the moment Nasubi realised the producer was the ‘devil’ as he told British filmmaker Clair Titley: ‘At the audition, a year earlier, Tsuchiya was like a god to me.
‘But from that point on, in a flash, he became the devil.’
Nasubi ended up competing for several more weeks, taking him to 434 days in isolation.
He then returned to Japan, where he entered another apartment and stripped naked thinking he was about to be subjected to the same turmoil again.
However, 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.
‘That people could push others to such limits, plunge them into despair, it’s the same with bullying.’
Buoyed by the success of his show, which predated Big Brother by a couple of years, and to prove to his detractors that the film was not scripted, Tsuchiya made the decision to live stream footage from ‘Nasubi’s room’ for internet users around the world
‘I realised how cruel people could be,’ Nasubi said.
Today, Tsuchiya continues to work in the entertainment industry, with The Cinemaholic reporting he has served as the owner-operator of TV production firm Gontents LLC since 2022.
He was previously appointed Senior Creator as well as President of the Research and Development Lab at Nippon Television Network Corporation, the organisation that produced Susunu! Denpa Shonen.
Does he feel any remorse for the way he treated Nasubi?
Cryptically, the producer said: ‘What we captured in those 15 months was extraordinary. I thought it was more interesting the more I pushed people.
‘If the person on the receiving end had been pushed too far, and didn’t want to live, I’d have gone too far.
‘But it’s hard to know at the time.’
He conceded, however, that Nasubi had been instrumental to his success, admitting ‘I’d do anything’ to help the comedian-turned-activist recover from the trauma he inflicted all those years ago.
Nasubi in a still from The Contestant
‘Even if he asked me to put my life on the line… I might even consider that,’ he continued. ‘If he said, “I need you to die to get closure.’ I would seriously think about it.”
Fortunately, Nasubi has managed to turn the negatives of his time on the series into positives.
He completed his goal of climbing Mount Everest in 2016 saying that the resilience he gained from reality TV had come good for him in the climb.
Tsuchiya helped him fundraise for the expedition as part of his redemption but Nasubi shared he could not forgive the producer for tricking him into thinking he was only being filmed as an experimental pilot and never told that instead he would be broadcast to all of Japan.
During an Ask Me Anything on Reddit last May, ahead of the release of The Contestant, he confessed: ‘It would be a lie if I said I’m not regretting, even though I learned to live with the past.
‘Did I forgive Tsuchiya, the producer? To be honest, in my heart, there is still something that is hating the person.’
He explained: ‘But then in 2011, a big earthquake happened in Fukushima. I could really relate to the people who are struggling.
‘So without my experience in the past, I might not have been able to resonate with people in the tough situation. That’s when I realised my past struggle could be something useful.
Fortunately, Nasubi has managed to turn the negatives of his time on the series into positives.
He completed his goal of climbing Mount Everest in 2016 saying that the resilience he gained from reality TV had come good for him in the climb
‘So I realised that instead of regretting my past, I have to learn to live with my past and turn this around to make my negative past into something positive.’
Nasubi’s Everest expedition was a bid to raise awareness about the Fukushima disaster and, when he contacted Tsuchiya about his fundraising bid, the producer reportedly apologised for his past actions.
‘I didn’t have contact with him for more than 10 years and, during that time, he was a symbol of hate for me, someone I really despised,’ Nasubi told TIME.
‘But when I decided to climb Everest, I contacted him for the first time and he said, ‘I would do anything to help you,’ and apologized for all of the awful things he put me through.’
In addition to his work in the TV industry, Tsuchiya is a part-time lecturer at the Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Tokyo.
He is also the author of three books, including his most recent work – We Love Television – published in 2017.
Storyville: The Contestant airs on BBC One tonight at 10pm
