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7 months ago
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A MAN who survived world’s cruellest reality show was locked naked in a room without food for a year.
Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi, was unaware that every second of his horror ordeal was being watched by millions.
Nihon TV
Nihon TV
Nihon TVIn 1998, Nasubi was invited to participate on a Japanese reality show named Susunu!Denpa Shonen or, Do not proceed, Crazy Youth.
The aspiring comedian at the time couldn’t turn down the seemingly great opportunity to appear on television.
But what followed was a sadistic programme which turned Nasubi’s dream into a nightmare.
The premise of the show required him to live in complete isolation in an empty apartment with only bare necessities like heating, water and electricity.
He was forbidden from bringing anything with him, even his clothes, and was stripped naked as he entered the flat.
Hamatsu earned the nickname Nasubi – translating to aubergine – because of the icon used to cover his genitals on-screen.
For nearly a year, Nasubi went on to live only off winnings from entering magazine competitions.
He was promised to be finally freed when all of his prizes hit the target of £5,000 in value.
Nasubi had to rely purely on his luck to survive as he had no food, entertainment or contact with the outside world.
He began shedding weight, eating only raw rice without kitchen utilities to cook it, and resorted to dog food on other occasions.
His beard and hair grew long and unruly, and it’d be months before he won a toothpaste so he could brush his teeth.
The comedian began descending even further into madness as his only companion was a stuffed toy he called Sensei.
Nasubi’s situation improved slightly when he’d won a TV, a PlayStation and a game to keep himself distracted from constantly scratching off magazine lottery.
But the show had a darker twist as every second of his turmoil was being broadcasted live with 17 million tuning in to watch.
Unbeknown to Nasubi, the Truman show-esque programme had secretly aired early instead of editing footage later.
After spending 335 days trapped in the cruel conditions, he’d finally hit his goal and could walk out the show.
But the producers tricked Nasubi into taking a celebratory trip to South Korea where his nightmare would repeat all over again.
This time he was stuck in the apartment for weeks until he won enough prizes that could cover the costs of airfare back to Japan.
When he returned, the producers brought him into yet another apartment, and Nasubi took off his clothes out of habit.
Just when he thought his long ordeal wasn’t over, the walls of the apartment collapsed, revealing him to a live audience in a studio.
Nasubi took six months to recover back into normal life as he struggled to speak.
He told Style Koriyama in June 2020: “My mental condition was at its worst.
“I was like, ‘Why only me? Why do I have to do all these things? I’d rather die than feel like this.’
“Every day, I just did the same thing: writing hundreds of postcards, which got me down more mentally rather than physically. Although I looked like I was having fun most of the time on the edited show, to me, it was full of pain.”
But the fame gained from the show allowed Nasubi to build a TV career, often appearing in less traumatic programmes.
In 2016, he achieved his ambition of climbing Mount Everest, claiming that the resilience he developed from reality TV helped him during the ascent.
His unbelievable story was turned into a documentary The contestant which premieres on Hulu on May 2.
Nihon TV
twitter/@hamatsutomoaki
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English (US)