Overview

• In 1998, Tomoaki Hamatsu, known as Nasubi, was locked naked in a Tokyo apartment and forced to win sweepstakes prizes to survive without knowing his ordeal was broadcast weekly to over 15 million viewers for 15 months.
• Released in 2023, The Contestant features previously unseen footage and interviews with Nasubi, his family and Denpa Shonen producers and has earned a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
• Social media users have expressed shock and condemnation, branding the show’s producers “evil” and raising ethical questions about reality television practices.
• Nasubi told Deadline he believed he was appearing in a “pilot” and that producers edited out most of his suffering, showing just brief moments of prize-winning joy.
• After his release, Nasubi became a prominent Japanese TV personality and has since devoted himself to philanthropic efforts following the Fukushima and 2015 Nepal earthquakes.