Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi, a comedian who appeared on the extreme Japanese game show ‘A Life In Prizes’, has given very painful details of his 15-month ordeal, which included being videotaped eating dog food, being held in total seclusion, and having to compete in tasks to survive. The show, which debuted in 1998, attracted up to 30 million people at its height and became an international hit.
Nasubi, who stayed naked during the broadcast, was locked in an empty apartment and had to win prizes to meet basic needs like food. He was unaware that his actions were being broadcast to millions across Japan. His story is now featured in a Hulu documentary titled The Contestant.
“I came across his story when I was working on a different project and got lost down one of those internet rabbit holes,” Clair Titley, director of The Contestant, told BBC.
“But I found that a lot of what I had come across was almost derogatory. Nothing had really talked about Nasubi’s story in depth. [I had] all these questions, such as, Why did he stay in there, and what effect it had on him. So I contacted him with that premise, that I wanted to make a film about his experience.”
Nasubi, who is now 48, claimed that he was left feeling nervous and confused by the lack of information provided by the producers. Only a phone for emergencies was provided to him, and he had to write 300 sweepstakes entries every day to win necessities like crackers, which prevented him from going hungry. It took him three weeks to earn his first reward.
Nasubi admitted that, while initially excited, he soon became overwhelmed by the loneliness and isolation. “The hardest part was definitely the loneliness,” he said, adding that he struggled to overcome it.