Known for placing participants in extreme situations, Denpa Shōnen's most infamous challenge, 1998's "A Life in Prizes," made a star out of Tomoaki Hamatsu, an aspiring comedian nicknamed Nasubi ...

Tomoaki "Nasubi" Hamatsu survived what he characterizes as a "kidnapping" and being naked on Japanese television. His story is told on the new Hulu series "The Contestant." Hulu Tomoaki “Nasubi ...

When he was 22 years old, Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu became a star. Millions of Japanese viewers were tuning in to watch him—naked, alone, and trapped in a tiny apartment—on Denpa Shonen ...

New York — In January 1998, an aspiring Japanese comedian named Tomoaki Hamatsu but better known as Nasubi — or “eggplant,” because of his long face — was chosen to star in “Susunu!

Tomoaki Hamatsu, known as Nasubi, became a massive reality TV star in his native Japan — without even knowing it. In 1998, Hamatsu auditioned for a Japanese reality show, which ultimately led to ...

British director Clair Titley’s documentary begins by explaining Nasubi’s name – it means “aubergine” in Japanese and was earned because of his extraordinary, Moai statue of a face.

Before “The Truman Show” hit theaters or “Big Brother” turned George Orwell’s “1984” concept into a TV show, there was Nasubi, the unlikely (and unwitting) centerpiece of a cruel ...

Directed by British filmmaker Clair Titley, The Contestant recounts the story of Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu, who, in 1998, became the star of a Japanese reality series that stripped him down ...

The BBC have released acclaimed documentary The Contestant for free, but what happened to Nasubi and how much money did he get for being on the cruel reality show? Released on the BBC iPlayer for ...