Japanese reality show contestant was naked for a year — and had no idea 30 million people were watching
The Contestant,” out Thursday.In 1999, the then 24-year-old thought he was auditioning for a “showbiz-related job” on a new TV series called “Susunu! Denpa Shonen,” which translates to “Do Not Proceed! Crazy Youth.” It was the era of Japan’s outrageous challenge shows, which found contestants shutting their eyes and biting into mystery objects — maybe it was a bonbon; maybe it was a shoe — or trying to climb slippery steps, or picking a potential girlfriend based only on a lineup of bare butts.The point of “Denpa Shonen” was to put participants, often young comedians willing to do almost anything to get famous, in extreme situations.But Nasubi didn’t know what he was signing up for when Toshio Tsuchiya, known as the “King of Reality Television,” showed him to a windowless studio apartment in Tokyo. It contained a desk with postcards, magazines and a diary, in which Nasubi was told to chronicle his experiences in the room.“Tsuchiya was a very famous producer,” Nasubi told The Post. “I felt honored to have gotten picked.