Monday, October 29, 2007 9:41 pm | 
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Hitoshi Matsumoto, one of Japan's most popular comedians, gets pied in his crotch in a so-called "punishment game." |
Ethics body slams broadcasters over variety show violence and ’sexual expressions’
The Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO) criticized Japanese broadcasting companies for the amount of violence and “sexual expressions” in variety shows, when the organization’s committee on “youth and broadcasting” held a press conference on Thursday, the Yomiuri Shimbun reports.
BPO, the broadcasting industry’s own advisory body on ethical matters, especially criticized the prevalence and increasing cruelty of the so-called “batsu geemu,” literally “punishment game,” a distinctively Japanese phenomenon where the participants, usually comedians or celebrities, are subject to the wackiest of schemes, ending in corporal or otherwise humiliating punishment.
Several examples of the ingenious punishment games can be found in comedy duo Downtown’s popular Nippon Television show “Gaki no tsukai ya arahen de,” in which participants are regularly exposed to bizarre challenges where the loser becomes the subject to a “batsu geemu.” The “don’t laugh!”-series, where several show regulars are forced to spend 24 hours at some bizarre location where they are the constant butt of practical jokes, is probably among the show’s most popular. The series’ premise? If you laugh, you get beaten up.
The genre has even found something of an international audience via the video-sharing site Youtube, where clips from “Gaki no tsukai ya arahen de” received millions of hits, before they were taken down due to copyright claims.
BPO, seemingly less amused by such antics, demanded the broadcasting companies to take action against what it deemed increasingly violent shows.
The committee also took a moment to criticize broadcasters for not always taking BPO’s criticism to heart. “If our demands are repeatedly ignored, people will start to question media’s ability to regulate itself, which could result in demands for legislation,” the committee warned.
Additionally, the committee’s children’s culture specialist Masuko Honda resigned her seat, in response to criticism of the body after former BPO vice chairman Jiro Saito was arrested for possession of marijuana.
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[…] Japanese Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization (BPO) is slamming Japanese TV companies for the violence and “sexual expressions” that are filling the Japanese airwaves. BPO, the […]
i watched this show on youtube, iti is extremly hilarious, i do not think it is verry vulgar, of course, over the years we have learned that violence and sexuality combined with stupidity is the complete formula for the ultimate laugh, i am sure that there are warnings about this show, it is stupid to hold the producers responible for something that viewers can control…