The Contestant

The Contestant is the true story of a Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room for more than a year, completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV to over 15 million viewers a week. 

In 1998, Nasubi thought he was attending an audition when a TV producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, enlisted him to take part in a challenge. Tsuchiya led Nasubi into a room, ordered him to strip naked and left him with a stack of magazines. Nasubi’s task was to fill out contest coupons in order to win what he needed to survive — food, clothing, appliances, etc. — until he reached the prize goal of one million yen. 

What Nasubi didn’t realize was that his experiences were being broadcast in a TV show called Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes. Without his knowledge or consent, Nasubi became the most famous television personality in Japan. 

Before Big Brother, before The Truman Show, there was the shocking story of Nasubi.