Funny Japanese television programs
You have to watch these shows even you don't understand the language

The Japanese people are generally perceived as very serious, shy, reserved, and definitely not wild.  This is an impression gathered by most people who are used to seeing Japanese tourists (generally in large groups, highly disciplined, and not really interacting with people around them) or Japanese students (again seen mostly on campus in small groups and rarely seen engaging in wild behavior).

However, a totally new side of Japanese culture emerges if you watch Japanese TV (some of these programs have become quite popular even in America, for example, The Iron Chef and others on Spike TV).  Some of the daytime programs (and several late-night programs) are funny, wild, and in some cases, even bizarre.  The humor is generally derived from making a group of contestants go through some kind of embarrassment.  Interestingly enough, many of these contestants are women and they are quite often either dressed in very few clothes to start with or are asked to take them off by using one pretext or the other.  

Here is a sample of how funny some Japanese television programs can be:

• The contestants, mostly women, have to soak themselves in extremely hot water and the one who stays the longest wins an award.  Of course, the Japanese have come up with the most creative ideas and even taking off the clothes behind a temporary curtain on the stage becomes a contest by itself since the contestants have a limited time to change into a swimsuit and if they fail to do so the curtain drops to show them off in whatever state they are.
• In a similar program, the contestants while sitting in bathtubs on the stage have to rush out to press the buzzer if they want to answer a question.  The mess on the stage and the contestants slipping on wet floor  is generally considered to be plenty of fun.
• A quiz show in which if you answer a question wrong, you are catapulted via bungee off a cliff side. Many of the contestants do not leave the ramp with their clothes intact.
• Japanese men who are notorious for minimal family contact and practically no romantic conversations with their wives participate in a contest in which they have to call their wives and try to talk to them as long as possible.  The conversations are hilarious – most women try to hang up or think that the man is drunk or something is just not right.
• Several stupid exercise type shows in which girls in bikinis try to do something that is impossible in the first place.  The actual objective is to focus the cameras on their bodies and in many cases the slow motion replay is used for the benefit of those who missed it the first time.
• On a late night show, women first sit behind a screen in which their face is hidden but the rest of the body is visible (use of short skirts is required).  Male contestants will then try to peek between the legs to guess the color of the panties.
• Girls in their underwear form two teams.  A rope with two hooks at the end is provided to two girls on each side.  They attach the hooks to the front of their bras and when the whistle blows each girl pulls back.  Whichever girl’s bra comes off first is counted as a point loss for the team, and of course, the viewers get to see a lot.
• A bunch of men have to ask for all kinds of things (money, handkerchief, etc.) from women on the street with TV cameras following them.  They will ask unsuspecting ladies for whatever they want in a society in which even greeting strangers sounds pretty bizarre.  Of course, everyone has a good laugh.

Recommended articles:  Secrets of Japanese advertising   Gaijin's views on Japanese television