Hitoshi Matsumoto Announces Surgery — 5ch Reacts: “If Only He’d Gotten Regular Checkups”

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The story

On the 14th, Hitoshi Matsumoto of the comedy duo Downtown updated the X account for the streaming service “DOWNTOWN+” to announce that he will undergo surgery. Matsumoto had previously revealed, during an emergency livestream in July, that he has colorectal cancer, and had also disclosed that he uses a stoma (colostomy). On the thread, opinions were divided over whether this new surgery signals a worsening condition or is part of a smooth recovery, and partway through, some posts pointed out a misreading of the headline. Many commenters also chimed in with their own experiences getting health checkups and colonoscopy screenings.

On the 14th, Hitoshi Matsumoto of the comedy duo Downtown updated the X account for the internet streaming service “DOWNTOWN+ (Downtown Plus)” to announce that he will undergo surgery.

In July, Matsumoto revealed during an emergency livestream on the same service that he has colorectal cancer, saying, “I had a huge surgery, it was rough. I thought I was going to die.” He also disclosed that he uses a stoma (colostomy).

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here

What people said

7AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:10
It's 'cause the COVID vaccine wipes out your immunity, you know.
66AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:17
Re: #7
Are people still going on about the vaccine? Did their clocks stop 5 years ago?
9AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:10
If he'd gone in for a checkup every year, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

Not going to the hospital until he had bloody stools… he was just too slow on everything.
26AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:12
Re: #9
Even with regular health screenings, sometimes it just doesn't get caught.
37AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:14
Re: #26
A handbag. (a random word-association joke riffing off the earlier "dog" typo)
74AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:18
Re: #26
Stomach and colon cancer can be caught early if you get proper screenings.
24AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:12
He said it was a temporary colostomy, so maybe this surgery is to reverse it.
35AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:14
Re: #24
Everyone's told it's "temporary" when they get one. But only a tiny fraction of people ever actually get it removed, and even then it takes forever before you can have normal bowel movements again. Having surgery again this soon probably means he doesn't have much time left.
50AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:16
Re: #35
Oh really, I didn't know that. So it's probably not a reversal surgery then.
267AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:46
Re: #35
Ugh, this is exactly why 5ch is full of people just making stuff up. Look at the detailed report:

"Matsumoto reported on his current condition that day, saying, 'I'm recovering smoothly…' He went on to add, 'I can get the surgery to push the protruding intestine back in sooner than expected, so I'm going to go ahead and do it.'"

It's right there in black and white.
32AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:14
Why doesn't he just retire already and go travel or do whatever else he wants to do?
45AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:15
Re: #9
Seriously, this. It's not really an era where you die from cancer anymore — but that only holds true for people who take checkups and treatment seriously. Skip the checkups, catch it late, or fall for some sketchy alternative medicine, and you can die easily.
101AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:21
Re: #45
✕ It's not an era where you die from cancer
◯ It's an era where you barely die from anything OTHER than cancer
47AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:15
"Hitoshi Matsumoto: 'Looks like I can get the surgery to push my intestine back in sooner than expected' — to be hospitalized for about a week, announced on DOWNTOWN+'s official X account"

Whatever malicious reporter chopped that headline down should have their press badge revoked.
54AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:16
Re: #47
Oh, so it's not about the cancer spreading — it's that kind of surgery. Sounds like things are actually going fine.
59AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:17
Harry → Nobue Matsubara → Hitoshi Matsumoto?! The celebrity-death chain continues (a grim 5ch meme linking recent celebrity deaths/health scares in sequence)
75AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:18
Re: #59
And all around their mid-60s too.
64AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:17
Guess the stress really got to him after all. Cancer comes from stress, you know. Namu~ (a Buddhist phrase, short for "Namu Amida Butsu," used casually here like "rest in peace")
109AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:21
Re: #64
Maybe it's the stress of not being able to go out and enjoy himself freely anymore.
70AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:17
Will he make it to the New Year? What's everyone's prediction?
84AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:19
Re: #70
He might not get to see next year's cherry blossoms.
115AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:22
Re: #70
I think he'll live until next year. Two years at most.
165AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:31
Re: #70
I don't think he'll even see this year's cherry blossoms.
116AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:23
The only standard test for colorectal cancer in a regular health checkup is the fecal occult blood test.

By the time that comes back positive, the reality is you're usually not at stage 1 or 2 anymore — it's already fairly advanced.

Once you're past 40, once every 5 years is enough, so I strongly recommend getting a colonoscopy. No other test is as reliable.
124AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:24
Re: #116
How much does that cost?
195AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:35
Re: #124
If you go to a gastroenterologist and say "my stomach's been off lately…" and ask for the exam, it's covered by insurance — I think it was around 8,000 yen.

The actual procedure, with the camera going in through the anus, takes about 20 minutes. You feel a foreign-body sensation but zero pain. Way easier than a stomach endoscopy.

But you have to start drinking the laxative that morning, so you can't do anything else that day — clear your whole schedule.
255AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:45
Re: #195
I want to be fully sedated with no memory of the procedure at all. Any well-known pain-free clinics in Tokyo?
276AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:47
Re: #195
Is "zero pain" even a real thing?
135AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:27
He trained so hard and built such an amazing body from all that weightlifting, and he still got sick — makes you wonder if the training actually wasn't good for him, especially since he only started later in life.
145AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:28
Re: #135
Isn't it probably the stress from the lawsuit and everything? He might've been eating himself up over things not going the way he expected.
160AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:30
Re: #135
A lot of Japanese people get colorectal cancer. Probably because everyone sits all day.
161AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:30
What news cycle is this thread even from? Is this board "Breaking News… Eventually" now? (a pun on the board's name, Breaking News+ — implying the news here is anything but breaking)
168AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:31
Re: #161
Can't wrap your head around it?
181AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:33
Re: #161
The 14th is this September, right? I thought that was today — am I wrong?
239AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:42
Ishibashi looks like he's in pretty bad shape too — honestly, I'm more worried about him. (referring to Takaaki Ishibashi of the comedy duo Tunnels, who has also battled cancer)
243AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:43
Re: #239
I recall hearing he found the chemo or radiation so brutal he ended up quitting it.
266AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:46
Re: #239
Yeah, he'd gotten incredibly thin.
292AnonymousSep 14, 2026 12:48
Re: #239
Is he really that bad off?

Background and Key Points of This Story

This surgery appears to be aimed at reversing the stoma (colostomy) that was temporarily created during treatment for the colorectal cancer Matsumoto disclosed on his emergency livestream back in July, now that his intestines have recovered faster than expected. On the thread, speculation initially arose that this might be related to the cancer recurring or spreading, but after a detailed report was quoted, it was corrected to reflect that he is “recovering smoothly” and that the surgery is to “push the protruding intestine back in.” Colorectal cancer is said to be hard to catch early using only the standard fecal occult blood test offered in routine checkups, and in many cases the cancer has already progressed by the time that test comes back positive. Getting a colonoscopy every few years after turning 40 is considered an effective countermeasure, and the thread also saw a detailed, practical exchange about the cost of the exam and whether it hurts.

*This article was compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News Flash+) thread “Downtown’s Hitoshi Matsumoto Announces Surgery [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★].”

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