Masahiko “Matchy” Kondo Storms a Stranger’s House Shouting ‘I’m Match!’ — First-Ever Appearance on Tetsuro Degawa’s Battery-Charging Road Trip Show

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The story

It’s been announced that Masahiko “Matchy” Kondo will make his first-ever appearance on the 2.5-hour TV Tokyo special of “May I Borrow Some Electricity?” hosted by Tetsuro Degawa, airing September 19 at 18:30. The show is known for its format of visiting random households with no idea where the cast will end up, and on 5ch, Kondo’s casting itself was seen as “unexpected.” Threads lit up with reactions to his trademark “I’m Ma-tchy!” greeting, along with comments rehashing his history at the Johnny’s agency and his old scandal involving Akina Nakamori, as well as praise for how much softer his expression has gotten in recent years — a real mixed bag of opinions.

Music Natalie

September 12, 2026 18:00 257 2

Masahiko Kondo will appear on the 2.5-hour TV Tokyo special of “May I Borrow Some Electricity?”, airing September 19 from 18:30.

Source: natalie.mu / Original article here

What people said

7AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:17
Don't forget, Matchy actually won the Best Vocalist award — the guy's singing is genuinely top-tier in Japan.
11AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:18
He was basically the top guy at Johnny's, yet he got fired over a scandal right before Johnny Kitagawa's crimes came to light — a miraculous dodge.
38AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:45
Re: #11
You really never know how life turns out — apparently getting caught cheating would've been the better outcome compared to that.
61AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:18
Re: #11
His backer Mary [Kitagawa] died, and once things passed to her daughter's generation the agency lost its muscle — maybe he read the room and quit. If Mary had still been alive, that agency would've buried a scandal that small without breaking a sweat.
12AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:18
Random homeowner: "Um, excuse me — could I get some money for the electricity?"
13AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:19
It'd be hilarious if the family he ambushed turned out to be diehard Akina Nakamori fans lol
14AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:20
Back in the old Degawa days, even someone like Sorimachi wouldn't have gotten this casual with him.
18AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:23
Once he starts ripping off Tsurutaro, it's really over.
20AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:24
Same as "Amuro, ikimasu!" [Namie Amuro's supposed catchphrase] — he never actually said that. It was Tsuru-chan [Tsurutaro] who made it popular.
21AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:25
You can visibly tell Matchy's expression has softened over the past few years — like all his unnecessary edge has worn off.
30AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:40
Matchy doing an impression of Tsurutaro doing an impression of Matchy
Feels like I saw this exact bit 40 years ago.
32AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:43
Guess he's got time on his hands to take a gig like this. He's on a concert tour right now, playing pretty small venues, and they're still running ads for it — tickets probably aren't selling.
34AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:43
Young families these days probably have no idea who Matchy even is.
35AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:45
Okay, this one's actually a bit surprising lol
36AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:45
Matchy's looked genuinely lively ever since he let go of whatever was weighing him down.
That's fine and all, but he still owes Akina an apology.
37AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:45
This would've been treated as a punishment game back in the day — how far he's fallen.
39AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:48
Did anyone tell them, "Give Yocchan [Yoshio Nomura] some work too"?
40AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:50
He should do a concert with Toshi-chan [Toshihiko Tahara].
If the three of them — him, Toshi-chan, and Yocchan — did a regional tour circuit, they'd pull in crowds of older women for sure.
75AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:49
Re: #40
Both Tahara and Kondo can still draw crowds of 2000+ nationwide on their own. Nomura can't unless he teams up with some other celebrity — like Masanori Sera or Char.
42AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:50
Matchy's really selling himself cheap lately — he's on variety shows constantly now.
45AnonymousSep 15, 2026 06:56
I actually would've liked to see that lol. Back in elementary school, saying it was a whole trend in class, but I've never seen the real thing.
47AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:02
His peak was probably "Hi-Teen Boogie" — I remember going to see the movie.
49AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:03
Most of the people he'd visit are elderly, so they'd probably be thrilled.
52AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:05
Re: #49
He barely has any media presence these days, so unless you're already a pretty serious fan, you wouldn't even recognize him.

Though I guess it's possible the staff scouted ahead and set up the visit in advance.
58AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:11
This guy really cut ties with Johnny's at the perfect moment though.
Between that and the whole Akina incident, normally you'd get run out of the industry entirely.
And yet here he is, casually starring in hearing-aid commercials.
The guy must have some kind of luck on his side.
59AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:12
Re: #1
That's not the Matchy I remember…
73AnonymousSep 15, 2026 07:49
My wife's mother absolutely hates Matchy, so if he showed up at our place he'd get thrown right out.
There are tons of women who hate him — because of the Akina thing, obviously.
79AnonymousSep 15, 2026 08:02
Re: #73
Sounds like the type who'd believe every prank show is real lol

Background and Key Points of This Story

“May I Borrow Some Electricity?” hosted by Tetsuro Degawa is a hitchhiking-format show that began airing in 2009, built around cast members flagging down cars on the street and then visiting whatever household they happen to end up at. This marks Masahiko Kondo’s first-ever appearance on the show, and on the threads, his rare TV appearance itself was met with surprise. The reason discussion centered so heavily on Akina Nakamori traces back to the 1989 incident in Atami and the suicide-attempt scandal involving Nakamori that followed it — still remembered as one of the biggest scandals in Japanese entertainment history. Kondo reportedly never issued a public apology or explanation at the time, which is why calls of “he still owes Akina an apology” persist to this day. As for his departure from the Johnny’s agency, the fact that it came before the founder’s sexual abuse allegations became public is what fuels the view that he “dodged a bullet.” Note: comments containing unverified claims about financial trouble, strong personal attacks, or discriminatory language have been excluded from this article.

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[TV Tokyo] Masahiko Kondo Shouts “I’m Match!” and Storms a Stranger’s House, Debuting on Tetsuro Degawa’s Charging Trip.”

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