From our other sites
The story
Former Oriental Radio member Atsuhiko Nakata’s remark that “there’s still so much I haven’t done — what I want to do most right now is a Thanksgiving marathon special” sparked a wide-ranging 5ch thread, touching on his return from living in Singapore, his appearances on regional TV stations, and rumors that other performers refuse to appear with him. Positive comments were scarce, with harsh criticism dominating the discussion.
What people said
In Kansai, nobody's talked about him, then or now.
since they were looking back at the history of Yoshimoto's Tokyo branch.
Start with a sit-down chat with Matsumoto on Downtown Plus first lol
so I just change the channel right away
that's literally it lol
Ota's a nice guy like that.
Isn't it obvious without me spelling it out, come on ("jk" here = net shorthand for "obviously," not "just kidding")
Japan's cheaper and just easier to live in overall.
No, I think he wants to hear the excuse.
Even before staff, viewers already have a bad impression of him.
This guy really doesn't age, huh.
That's something you could've checked before moving there
so it's not really an excuse lol
He'd probably be useless and get turned away, or just get bullied.
I guess if you're surrounded by worshipful followers on YouTube, you end up like that.
Sorry, but he was already arrogant before he even started YouTube.
There's no way Chidori would ever go on with him.
If even his own partner publicly says he's on his no-appear-together list, that's game over for him lol
Probably because they think that's part of being a comedian too.
Look at Fujimori — he's got Nagano local work locked down.
Nagano, once called a wasteland for comedians, is now a fierce battleground
Fujimori Shingo, palm-reading Shimada, Mou Ichido, Sakai from Onigoe Tomahawk, Nitcher
Except for Sakai, they're all doing hometown work too, right?
Background and Key Points
Nakata’s remark isn’t happening in a vacuum—he split off from his longtime duo Oriental Radio at the peak of their fame in the mid-2000s to pursue a solo career, spent years courting controversy (a much-publicized bankruptcy, a stint studying and living abroad, most recently Singapore), and has periodically resurfaced with comeback attempts that Japanese media and audiences have met with skepticism. “Thanksgiving marathon” isn’t a typo for a charity relay: it’s a reference to the U.S. holiday format of celebrity-driven telethon specials, the kind of splashy, big-budget TV event Nakata associates with reclaiming national relevance rather than the humbler regional or online work he’s actually being offered. The “local station” angle in the thread title matters because Japanese broadcasting is intensely regionalized—each prefecture has its own affiliate stations, and comedians who can’t land Tokyo network slots often build second careers as beloved local personalities (the thread’s own example, Fujimori Shingo, has essentially become Nagano’s hometown comedian).
The thread doesn’t really split into pro/con on Nakata’s talent — that’s settled hostility, not a debate. Where actual disagreement shows up is over motive: some posters take his return from Singapore at face value (cost of living), while others push the theory that it’s tied to his child’s exposure to conscription abroad, and a sub-thread even argues that explanation should have been foreseeable before he moved, not after.
What outside readers likely miss: the “no one will appear with him” rumor is presented as unverified message-board hearsay, not a confirmed fact, and it’s the show Ametalk’s retrospective on Yoshimoto’s Tokyo talent history (a segment that seems to have aired the day before) that reintroduced Nakata into the conversation, not any news from him directly.
*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Atsuhiko Nakata: ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if you turned on the TV late at night and Nakata’s doing a location shoot for a local station?’”.
Leave a Reply