Sandwichman’s Mikio Date (52) made his first TV appearance since resuming work after a stroke-related hiatus, appearing on the November 9 broadcast of “Kaere Monday Mikketai!!” During the show, his dysarthria caused “byoin” (hospital) to come out sounding like “bouin,” and his comedy partner Tomizawa called it out on air. It later emerged that Date himself had asked Tomizawa to flag any words he couldn’t pronounce clearly, and reactions on the thread were split — some praised Tomizawa for turning it into a laugh, while others were wary of making light of a health condition.
Sandwichman’s Mikio Date Returns to TV — Dysarthria Makes Him Say “Bouin” Instead of “Byoin” for Hospital, Tomizawa Calls It Out, Date “Snaps”
Sandwichman’s Mikio Date (52) appeared on the November 9 broadcast of TV Asahi’s “Kaere Monday Mikketai!!” It was his first TV appearance since resuming activities after a stroke-related hiatus.
The episode featured footage filmed around Jindaiji Temple in Chofu, Tokyo.
Teasing someone about a speech impairment caused by illness is no different from mocking a stutter. They'd better knock it off now or the backlash is coming. I guess the logic is it's fine to joke about since it's assumed to be curable — but plenty of people out there never recover from it.
12AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:15
Re: #3 Think about these guys' job — having a partner who turns it into a laugh is a blessing. It's not the same as some ordinary person's private life.
15AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:16
Re: #3 Better to have his partner point it out than get dogpiled for it online, honestly.
20AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:18
Re: #3 He can't notice it himself, so having it pointed out makes him consciously focus on pronunciation, and repeating that as rehab over and over cuts down the words he struggles with. Date was told to do this by his doctor and asked the people around him to call it out.
4AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:12
He'll probably keep doing slow, steady rehab, but it's great he was able to make it back.
6AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:13
Yeah, it really was a little hard to make out. https://video.fc2.com/ja/content/20220228U77Wdv4z
8AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:13
Kind of like how some people say "tee-shirt" or "cee-day" instead of the usual pronunciation? (the common slide from "ti/di" to "te/de" sounds in Japanese loanwords)
9AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:14
Re: #8 "Day-vee-day" [DVD]
87AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:59
Re: #8 "H-day-day" [HDD]
94AnonymousNov 10, 2026 13:09
Re: #8 With CD you can't tell "dee" from "ee" apart by ear, and it's the same when pronouncing it, so people deliberately say "day" instead. It's commonly used within the industry, and a TV commercial made it nationally known lol
11AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:15
Something like the Man Gyong Bong (the North Korean ferry) sounds hard to say — though there's no occasion to say it anymore anyway.
25AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:21
Re: #11 That one's hard to say because only the "-go" (号, "vessel") part gets read in Japanese. They should just say the ship's name "Man Bon Gyong" on its own, or go fully Japanese with "Mankeihou-gou." Instead they say "Man Bon Gyong-gou," mixing the two readings.
21AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:19
Re: #12 Japanese people are quick to copy whatever they see on TV, so once a celebrity does it, people figure it's fine for regular folks too. Japanese society today is basically the accumulated result of that pattern.
35AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:27
Re: #21 He's still in his rehab window, isn't he? Insurance-covered rehab tops out at 6 months, but plenty keep doing outside rehab after that too. If he's still at it well past full recovery, complain then.
22AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:19
A trial balloon for promoting coexistence with people with disabilities.
23AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:19
Pretty juicy material for comedy, no? lol
24AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:21
His face looked a lot cleaner than before, didn't it. He used to sweat so much he was constantly wiping his face with a handkerchief, all shiny and greasy.
28AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:22
Is it overthinking it to connect him losing 6kg with the "byoin → bouin" slip sounding like "boin-boshoku" (binge eating and drinking)?
29AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:24
Re: #3 He said, "There are still some words I can't quite get out. When that happens, Tomizawa points it out for me." Apparently Date himself asked Tomizawa to call out any words that were hard to catch during their talk segments. ↑ You read THAT and still came away with that take?
38AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:28
Having a speech impairment is just bad news for a comedian whose words are his livelihood. And given the circumstances, it's hard to even turn it into comedy material… Date should probably step away from the spotlight at this point.
44AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:32
Re: #38 You should step away from this world.
73AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:46
Re: #38 The man himself is more aware of that than anyone, and TV networks, who are sticklers for compliance, know it too. None of your business.
58AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:38
Even if Korokke [the celebrity impersonator] disappeared, nobody but Whistling Naruo would be bothered.
63AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:42
Re: #58 It'll just end up being a show where Naruo scarfs down croquettes [a pun on comedian Korokke's name] while Date grinds his teeth next to him.
62AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:40
It's nice that there's a future where it can be cured, but stuttering doesn't go away like that.
67AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:45
Re: #62 Apparently doctors say that if he keeps up with rehab properly, it'll be cured in about six months.
77AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:49
Why do they always write thread titles that are so misleading?
84AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:54
Re: #77 Right, it's his 'snapping' bit from getting called out by Tomizawa — his signature routine.
85AnonymousNov 10, 2026 12:55
Re: #77 You're bringing that up only now?
91AnonymousNov 10, 2026 13:07
I work in speech rehab, and at this level, I think just slowing down his speaking pace would improve his clarity. Though for talk segments and manzai, that's a real liability.
98AnonymousNov 10, 2026 13:15
Re: #91 These days he's got MC work even without doing manzai, and since his partner backs him up like this when his words don't come out right, I think he'll manage just fine.
Background and Key Points of This Topic
Mikio Date took time off in 2022 after suffering a stroke and has continued rehab while gradually resuming work. Insurance-covered rehab for dysarthria caps out at six months, and the thread notes that some patients keep it up on their own afterward. The detail that Date “asked Tomizawa to point it out” traces back to his doctor’s advice, which he then passed on to his partner — the show’s “snapping” moment is seen as playing off Date’s signature “kire-tsukkomi” (snapping-retort) bit. The thread split between caution about turning illness-related speech symptoms into comedy, and support for the fact that, since Date himself asked for it, having his partner back him up is a welcome thing. Some also noted that his enunciation “was never great to begin with,” so even views on the severity of his symptoms varied. Note that the “snapping” in the title refers to Date’s classic comedy bit, not actual anger — easy to misread at a glance.
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