Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

Sandwichman’s Tomizawa Takeshi revealed on his September 5 radio show that he had visited his hospitalized comedy partner, Date Mikio, the day before. He shared how he greeted him with “You haven’t lost any weight at all!” and described Date’s condition and rehab progress, saying “it can be hard to make out what he’s saying at times.” On 5channel’s entertainment/sports news board, reactions split between posters who read that single comment as a sign of a serious condition (“not exactly mild”) and those who took an optimistic view given that visits and conversation are already possible. Many also brought up celebrities who recovered from speech impairments after similar illnesses, such as Saijo Hideki and Nasu of the duo Nasu Nakanishi.

9/5 (Sat) 13:44

Tomizawa Takeshi (52), of the comedy duo Sandwichman, appeared on the 5th on Nippon Broadcasting’s radio show “Sandwichman The Radio Show Saturday” (Saturdays, 1:00 PM), where he reported that he had visited his hospitalized partner Date Mikio (52).

Filling in for Date on the show was Kano Eiko. Tomizawa reported that he had “gone to see Date yesterday,” revealing that his very first words to him were “You haven’t lost any weight at all!”

Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Sandwichman’s Tomizawa: ‘I Visited Date Yesterday’ — Reveals Condition, ‘His Speech Is Hard to Make Out,’ Plus Rehab Details.”

Hirotaka Matsukawa, chief producer of NHK’s Taiga drama “Toyotomi Brothers!”, spoke to reporters and addressed the polarizing scene in which Oichi and Shibata Katsuie join hands and leap to their deaths from Kitanoshō Castle, explaining, “We haven’t cut anything that’s confirmed as historical fact,” and “Even the Edo-period ‘Taikōki’ is fiction, not historical fact.” He also revealed a rivalry with “VIVANT,” which airs in the same Sunday night slot. On 5channel, discussion ranged widely — from opinions on this explanation, to the quality of the script and direction itself, to pointing out historical events left undepicted (such as the Tenshō earthquake), to frustration with NHK’s mandatory license-fee system.

Hirotaka Matsukawa (50), who serves as executive producer of NHK’s Taiga drama “Toyotomi Brothers!”, spoke to reporters in Tokyo by September 5. The drama tells the story of Toyotomi Hideyoshi (Sosuke Ikematsu), who unifies the realm, and his younger brother and the series’ protagonist, Hidenaga (Taiga Nakano). Ahead of episode 34, “The Strongest Rival,” airing on the 6th, Matsukawa brought up the topic himself: “We’re two-thirds of the way through, so I really want to shift into an even higher gear here — I can’t let ‘VIVANT’ (on TBS) beat us (laughs).” Though said jokingly, it revealed his rivalry with the drama airing in the same Sunday night slot.

He continued, “Ever since episode 27, ‘The Honnō-ji Incident’ (aired July 12), I’ve really felt viewer enthusiasm rising. We’re confident in how ‘The Honnō-ji Incident’ turned out, and the following episode, ‘Hurry, Hideyoshi!,’ depicting Hideyoshi’s forced march back from Chūgoku, also came out really well, so I feel that’s coming through and building up viewers’ enthusiasm.” He said he’s felt solid momentum since around when “VIVANT” began airing. He especially noted, “We had the intention of bringing in viewers who hadn’t engaged with Taiga dramas before — elementary schoolers, for instance — and hearing that this is actually happening has been really encouraging,” explaining that the response has been strong from children who’ve become interested in history, and from their parents.

The drama has featured many unprecedented scenes that have sparked considerable debate — such as Azai Nagamasa’s (Ayumu Nakajima) wife, Oichi (Aoi Miyazaki), performing his kaishaku (the ritual beheading assist in seppuku), and, in the most recent episode 33, Shibata Katsuie (Makiya Yamaguchi) and Oichi joining hands and leaping from Kitanoshō Castle. On this point, Matsukawa explained, “I don’t believe we’ve cut anything that’s confirmed as historical fact. Our stance is to question the so-called conventional narratives that everyone assumes to be historical fact, and to propose, ‘Maybe it wasn’t actually like that.’ Some of what’s accepted as conventional narrative is simply believed because it was written down somewhere once, and recent research has sometimes produced completely different theories or overturned it entirely. And to begin with, the ‘Taikōki,’ written in the Edo period, is itself considered fiction — so we’re essentially building further fiction on top of fiction. I think people may be mistaking that (the Taikōki) for historical fact.”

Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “‘Toyotomi Brothers!’ Production Chief Interview: ‘We Haven’t Cut Anything Confirmed as Historical Fact’ / ‘The Edo-Period Taikōki Is Also Fiction, Not Historical Fact’.”

“Komeo,” who is under fire for causing food poisoning in more than 100 people — with some reports putting the number as high as 160 — at a festival food stall he ran, is facing a major backlash. A fighter from the MMA event “Breaking Down (BD)” set off discussion on 5ch after posting comments defending him, saying “This is blowing up into a huge controversy, but I think it’s the result of him challenging himself at something” and “Irrelevant nobodies who’ll never amount to anything are making way too much noise.” Many pushed back skeptically, arguing that food poisoning caused by sloppy hygiene management is a completely different matter from a personal controversy, and there was also back-and-forth over just how many people were actually affected.

125AnonymousSep 5, 2026 13:49

128AnonymousSep 5, 2026 13:50

Re: #125
Why's he dressed like a Navy admiral (One Piece reference)?

138AnonymousSep 5, 2026 13:51

Re: #125
Wait, did Nagi-pai's stomach get wrecked too?! (apparently a nickname for someone in the photo)

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “BD Fighter: ‘Komeo-kun is in the middle of a huge controversy, but I think it’s the result of him challenging himself at something’ / ‘Irrelevant nobodies who’ll never amount to anything are making way too much noise’.”