Japanese variety show is a entertainment

Entertainment

Entertainment consists of any activity which provides a diversion or permits people to amuse themselves in their leisure time. Entertainment is generally passive, such as watching opera or a movie. Active forms of amusement, such as sports, are more often considered to be recreation...

 television program

Television program

A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...

 made up of a variety of original stunt

Stunt

A stunt is an unusual and difficult physical feat, or any act requiring a special skill, performed for artistic purposes in TV, theatre, or cinema...

s, music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

al performances, comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 skits, quiz

Quiz

A quiz is a form of game or mind sport in which the players attempt to answer questions correctly. In some countries, a quiz is also a brief assessment used in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abilities, and/or skills.Quizzes are usually scored in points and many...

 contests, and other acts.

Current situation

Japanese television programs such as Music Station

Music Station

is a Japanese music television program. It began broadcasting on October 24, 1986 and continues to be broadcast weekly in High-definition from 8PM-9PM on tv asahi...

 and Utaban

Utaban

was a long running Japanese music variety show, broadcast weekly from October 15, 1996 until March 23, 2010 on TBS. The name of the show is an abbreviation of , meaning "music program"...

 continue in an almost pristine format from the same variety shows of years before. The only major changes have been the increasing disappearance of live backup music since the 1980s.

A once popular host Kyosen Ōhashi

Kyosen Ohashi

is a TV host and writer. He also served briefly as a member of the House of Councillors in the Diet of Japan. His real name is Ōhashi Katsumi .Born in Sumida, Tokyo, he grew up in Chiba prefecture and dropped out of the Waseda University...

 said, "Weird shows that are called Variety only exists in Japan."

One of the more well circulated clips is a segment in Gaki no Tsukai, hosted by the comedy duo Downtown

Downtown (owarai)

is a Japanese comedy duo from Amagasaki, Hyōgo consisting of and . Formed in 1982, they are one of the most influential and prolific kombi in Japan today...

. In one part, if the male contestants fail to say a tongue-twister correctly, they get struck in the crotch

Groin

In human anatomy, the groin areas are the two creases at the junction of the torso with the legs, on either side of the pubic area. This is also known as the medial compartment of the thigh. A pulled groin muscle usually refers to a painful injury sustained by straining the hip adductor muscles...

 by a spring-loaded pole (The Chinko Machine, or, literally, the Penis Machine), causing great pain. Hitoshi Matsumoto

Hitoshi Matsumoto

, or Matchan as he is commonly known, is a Japanese comedian best known as the boke half the popular owarai duo Downtown alongside Masatoshi Hamada...

 attempted to withdraw but the host - his comedy partner and co-host Masatoshi Hamada

Masatoshi Hamada

is a Japanese comedian best known as the tsukkomi half of the popular owarai duo Downtown alongside Hitoshi Matsumoto. His nickname is Hama-chan , and is married to Natsumi Ogawa...

, cajoled him back on the platform.

Influences overseas

Japanese game show

Game show

A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...

s have gained popularity around the world in recent years. Hole in the Wall or Brain Wall

Brain Wall

is a component of the Japanese gameshow Tonneruzu no Minasan no Okage deshita Video clips from the show proliferated on video-sharing websites and the concept was eventually adopted by several countries...

 have sold rights to countries like Russia, China, Argentina and Australia. America has even caught on to adapting some of these quirky style game shows. Both FOX and ABC have purchased rights to different versions of some popular Japanese Games Shows set to air in the Summer and Fall of 2008.

ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 has been sued by TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System)

Tokyo Broadcasting System

, TBS Holdings, Inc. or TBSHD, is a stockholding company in Tokyo, Japan. It is a parent company of a television network named and radio network named ....

 for their Wipeout program allegedly copying Sasuke

Sasuke (TV series)

Sasuke is a Japanese sports entertainment television special in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a four stage obstacle course. An edited version, renamed Ninja Warrior, is screened in at least 18 other countries....

and Takeshi's Castle

Takeshi's Castle

was a Japanese game show that aired between 1986 and 1989 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System. It featured the Japanese actor Takeshi Kitano as a count who owns a castle and sets up impossible challenges for players to get to him. The show has become a cult television hit around the world...

.

The BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

also has its own version of Hole in the Wall.