<figure id="attachment_224492" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-224492" style="width: 1417px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="da310a25"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2018/08/97baec3fb8bee879dc20282996012bfd.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-224492" class="wp-caption-text">Matsumoto is an opinionated figure not only in the world of comedy, but in the entertainment industry as a whole. What happened behind the scenes of his demotion from a popular Fuji Television program? &#8230;&#8230;</figcaption></figure>
 The &#8220;Wide Nah Show&#8221; has long been the &#8220;face of Sunday morning&#8221; on Fuji Television Network. In addition to Koji Higashino (55), &#8220;Downtown&#8221; star Hitoshi Matsumoto (59) and &#8220;London Boots No. 1 and No. 2&#8221; star atsushi Tamura (49) each serve as MC of the program every other week.
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 Based on the program concept of &#8220;a wide-ranging show in which celebrities who are usually on the receiving end of scoops gather to share their personal opinions,&#8221; the program features in-depth, toothless discussions on a variety of topics. Matsumoto&#8217;s comments in particular have had a tremendous impact on the public, but the program is now said to be at a major crossroads. A source in the entertainment industry tells us the inside story.
 Matsumoto&#8217;s departure from the program has been decided as of March of this year. There had been frequent discussions about this in the past, and in April of last year, his appearance on the program was changed to every other week due to scheduling reasons. Since then, however, there have been a series of statements in the program that hinted at her graduation from the program, and it would not be surprising if she were to drop out of the program at any time.&#8221;
 This is a major blow to the program, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in October of this year, and the situation could affect the program&#8217;s continued existence in the future. What was the reason for the program&#8217;s demotion?
 Mr. Matsumoto has repeatedly expressed his displeasure with the publication of articles that cut out parts of what he said on the program. However, the situation has not changed at all, and in November of last year, he tweeted on his Twitter account, &#8220;I guess the Kiritori articles will never go away&#8230;is it about time? Stress had reached its limit, and a decline in motivation was inevitable.
 The program&#8217;s declining ratings were also a factor in the decision to drop the program.
 Since Mr. Matsumoto&#8217;s appearance became a bi-weekly program in April last year, it has been overtaken in viewer ratings not only by &#8220;Sunday Japon&#8221; (TBS TV), but also by &#8220;Nino-san&#8221; (NTV), the program behind it, and is still in the doldrums. Mr. Matsumoto&#8217;s presence is still so significant that &#8220;Wide Nah Show&#8221; has lost attention and interest in the absence of Mr. Matsumoto, and the program itself has lost its sense of existence.
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 Another factor in Matsumoto&#8217;s departure from the show is that a new program, &#8220;Matsumoto to Nakai&#8221;, which he will co-host with Masahiro Nakai (50) at Fuji Television Network, will become a regular show from April of this year. A source at the show&#8217;s production company said.
 Matsumo to Nakai&#8221; is a key program of Koichi Minato, who became president of Fuji Television Network last year. TV,&#8221; &#8220;Homma dekka! TV&#8221; and &#8220;Hitoshi Matsumoto no Sake no Tsumami ni Naru Hanashi&#8221; as chief producer. Furthermore, since they will be co-hosting with Nakai-san, with whom they have had a close friendship both publicly and privately, it is only natural that Matsumoto-san&#8217;s feelings for the show will run deep. It is natural for him to put an end to &#8220;Wide Nation Show&#8221; and focus on &#8220;Matsumo to Nakai&#8221; at this point.
 When this magazine sent a letter of inquiry to Fuji Television regarding Matsumoto&#8217;s departure from &#8220;Widener Show,&#8221; the following response was given.
 We do not provide production details.
 This is a critical moment for &#8220;Wide Nasho&#8221; without Matsumoto. How will it turn out? &#8230;&#8230;

 Yasuko Sakaguchi

 The "Widener Show" has been the "face of Sunday morning" on Fuji Television Network for many years. In addition to Koji Higashino (55), "Downtown" Hitoshi Matsumoto (59) and "London Boots No. 1 and No. 2" atsushi Tamura (49) have been present every other week.

Hitoshi Matsumoto&#8217;s &#8220;Wide Nation Show&#8221; is off the board! Behind it all, &#8220;his true feelings that he leaked to others&#8221; and &#8220;the existence of a new show&#8221;.

Hitoshi Matsumoto’s “Wide Nation Show” is off the board! Behind it all, “his true feelings that he leaked to others” and “the existence of a new show”.

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