Hitoshi Matsumoto’s Retirement Rumors and TV Show Concerns

Downtown’s Hitoshi Matsumoto (60) suddenly announced a temporary suspension of his activities after the “Shukan Bunshun” (weekly magazine) reported allegations of forcing him to perform sexual acts on multiple women, and he said he wanted to “confront the various articles and focus on the trial. The sudden suspension has caused a huge stir, involving various TV stations and advertising agencies. The entertainment desk of a sports newspaper reports.

The January 10 issue of Bunshun reported new testimonies from three women about the sexual abuse they suffered from Matsumoto and others. Before this, Matsumoto had hinted on his X (formerly Twitter) that he would appear on “Widener Show” (Fuji TV), where he had been a regular commentator for many years, and Fuji had also officially announced his appearance on the show. However, after discussions with his agency Yoshimoto Kogyo, sponsors, and other related parties, the appearance was cancelled after two or three changes. In addition, Matsumoto had also been appointed as an ambassador for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo, but Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura (48), who serves as vice president of the Expo Association, has suggested that Matsumoto’s ambassadorial activities for the Expo be suspended.

The TV stations are wondering how to handle Matsumoto’s regular programs in the future.

The programs in which he appears with his partner, Masanori Hamada (60), are being adjusted so that Hamada will be the sole MC. What is difficult is Matsumoto’s four regular programs in which he is the MC. The difficult ones are the four regular programs that Matsumoto himself will MC, including “Detective! Night Scoop,” ABC TV, which airs the February broadcasts, has announced that the regular cast members of “Detective! The program will be broadcast as usual for this month’s episode, which has already been recorded. On the other hand, “Crazy Journey” (TBS), “Hitoshi Matsumoto no sake no tsumami ni naru hanashi” (Fuji TV), and “Matsumo to nakai” (Fuji TV) have not yet decided on their future plans.

There is even talk of Matsumoto “disappearing from the stage. In fact, Matsumoto himself has often referred to his retirement, saying things like “I will retire at the age of 60” or “I will retire at the Osaka-Kansai Expo. He has jokingly stated this on TV, but it was not necessarily a lie.