Iwahashi Alleges Power Harassment by Masatoshi Hamada’s Aide

Yoshimoto Kogyo is in turmoil.

While “Downtown’s” Matsumoto Hitoshi takes a break from activities amid allegations of sexual misconduct, power harassment issues have now arisen around his partner, Masatoshi Hamada.

The incident originated when comedian Iwahashi Yoshimasa from the comedy duo “Plus-Minus” suddenly revealed on the night of January 28th that he had left the “Downtown” Hamada Masatoshi faction due to power harassment directed at him by “X.” The posts regarding “X” were spread across multiple platforms.

The beginning was as follows.

“Power-harassing president, Mr. H from Company B – B Company mainly produces programs featuring Mr. Hamada as a solo act.” (Editor’s note: The posted text includes the actual company name and individual’s name.)

At first, there were no details of the power harassment, just the company and its actual name.

Looking at Company B’s website, they are responsible for producing “Prevato!!” (TBS), “Hamachan ga!” (NTV), “Gobu gobu” (MBS, Kansai local), and “Junk Sports” (Fuji TV). Upon further investigation, it was found that they also handle the production and direction of the extremely popular New Year’s program “Entertainer Rating Check” (TV Asahi).

In addition, Mr. H of Company B is involved in almost all of the programs in which Hamada appears by himself. He is truly Hamada’s close associate.

Iwahashi exposed the power harassment by Mr. H.

“Replacing comedians’ food with dog food, laughing uproariously as comedians suffer in agony.”

“He would take a bill, fold it in two, put the world’s hottest powder (higher than habanero) on it, pour it under the comedian’s tongue. He Laughs heartily as comedians suffer in agony. All of these actions take place when the camera is not rolling.”

“Forcing comedians to bite on conch shells. As a result, I chipped my tooth. Of course, I laughed hysterically.”

The story goes on to say that the same things that comedians do as punishment for bad behavior are also forced upon them in their private lives. What’s more, he was forced to do it in private as well.

“I was punched twice in a row, and I got a bruise. YOU, who was watching, said, ‘That’s not okay. If anything happens, I’ll testify.’ The reason is a mystery; he silently punched me. Frustrated, I thought, ‘Enough is enough,’ and messaged Mr. H on LINE.”

” ‘Why do I have to be hit? Did I do something wrong?’ Then the reply I got was, ‘Sue me.’ After that, I was asked by my senior whether I wanted the work related to Company B (the post was made under a real name) and Mr. Hamada to disappear, or if I wanted to go and apologize. Since I had a family, I reluctantly chose to go and apologize, although it was frustrating.

When I went to apologize, Mr. H’s first words were, ‘If it weren’t for me, you would’ve been erased.’ And so, due to that power harassment and atmosphere, I decided to leave Mr. Hamada’s group. That was about five years ago, and since then, I haven’t received much work related to Company B. No, they’re probably just deleting it.”

“I wanted to be with Mr. Hamada but also wanted to leave. When those things were happening, Mr. Hamada would just laugh. The fact is, there was pressure that I couldn’t refuse, especially when it was happening in front of Mr. Hamada.”

In addition, he wrote in a heart-wrenching manner about the reality of bullying that was too severe to be called power harassment.

“When looking at H’s X, it was mentioned that he made his AD debut on MBS’s ‘4 Jikan desu yo (1987-1989), so it seems he has a relationship with Mr. Hamada for over 35 years. If such power harassment occurred in front of Mr. Hamada and he didn’t intervene, there is a possibility that responsibility could extend to Mr. Hamada.

In recent times, TV stations have heightened compliance awareness, and sponsor companies are also scrutinizing closely. It might be challenging to continue using Company B and Mr. H in the future, even if it’s what Mr. Hamada desires.” (TV station insider)

However, Iwahashi deleted all related X posts on the 28th. However,

“Under the presence of the group leader and chief manager, I had a discussion with the vice president, was persuaded, resisted initially, but ultimately came to terms with it, and deleted the tweet. However, now again, uuuuuh, it’s a tough time! But I promised!”

he said, revealing his painful heart. However, it is hard to believe that he deleted the tweet with complete satisfaction.

“In fact, Iwahashi had previously revealed similar content not only about X but also during a live broadcast. Perhaps he wanted to challenge the unspoken rules that seemingly tolerate bullying in the entertainment industry.” (Online news reporter)

Following Matsumoto’s sexual scandal, the power harassment issue emerged from Hamada’s surroundings. How will the TV stations and the public react?