<figure id="attachment_407828" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-407828" style="width: 1774px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="65dddc08"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/f5236e8388a322547f93bd3c67e3eb57.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-407828" class="wp-caption-text">Janpoke Ota responds to the crowd after the concert with a divine response</figcaption></figure>
<h2> Saito&#8217;s story was a big hit!</h2>
<p> At the end of last December, &#8220;AEON MALL Makuhari Shin Toshin&#8221; (Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture) was crowded with many shoppers. In particular, a large crowd had gathered in front of the stage in the open space on the first floor, where crackling laughter echoed uninterruptedly. Performing live there were Hirohisa Ota (41) and Otake (42) of &#8220;Jungle Pocket.</p>
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<p> On that day, the &#8220;AEON MALL Yoshimoto National Comedy Tour&#8221; was being held at the store. Jungle Pocket and Moriyasu Bang Bang Bigaro (40) appeared on stage at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. &#8220;The two members of Jungle Pocket appeared on stage at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.,&#8221; said Yoshimoto Kogyo.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The two &#8220;Jungle Pockets&#8221; started out by telling Saito&#8217;s material, which got a big laugh from the audience.</span></p>
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<p> After the much-enjoyed 3:00 p.m. concert, when the two left the stage and started walking to the back entrance, many shoppers started chasing after them. When they were asked one after another to shake hands or take pictures, they responded with a smile and a big hearty &#8220;ha~y&#8221;.</p>
<p> Speaking of &#8220;Janpoke,&#8221; member Shinji Saito (42) had his contract with Yoshimoto Kogyo terminated last October due to misconduct, and since then, Ota and Otake have continued their activities as a two-man group. Saito has not withdrawn from &#8220;Janpoke&#8221; at present, and although it is said that he is on a hiatus, his return is considered almost hopeless. What will happen to their activities in the future? In the meantime, the two responded to an interview in the December 29, 2012 issue of Shukan Josei PRIME.</p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Currently, there is no platform for the three of us to do stories together."></div>
<h2>Janpoke is completely different from this.</h2>
<p> Otake is,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> We&#8217;re not saying that we&#8217;re breaking up or leaving. It&#8217;s just that he (Saito) is the only one who has left Yoshimoto.</span></p>
<p> Ota denied that the group had disbanded. However, Ota said, &#8220;But if the three of us are working together, then we can&#8217;t be together,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> But if the three of us were to work together, it would still be Yoshimoto&#8217;s business. In other words, we will perform our material at theaters and live shows. Even if Saito were to resume his activities in the future, there is no realistic place for him to do so. The three of us may do something together someday, but at the moment, there is no place or platform for us to do our material as Jungle Pocket,&#8221; he explained.</span></p>
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<p> He went on to explain the current situation,</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> [Some may see this as adversity, but Otake is rather gearing up. Saito didn&#8217;t like to improvise, but Otake, on the contrary, is the type who wants to change things up every time and do whatever comes to his mind on the spot. I liked both of them, so I felt that I could do things I couldn&#8217;t do before. I think Janpoke will become something completely different from now on. I&#8217;m excited about it, and I&#8217;m going to keep making new material!</span></p>
<p> I&#8217;m also very excited about the new material we&#8217;re going to be making!</p>
<p> In March, they will hold their first solo show &#8220;HYDROGEN&#8221; after becoming a two-person group. The two seemed to be getting a good response from the audience at their live performance that day. Comedy fans are not sparing no effort to support the two.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" Images of Ota and Otake, surrounded by fans and very popular"></div>
<figure id="attachment_407843" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-407843" style="width: 1480px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="ff652e3d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/dd1e5f930fc5eccadef0cf7783c96a87.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-407843" class="wp-caption-text">Otake smiles and responds to the smartphone cameras pointed at him by fans.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_407847" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-407847" style="width: 1774px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="92724f8d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/5e3e9a216e768c1b02fa33566b095ba6.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-407847" class="wp-caption-text"> After the concert, there was a line of fans waiting to touch the two after they came off the stage.</figcaption></figure>
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<figure id="attachment_407848" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-407848" style="width: 1774px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="8f17fb05"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2025/01/7fee6586cb8c603641f86c78b59ebb6e.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-407848" class="wp-caption-text"> They were happy to take commemorative photos with fans</figcaption></figure>


 At the end of the year, "Jungle Pocket" held a live concert at a shopping mall. With member Shinji Saito on hiatus, the two-person show with Hirohisa Ota and Otake was a great success. The fans gave a big smile and a big round of applause.

Saito&#8217;s joke, jumping on his back&#8230; &#8220;Janpoke&#8221; with a confident smile, even with a two-person lineup, drawing big laughs at a free live performance.

Saito’s joke, jumping on his back… “Janpoke” with a confident smile, even with a two-person lineup, drawing big laughs at a free live performance.

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