<figure id="attachment_463019" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-463019" style="width: 1887px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="d47c4a6b"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2026/03/5eb96b30138fcb8c718f92917353e65c.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-463019" class="wp-caption-text">Before the concert, Ozawa greeted the press in front of his office. He bowed his head and said, &#8220;I&#8217;m going to start my comic act again, so please give me your support.</figcaption></figure>
<h3><span class="strongInContent"> Memorable live performance&#8221; chosen as the place for his comeback.</span></h3>
<p> It has been two years and two months since January 2012, when Downtown&#8217;s Hitoshi Matsumoto (62) was named as a &#8220;female attendant&#8221; in the sexual assault scandal that rocked Japan. Kazutaka Ozawa (52), who had remained silent, finally appeared before the audience.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> The turmoil began at the end of 2011. In response to a report by the Weekly Bunshun, his office initially took a bullish stance, saying, &#8216;There is nothing shameful in our actions,&#8217; and declared that he would continue his activities. However, unable to resist the furious backlash of public opinion and the rejection of their sponsors, they announced only a few days later that they would refrain from entertainment activities for the time being, citing the confusion they had caused.</span></p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> At first glance, it appeared to be a sincere apology, but some questioned the self-restraint, which left it unclear what he was apologizing for. Ozawa spent his days alone at home, and at one point he was so depressed that he even feared retirement. His partner Jun Idoda (53) was forced to work as a pin-up.</span></p>
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<p> The duo chose &#8220;La Mama New Comic Contest&#8221; held at a live house &#8220;La Mama&#8221; in Shibuya, Tokyo, a sacred place established by Masayuki Watanabe (70) in 1986 and a memorable place where Speed Wagon had stood in 1999 when they had just moved to Tokyo.</p>
<p> On the day of the event, the area around the venue was filled with a strange tension. A little past 9:00 p.m., a black wagon quietly pulled up beside the venue, and Ozawa got out and entered the venue, moving as if he was on the lookout for his surroundings. Beside him was his partner, Idoda, who had always supported him.</p>
<p> Meanwhile, the approximately 100 fans who filled the venue were in high spirits. Tickets were sold out, and when MC Watanabe announced, &#8220;There is a duo who are veterans, but they are here to try out,&#8221; and the two members of Speedwagon appeared, the crowd let out an earth-shaking cheer.</p>
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<div data-friday-nextpage-lead=" A naked confession of life under house arrest"></div>
<h3><span class="strongInContent">Ozawa, on the move.&#8221;</span></h3>
<p> Ozawa appeared on stage, saying in his first voice, &#8220;Hi, I&#8217;m a veteran. The content of his new story, &#8220;Alumni Association,&#8221; was so outrageous that it directly addressed his own scandal.</p>
<p> When Iota said, &#8220;I&#8217;ve been absent for a long time,&#8221; Ozawa asked, &#8220;Jun, do you go to alumni reunions or something? Ozawa suddenly began to make a joke. He then added, &#8220;Everyone is down, and I&#8217;m not feeling well. He then added, &#8220;Everyone is down and I was told that Ozawa is the only one who can cheer them up.&#8221; He intentionally quoted a phrase that Hitoshi Matsumoto had posted on X immediately after the riots and that had caused a stir in the public: &#8220;If someone says that to me, I&#8217;m going to go to a reunion.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> If you say that, &#8230;&#8230; Ozawa, I&#8217;ll move.&#8221;</span></p>
<p> At the moment he sarcastically unleashed his big brother&#8217;s words, Idoda said with a bite in his voice, &#8220;You stop. Don&#8217;t go! The audience laughed and applauded. The audience burst into laughter and applause. The final line of the show was the signature line of Speedwagon, &#8220;Ama~ai! a signature line of Speedwagon, to give a strong impression of the resumption of their activities.</p>
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<p> In the free talk session after the comic dialogue, they talked about the past two years behind the scenes. Idoda said that Ozawa, whom he had not seen for a long time, &#8220;wore a cap and reading glasses while he was under house arrest, and his hair had grown as long as it could. He was like a different person. Two days before the concert, he asked Ozawa where he was supposed to stand for his comic monologue. To which Idoda replied, &#8220;How could I forget? He revealed an episode in which Ozawa asked Ozawa, &#8220;How could I forget? The audience was excited to see how well they could communicate with each other, showing no signs of blanks. Masayuki Watanabe, who was watching the show, cried, &#8220;It was a proper manzai, and I&#8217;m really glad. I&#8217;m so glad. Idoda-kun is also great for waiting for the show. It&#8217;s a good spring, isn&#8217;t it?</p>
<p> However, it is clear that Ozawa has a difficult future ahead of him. During the live concert, when co-host Pikotaro announced that he would be appearing on &#8220;Music Station&#8221; (TV Asahi), Ozawa asked, &#8220;How do you get on TV? and he was immediately nailed with the words, &#8220;You won&#8217;t be able to appear for a while! This exchange of jokes, however, strikes at a cruel reality. A producer at a key station said, &#8220;Ozawa is a comic and a comedian.</p>
<p><span class="strongInContent"> Ozawa says he wants to be serious about manzai and is trying to start over from his roots. However, what TV stations and sponsors want is an answer to the question, &#8216;How was the attendance problem? If he continues to apologize without explanation, it will not be easy to overcome the hurdle of the public airwaves.</span></p>
<p> Ozawa is &#8220;on the move&#8221; for the first time in two years and two months. Will he be able to gain the support of the public again? The road to his comeback has only just begun.</p>
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 Kyodo News

 It has been two years and two months since he was named as a "female attendant" in the wake of Hitoshi Matsumoto's sexual assault allegations. Speed Wagon's Kazutaka Ozawa has finally resumed his show business activities. What was the first thing Ozawa said at his resurrection live? ......

A terrestrial revival is a long way off… “Speed Wagon” Kazutaka Ozawa sneaks into the “return live full of self-deprecation!

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