The 1980s TV Shows That Dominated Japan With 50%+ Ratings—Six Insiders Reveal What Happened Behind the Scenes
Looking back at the golden age when Fuji TV and the industry shone brightly
In the 1980s, when ultra-long recording sessions—such as finishing at 30 o’clock (6 a.m.) and going through two boxed lunches—were commonplace, production budgets ran into tens of millions of yen per program. Compliance rules and work-style reforms were virtually nonexistent. It was an era when television had to be entertaining, and a succession of wildly popular variety shows with peak ratings exceeding 50 percent emerged one after another.
For this feature, “FRIDAY” interviewed six veteran television professionals, including former TV producers and scriptwriters, in an effort to rank the finest variety shows of the 1980s. Here, we take a look at what made the programs that made the cut so appealing.
The program most frequently named by the experts as the ultimate variety show was “Takeshi’s Genki ga Deru TV!!” (Nippon TV). Despite airing opposite NHK’s Taiga drama, it achieved a peak audience rating of more than 25 percent. Former TV Asahi producer Hiromichi Shizume is full of praise for the show.
“The program’s famous segments, such as ‘Early Morning Bazooka’ and ‘100-Person Squad,’ were impressive in their own right, but what really stood out were the brilliant projects involving ordinary people—such as getting members of motorcycle gangs to join the Self-Defense Forces, organizing a nationwide high school dance battle, and challenging a ronin student to get into the University of Tokyo.
The technique of focusing on interesting ordinary people has been carried on by ‘Monday Late Show‘ (Nippon TV), while the kind of pranks that psychologically corner their targets has been carried on by ‘Wednesday Downtown’ (TBS). It is easy to understand why Beat Takeshi (79) has proudly said that ‘most of what people find entertaining in today’s variety shows was already done on Genki ga Deru TV.’”
Television columnist Tamami Hiyama also praised the program highly, noting that it incorporated what was, at the time, a groundbreaking form of media-mix strategy, including the sale of original merchandise such as “Takeshi Manekineko” goods and the opening of talent shops.
“There are many stars who first became known to the public through this program, including YOSHIKI (60) of X JAPAN, Junichi Okada (45), and Taro Yamamoto (51) of Reiwa Shinsengumi. Its contribution to the television industry is immeasurable.”
A legendary program that influenced today’s Variety-TV Scene
“Oretachi Hyokin-zoku” (Fuji TV), which began airing in 1981, also received enough support to come close to the No. 1 spot. Former Nippon TV producer Goshinobu Okada highly rates it as a textbook for variety television.
“Until then, variety shows were dominated by carefully scripted and staged comedy sketches, the kind that ‘The Drifters’ excelled at. ‘Hyokin-zoku,’ almost as if it were taking them on, brought backstage jokes and ad-libbing to the forefront. In fact, the popular segment ‘Take-chan Man’ was essentially an ad-lib battle between Takeshi Kitano and Sanma Akashiya (71).
It was also ‘Hyokin-zoku’ that first introduced the style of having staff members participate in comedy sketches, something that was considered taboo at the time. Many popular shows were influenced by ‘Hyokin-zoku,’ including ‘Mecha-Mecha Iketeru!’ (Fuji TV) and ‘Downtown no Gaki no Tsukai ya Arahende!!’ (Nippon TV).”
“Tunnels no Neruton Kohakudan” (Fuji TV), starring the comedy duo Tunnels and launched in 1987, came in third. Despite airing late at night, the popular show averaged more than a 17 percent audience rating.
“It featured ordinary men and women at matchmaking parties, while Noritake Kinashi (64) and Takaaki Ishibashi (64) watched and poked fun at them. The show became a forerunner of today’s dating reality shows and established the so-called ‘monitoring’ format. Unlike today’s dating reality shows, which often feature delinquents or wealthy people, the participants on ‘Neruton’ were ordinary men and women. Their relatable romances resonated with viewers.
The show also had amusingly unique rules, such as men must be Keio University students or women must have long hair. As Neruton became a huge phenomenon, its rival program, ‘Konya wa Saiko!’ (Nippon TV)—a sophisticated talk-variety show for adults hosted by Tamori (80)—quietly came to an end. The phenomenal popularity of Neruton, particularly among young people, was strong enough to surpass Tamori’s appeal.” (Takuhiko Kageyama, professor at Doshisha Women’s University)
The program that gave Tunnels their breakthrough as the darlings of the era was “All Night Fuji” (Fuji TV), which began in 1983. Its provocative production featured everything from visits to sex-related establishments to introductions of adult videos.
“There was no fixed end time, celebrities would drop by the live broadcast unannounced, and some performers were completely drunk. It was incredibly freewheeling. Apparently, the show received a barrage of complaint calls because of how provocative it was, but it achieved an extraordinary 7.2 percent peak rating for a late-night program.” (Variety-show producer at a major commercial network)
In 1985, “Yuyake Nyan Nyan” (Fuji TV) also began airing.
“The Onyanko Club, which debuted through the program’s flagship audition segment ‘Find an Idol,’ became a huge success. However, although the show got off to a strong start, it eventually failed to discover new stars, while its risqué humor also felt like a second-rate imitation of All Night Fuji. Surprisingly, it ended after just two years. Even when comparing the stature of the stars it produced, it could not match All Night Fuji.” (The same source)
The two giants of variety television who had followed the road to stardom throughout the 1960s and ’70s—Kinichi Hagimoto (85) and The Drifters—continued to maintain their momentum in the 1980s. Scriptwriter Mihoko Yamada argued that the ‘Kin-Don!’ series (Fuji TV) deserved a place among the top 10.
“The one I particularly recommend is the second-generation program ‘Kin-Don! Good Child, Bad Child, Ordinary Child.’ Based on submissions from viewers, the performers would create comedy sketches on the spot. It came about because Hagimoto, who had a regular radio program, proposed incorporating a postcard segment into television as well.
Viewers could enjoy the feeling that they themselves were helping create the show. It was innovative for its time and also demonstrated Hagimoto’s talent as a producer.”
From the July 31, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”