A comedy program broadcasted all over Japan on the evening of December 31 every year is a series “Zettai ni warattewaikenai（絶対ã«ç¬‘ã£ã¦ã¯ã„ã‘ãªã„）”. In English it means “they should never laugh”. I think that this program is a great invention remaining in the history of television in the world. In recent years, enthusiastic fans of this program are also in foreign countries.
The plot is the same every year. Five regular comedians are gathered in one place and do the tasks given one after another. The outcome of the task has no particular meaning. However, the person laughing during that time is the rule that hips are struck with a stick.
Every year, various gimmicks appear, somehow trying to make those five comedians laugh. Five comedians will not be beaten unless they laugh, However, they can not stand laughing because comedians are sensitive to funny things. Therefore, five comedians are beaten 100 times or more each year. Nonetheless they do not laugh for everything. The criteria for making them laugh are high. It is a serious confrontation for production staff.
There are many places that you can not understand if you are not familiar with Japan, but please enjoy it if you have a chance to see it.