The Contestant is the incredible true story of a man who lived for 15 months trapped inside a small room, naked, starving, and alone… and completely unaware that his life was being broadcast on national TV to over 17 million viewers a week.
Tomoaki Hamatsu, an aspiring comedian better known as Nasubi (なすび, "Eggplant"), was broadcast on Japanese television throughout 1998 in what is now recognized as one of Japan’s first reality TV shows. He was required to live alone in an apartment until he reached 1 million yen in prizes by completing magazine competitions. The program was live-streamed without his knowledge.