Despite his ubiquity in the media, the comedian Beat Takeshi is never asked to appear on NHK's sogo (general) channel, which is why his one-minute appearance last New Year's Eve on NHK's annual song contest received a lot of media attention. Considering that other popular comedians are also conspicuously absent from NHK's flagship channel, it's easy to conclude that the national broadcaster isn't comfortable with the kind of crude jokes that pass for humor on the commercial stations.
On the other hand, Takeshi Kitano, the world-famous movie director, is more than welcome on NHK in the capacity of renaissance man and raconteur -- though you're more likely to find him on the educational channel.
Both Beat Takeshi and Takeshi Kitano will appear on a special program Sunday on NHK's BS-2 channel called "The Two Takeshis." If you've been living in a cave the past 15 years, you may not know that the two Takeshis are, in fact, the same person, but that doesn't faze NHK, which will utilize special video technology to produce a unique type of "visual variety show."