Mere months ago, SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi was disgraced and humiliated for having romped naked and inebriated in a Tokyo park. His subsequent rehabilitation has been so complete that this week you can see him every night on some variety show promoting his new movie, "Ballad."
However, he's the main regular attraction on the "outdoor" variety show "Pussuma" (TV Asahi, Tues., 11:15 p.m.), where he shares hosting duties with big-mouth actor Yusuke Santamaria. This week, they head to the Boso Peninsula in Chiba Prefecture, where they compete with guests Daisuke Miyakawa and Mari Sekine in an asonde oikura? (how much for pleasure?) tour.
Each pair partakes in some local sightseeing activities — fishing, barbecue, etc. — but only has a limited amount of money to spend for the overall tour. The challenge is to make it through all the activities without going over their respective limits. Speaking of movie promotion, Hitoshi Matsumoto, the more cerebral half of comedy duo Downtown, has just released his second film as director, "Symbol," and is the subject of the late night talk show "A-Studio" (TBS, Fri., 11 p.m.), which is hosted by rakugo (traditional Japanese storytelling) artist Shofukutei Tsurube.