Major broadcaster Nippon Television Network Corp. has been forced to suspend a segment on foreign festivals on its popular variety show after a weekly magazine reported earlier this month that the program fabricated some of the content.
The program "Sekai no Hate Made Itte Q," in which a popular comedian participates in unique festivals around the world, invented festivals in Thailand and Laos, according to the weekly Shukan Bunshun.
The Thai "festival" featured in a broadcast in February last year involved a competition to harvest cauliflowers. The Laos one, broadcast this May, involved crossing a small wooden bridge on a bike.