罰ゲーム (batsu game) penalty format established

1989

The batsu game, a punishment the loser of a bet must undergo, began on Gaki no Tsukai in 1989, arising from the hosts' on-air wager about the outcome of the 40th NHK Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Early penalties were surreal rather than physical: the loser might be made to appear on a morning show, fetch mineral water from France, or fly to New York to meet Ryuichi Sakamoto. Before 2003 the penalties were mostly confined to the Downtown pair.