The Psychological Impact of Nasubi’s Experiment: Survival, Isolation, and Identity

In 1998, Tomoaki Hamatsu, later known as “Nasubi,” found himself living in total isolation for over a year as part of a televised experiment on the Japanese show Susunu! Denpa Shōnen. Stripped of his clothes, cut off from human contact, and left to survive on prizes he won through magazine sweepstakes, Nasubi’s only connection to the outside world came in the form of the items he won.

While his story became an infamous example of extreme reality television, its psychological consequences are far more profound. Nasubi didn’t just survive 15 months of deprivation—he adapted to a reality defined by loneliness, uncertainty, and the slow erosion of his sense of self. His experience offers a window into the human mind’s ability to endure isolation and confront existential questions about identity, purpose, and meaning.