Bakusho Mondai

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Yūji Tanaka (top left corner) and Hikari Ōta of Bakushō Mondai from their television DVD. The lower right is Kaori Manabe.

Bakushō Mondai (爆笑問題) is a Japanese comedy duo consisting of Yūji Tanaka (田中裕二, Tanaka Yūji, born January 10, 1965) and Hikari Ōta (太田光, Ōta Hikari, born May 13, 1965) under the entertainment agency, Titan Inc. The comedians first met when they were students in the Department of Fine Arts at Nihon University, and they formed Bakushō Mondai in 1988 after dropping out of school. The name of the kombi means literally "burst into/roaring laughter", "problem/question". The tsukkomi of the two, Tanaka, had a testicle removed because of testicular cancer, and this frequently elicits jokes by the group's boke, Ōta, as well as other personalities that they may be performing with. Ōta is generally the higher profile of the two, and frequently dominates shows that they host with his long-winded speeches.

The duo currently host many variety and quiz shows, as well as commenting on the occasional radio broadcast.

[edit] Awards

In 2006, Bakushō Mondai won an "Art Encouragement" award from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology recognizing them as facets of modern Japanese culture. They have also won various other awards in the past, including the Golden Arrow award for entertainment in 1997.