On November 30th, comedians Downtown held a press conference for their year-end "no-laughing" show, "Downtown no Gaki no Tsukaiya Arahende!! No Laughing Airport 24 Hours!".

This will be the 6th time that the "No-laughing series" will air as a New Year's Eve special. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the show, Downtown and other celebrities must survive a series of ridiculous situations designated to make them laugh. If they laugh, they receive a harsh punishment.

At the press conference, Matsumoto Hitoshi reported that he had fractured his left knee a week before filming. "During the penalty games, I kept getting kicked even though I reminded them about my knee," he said.

True to form, the comedians caused everyone to laugh at the press conference, as Hamada Masatoshi pointed out that their event was on the same day as the 'Kohaku Uta Gassen' lineup announcement. "Is it okay for you to be here?", he joked.

Last year's "SPY" episode received a viewership rating of 15.3% in the first half and 14.3% in the second half. Matsumoto declared, "We want to somehow surpass Kohaku this year".

Filming for their New Year's Eve special already took place in mid-November at Ibaraki Airport.

Source + Image: Sanspo