Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin

Koko ga Hen da yo Nihonjin was a Japanese TV show that was broadcast weekly from 1998 to 2002. It consisted of two panels: One was a group of Japanese celebrities notably consisting of Takeshi Kitano, Konishiki, Rui Ramos, and Terry Itō. The other panel was a pool of 100 Japanese-speaking expatriates from around the world voicing, in Japanese, their grievances about their treatment in Japan. From this panel Zomahoun Idossou Rufin or "Number 68" as he was called on the show because of his designated panel number, became a popular foreign celebrity due to his anger on a number of subjects that caused him to talk much faster than native Japanese speakers. The show was unique as it was a departure from the way foreigners are traditionally used on Japanese television that instead of being glorified non-talking set pieces, they could converse and articulate in conjunction with Japanese tarento. Another notable contributor to the show was German-born Christoph Neumann who later released his book "Darum nerven Japaner" both in German and Japanese. In Japan, it was published under the title "Iketenai Nippon - Nihonjin no honto no tokoro".