Hamada Masatoshi will take a break for two or three months due to “age and overwork”, aims to return after Golden Week

On the 10th, Yoshimoto Kogyo, the company that Downtown’s Hamada Masatoshi (61) is managing, announced that he will be taking a break due to poor health. This is the first time that the duo will take a break, along with his partner Matsumoto Hitoshi (61), who is aiming to resume activities within the year. His wife, actress Ogawa Natsumi (62), also emphasized on social media that her husband is taking a rest to refresh himself, and aims to return in perfect condition.

43 years after forming the comedy duo, Downtown, Hamada has decided to stop moving forward for the time being. According to Yoshimoto Kogyo, Hamada began feeling unwell around the end of last year. After visiting a medical institution, the doctor advised him to “rest for the time being”.

After discussing it with Hamada, they decided to take a break in order to prioritize his recovery. According to a person related to the agency, the main causes are aging and overwork. Regarding Hamada’s condition, a person related to the agency explained, “He is perfectly fine. He is not suffering from any mental problems or serious illness. Of course, he is not involved in the online casino issue”.

The rest period is planned to be two to three months, and they plan to return to the spotlight after Golden Week. Matsumoto announced his rest in January last year due to his lawsuit against “Weekly Bunshun”, so they will be appearing on regular programs alone. They have protected the “Downtown” name for one year and three months. This is the first time that the two have taken a break together, but another source revealed, “They have been carrying the entire burden of the duo for a year and have been careful. I heard that they are taking a break in consideration of their age, etc.”.

Ogawa Natsumi, who married Hamada in 1989 and has shared the good and bad times with him for 35 years, reported on her husband’s current situation on SNS on this day. “My husband has been running for decades. Even when he was tired, he had almost no time to get in shape, so both I and my (two) sons are relieved that he can take a break,” she confessed frankly. “I’m hoping that he’ll take it easy so that he can get in top condition (while also enjoying his favorite game of golf every once in a while). I’m sure there are those out there who are worried about him, but I hope that you will continue to watch over him kindly until the day we hear the lively voice of ‘The results are announced!'”.

Matsumoto has established his own platform and is aiming to resume his activities, but according to a source at his agency, he considers his comedy activities as Downtown to be his top priority. The source pointed out that Hamada’s break is also “preparation for a full comeback as a duo.”

Hamada Masatoshi was born May 11, 1963 in Amagasaki, Hyogo and is currently 61 years old. In 1982, he formed “Downtown” with his elementary and junior high school classmate Matsumoto Hitoshi. He gained popularity with the MBS TV show “It’s 4 o’clock!” in 1987, and moved to Tokyo in 1988. He married Ogawa Natsumi in 1989. His eldest son, born in 1991, is Hama Okamoto, the bassist for the rock band Okamoto.