Just saw this video where this guy is talking to some other people on a game show set (the show is where they have to make the contestants freak out... apparently that's funny) and playing to the 24 music, a sniper "shot" hits the people he's talking to and it's supposed to be hilarious. That, or the studio audience is on some sort of meds that make them laugh like hyenas.
Utterly tasteless, if you ask me. It's not even remotely funny. Then again, I didn't understand the point of human Tetris.

I feel sorry for that guy, but to be honest, I laughed. I think that if I had not known, and there wasn't indication of it being a prank, I probably wouldn't have laughed.

While I'm in no way au fait with Japanese law, that has to be breaking at least one of them.

i think i watched that show last week. Different episode though. they had the guy mostly naked, wearing an animal hat and fur jockstrap, handcuffed to a paddling pool, with a tiger bikini wearing hostess.... when the police raided the place and pulled him out (still in the pool) infront of dozens of journalists with flash cameras. then his dad turned up...

No, it's funny.
The humor of a particular situation has nothing to do with the ethical context. Something can be both funny and tasteless, or even vulgar and funny.
I have seen funny pornos, and I am sure there are plenty of other things you would find funny that would also disgust you. Humor is a unique construct, and attempts to pigeonhole it typically fail.

Law? What law?

Namely assault. Given that Japanese law is modelled on western legal systems, I'd be surprised if they didn't have that one.

I'm speechless, just watch...
http://www.guba.com/watch/3000015026/Wrong-answer-ass-in-face
No idea why any one would ever want to participate in this kind of crazy shit or watch it for that matter.

Now that's tasteless

Now we just need a Japanese game show for watching your face during these viewings.
EDIT: I forgot to say that I bet that poor guy was just another actor.

Isn't putting tasteless and game show (regardless if it's japanese or not) in the same sentence a bit redundent?

There's a show on TV here called "Tarrant on TV".
It highlights (or lowlights) TV from around the world, adverts, shows, etc...more often than not, there's a good 10 minutes devoted to Japanese gameshows...He's funny. Worth watching if you can grab it from somewhere.

Tarrant on TV is just awesome :P
Chris Tarrant's a legend

No need to worry, guys. Those people you see on those japanese TV shows are never "anonymous" guys, they are what we call here "tarento" ("talents"), actors who generally only show up on TV. Most of them are comics, too.
So, basically, they are paid to do things like that, to overreact, to fall, take bumps and so on, in a "slapstick movie" spirit. And believe me, on japanese TV, the more incredible, the better ! They also replace the candidates in shows like "who wants to be a millionaire", that's the way they earn their living!
On the second video, the very first guy you see is Hama-chan, a very well-known talent who host many shows as different as the one you see here and more regular talk-shows about sports, news, etc...
Don't forget that "Beat" Takeshi Kitano also did "Takeshi's castle", which is not the most subtile form of humor, while also hosting serious political debates.
That's how incomprehensible Japan can be sometimes (and this comes from a French guy living in Japan and loving it ! ;) )
Yes, it's very often tasteless to foreigners, but that's just how japanese humor can be, sometimes. Personnally I find it hilarious, but maybe it means that i stayed for too long in Japan... ;)
Oh, and about the laughs : they are generally as real as the ones you hear in Friends or The Big Bang Theory... ;)

meh. Go watch WWE wrestling. Last time i saw that it seemed to consist almost entirely of asses-in-faces.
It must suck being a japanese tv talent. they are essentially "always on" as there are so many hidden camera shows, trick shows, shows that come into their house at night and wake them up, etc... they must sign their life away when they sign up to an agency.
On the other side, you almost NEVER see ordinary public on japanese tv. Things like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire give all the cash to talent. Quiz shows give the prizes to talent.
Plus they have very strong privacy laws here. It's not unusual to watch tv and EVERYTHING is blurred out... except maybe a tiny circle around the face of the subject. They always blur out members of the public in the background, and street signs, and car numbers, and brands, and visible landmarks or buildings...