Description: Why were Ageo, Tokorozawa and Kasukabe pushed into “North Saitama” on the October 27, 2026 episode of Odoru! Sanma Goten!!? The original Yuki Iwai joke and Teruyuki Tsuchida's absurd border dispute.
Answer: Japan did not change its prefectural boundaries. On Nippon TV's October 27 comedy talk show Odoru! Sanma Goten!!, guests debated a fictional border between northern and southern Saitama. The premise came from comedian Yuki Iwai's earlier gag that the north was “basically Gunma” and the south was “basically Tokyo.” Follow that logic and the prefecture itself practically disappears.
Why Saitama is the punchline
Saitama lies immediately north of Tokyo. Some of its towns are part of the capital's commuting world, while others feel more rural. Iwai, who grew up in Ageo, jokingly assigned Hatoyama and Kumagaya to neighboring Gunma, and Saitama City and Ageo to Tokyo. He was not proposing a new map. He was exaggerating the habit of judging a hometown by its resemblance to a more famous neighbor.
The joke is self-defeating: people trying to make their prefecture sound important end up explaining why it supposedly belongs somewhere else.
What happened on October 27?
The 8 p.m. episode was billed as “North Saitama vs South Saitama.” Guests drew a dividing line; northern areas were colored green and southern ones blue. Teruyuki Tsuchida of Saitama City declared his preferred line to be practically the entire prefecture's consensus.
Yet he objected when Ageo was placed in the south. Iwai, from Ageo, pleaded for it to remain there. Tsuchida challenged the inclusion of Tokorozawa and Kasukabe as well, eventually claiming that Saitama City was the only genuinely urban place. According to the broadcaster's advance episode description, several towns turned green on the screen and the guests reacted in disbelief.
Why is changing a color funny?
“South” becomes a status symbol rather than a compass direction: closer to Tokyo, more urban, supposedly more prestigious. Tsuchida gives his personal opinion the authority of a public referendum; Iwai defends his hometown's symbolic ranking. A map has become a leaderboard of local pride.
Tokorozawa-born performer EXILE NAOTO defended his town by mentioning Belluna Dome, Seibuen amusement park and woods associated with the animated film My Neighbor Totoro. He also praised how quickly one could cycle toward Tokyo. Asking exactly which part of Tokyo he meant turns the boast into a trap: the case for Tokorozawa keeps relying on the appeal of somewhere else.
Even the north had internal divisions
Actor Rie Mimura of Fukaya jokingly embraced an identity close to Gunma. Shoei from Konosu and comedian Mihoko Abukawa from Sugito recalled how intimidating even a trip to Omiya once felt. People placed on the same side of a green line therefore had very different ideas of what counted as a city.
The punchline
Iwai erased Saitama with a silly argument. Tsuchida redrew it through sheer confidence. Everyone else fought for their hometown's dignity. The real prefecture remained intact; only the television map and a few local egos were moved.
Verification: Checked October 28, 2026 against the broadcaster's pre-air description, episode listing and contemporary reporting. The full broadcast was not independently viewed; quoted exchanges are based on preview material. No international viral reach is claimed.
