NetflixPhysical: Asia has finally crowned a winning team after 12 episodes, but Team Japan’s captain, Yushin Okami, appeared to call the show “biased” in a scathing Instagram post. Spoilers ahead.
The Physical: 100 spinoff sees different countries battle each other in bone-crunching tests of strength and fitness to win one billion Korean won (roughly $700,000) and the eternal bragging rights that they’re the strongest country on the continent.
The final challenge ultimately came down to Team Mongolia and Team Korea, but Team Korea came out on top. This led to accusations that the producers of the competition “rigged” the games in Korea’s favor, since that’s where the show originated.
After the finale aired on Netflix, Team Japan’s captain, MMA fighter Yushin Okami, shared a statement on his Instagram saying that Physical: Asia is “biased,” but the post wasn’t what it seemed.
Team Japan Yushin Okami reshared a post criticizing Physical: Asia on Instagram
Okami reshared a post to his Instagram Story that he was tagged in. The post was written by another user and heavily criticized Physical: Asia but praised Team Japan.
“Japan is the best and top team overall. We can see that the show is biased from the start,” the now deleted post read. “There are many things lacking here, but most of all, the show should be directed by countries that aren’t in Asia, especially those of the contenders!!!!!”
Because Okami reshared it to his story, many Physical: Asia fans assumed he had written it himself, causing controversy. The athlete quickly realized his mistake, and issued a separate statement to his story to clear up the situation.
“I want to clarify something I reposted earlier, I didn’t understand the English meaning behind it, and it may have caused confusion.” He continued: “Physical: Asia was an amazing competition and an honor to compete with so many incredible athletes. I’m very proud of Team Japan.
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“I sincerely apologize if my post caused any misunderstanding to fans around the world. Thank you always for your support.”
Team Japan came third in Physical: Asia
NetflixOkami and the rest of Team Japan came extremely close to the final, as they faced off against Team Korea and Team Mongolia in Castle Conquest. The teams had one hour to pull a 2.2 tonne cart across several obstacles, including a drawbridge.
However, they couldn’t get the gate to close and the challenge took them over an hour to complete. Team Korea won Castle Conquest, finishing it in 17 minutes and 53 seconds, and Team Mongolia was hot on their heels by finishing in 25 minutes and 15 seconds.
Since Team Japan took over an hour to finish, they were knocked out of the competition ahead of the final. But since the producers of the show are considering future Physical: 100 spinoffs like Physical: World, Team Japan might be able to push through to the final next time.
Until we know more about the future of the franchise, check out the full list of eliminations and winners in Physical: Asia, take a look at whether the show is scripted, and find out why Manny Pacquiao left the competition.