Format

TV Asahi is heading to MIPCOM 2026 with Trade Room, a new unscripted psychological competition built around shifting alliances, strategy and a game mechanic capable of changing the balance between two opposing teams at any moment.

The format sees ten celebrities divided into two teams of five, competing from the Black Room and White Room in a series of physical, psychological and strategic challenges. Each team works to increase its own prize pot, but the competition can be overturned by “Trade Time”, when contestants receive instructions to exile a player from their room or recruit someone from the opposing team.

As contestants move between the two rooms, alliances are repeatedly reshaped and information travels with them. Players can find themselves competing against former teammates, while money they helped earn may suddenly belong to the opposing side. The format uses these transfers to create a game centred on trust, loyalty, suspicion and strategic manipulation.

According to TV Asahi, Trade Room has already gained traction with younger viewers in Japan, ranking No. 1 in its timeslot among teen audiences in multiple recent episodes. The broadcaster also reports that the programme has generated a social-media reach of more than 15 million, helped by online discussion around the programme's betrayals, changing alliances and mind games.

TV Asahi producer Kenichi Hamasaki said: “Trade Room is not just about winning games, at its heart it’s about the psychology between people — the bonds they form, the betrayals that break them, and the desire for money that drives their decisions. By adding TRADE, a simple yet powerful mechanic, we’ve been able to intensify those emotions and accelerate the human drama. Every trade instantly changes relationships, turning trust itself into part of the game. Another fascinating element is the role of the leader, the only player who can never be traded. Each leader’s personality and leadership style can completely shape the atmosphere of the room and their relationships with the other players, creating very different dynamics between the two teams.”
TV Asahi will introduce the format to the international market ahead of MIPCOM 2026, adding Trade Room to a catalogue that includes long-running Japanese franchises such as Doctor-X and AIBOU.