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The story
On September 24, 2026, entrepreneur Yuta Misaki — formerly known as the “Green Juice Prince” — posed a question on X: “If prices go up because labor costs rise, then shouldn’t prices also reflect the savings when self-checkout cuts labor costs?” The post sparked debate on 5channel. In the thread, many pushed back, arguing “it’s not simply about labor costs,” pointing out that even after switching to self-checkout, stores still need staff for shoplifting prevention and customer assistance, on top of the cost of installing and maintaining the machines. Others shared stories of crowded convenience-store checkout lines, or argued that self-checkout is precisely what makes 24-hour operation possible — with some commenters even questioning Misaki’s stance as a business owner.
Sep 24 (Thu), 3:26 PM
Entrepreneur Yuta Misaki, formerly known as the “Green Juice Prince,” updated his X account by the 24th, sharing his opinion on self-checkout.
“If you’re saying prices go up because labor costs rise, then shouldn’t prices also reflect it when self-checkout cuts labor costs?” he asked.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
isn't that their labor cost right there?
Yeah, no idea what he's even trying to say lol
It was never that simple to begin with.
So what happens if self-checkout disappears from the world entirely?
First, 24-hour operation vanishes immediately,
and every supermarket cuts its hours.
Everyone piles into that shorter window, creating massive lines.
Shelves stay permanently empty, and people who want to buy things simply can't.
Most companies just brazenly lie and blame it on "soaring raw material costs…"
Even leaving aside intentional theft, things like checkout errors at self-checkout mean stores are already factoring in a certain amount of loss.
Shoplifting is part of it, but on top of that, stores are often forced to station staff nearby just to help people use the self-checkout.
Because of that, "semi-self" checkout — where only the payment step is self-service — has become the mainstream, and more stores are apparently ditching full self-checkout altogether.
The real goal of all this is pushing the public toward cashless payments
and getting rid of cashiers along with all the headaches that come with them, right?
Come back once you've clearly defined what counts as "war" and what counts as "complicity in war."
that's effectively a price cut.
Where's that gap supposed to get made up?
Turned out it was some kind of age-verification button.
If they just showed customers how to do it themselves, that would actually save labor.
Only staff are allowed to press that button.
That one HAS to be confirmed by an employee lol
What's the point of age verification otherwise lmao
Shipping costs like trucking have gone up.
And "labor costs" isn't just the register — stocking shelves and everything else needs manpower too.
If self-checkout alone could avoid price hikes, nobody would be struggling like this.
Just standing around does look bad, though.
I bet there's a gap between what the staff are actually doing and how it looks to customers.
I'm on the customer side, so watching it does annoy me.
You guys doing okay over there?
It's about time you realized you're strangling yourselves with it.
Guess you really can't make it fully unmanned after all.
How about next time you post, you try deleting every single bracket first?
No self-checkout = 24-hour operation disappears
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That leap in logic is a stretch, which is why people are calling you an idiot.
It's not a leap, it's just a fact.
Actually, there's a behind-the-scenes reason closing is the harder option.
Every supermarket is effectively running 24 hours internally anyway.
Staying fully open ends up being more efficient.
Self-checkout is a huge help in making that happen.
Even stores that close at 8 or 9 work the same way behind the scenes.
The fact that supermarkets can still exist the way they do today is already proof that society is benefiting hugely from this.
Thanks to self-checkout.
He's a businessman — he probably already knows that, no?
That's exactly the point — the benefit comes from keeping essential infrastructure running.
For supermarkets, self-checkout is literally a survival strategy.
It's not even a matter of profit and loss anymore, it's life or death.
That's why this guy's take is so strange, given he's supposed to be a businessman.
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Self-checkout isn’t only about cutting labor costs — it’s also meant to shorten checkout wait times, save floor space, and lower the cost of running 24-hour operations, so it doesn’t fit neatly into a simple “less labor cost = lower prices” equation. In practice, on top of installation and maintenance costs, stores also have to absorb losses from checkout errors and shoplifting, and many still need to station staff to help customers unfamiliar with the system — meaning full unmanned operation hasn’t been achieved at many stores. As the thread pointed out with the gap between the corporate price index and the consumer price index (7.6% versus 1.9% year-on-year), how much of the rise in wholesale prices and logistics costs can be passed on to retail prices varies by industry, which limits the value of comparisons that isolate labor costs alone. While Misaki’s comment offered an easy-to-grasp contrast, the main point of contention in the thread was that many felt it failed to account for the complexity of the underlying cost structure.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Yuta Misaki: If “Labor Costs Rise → Prices Go Up,” Then Shouldn’t “Self-Checkout Cutting Labor Costs” Mean “Prices Should Reflect That Too? Doesn’t Add Up, Does It?”“.
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