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The story
Toru Hashimoto, appearing on Mainichi Broadcasting’s “Seyanen!”, sparked an awkward moment when he remarked on the hit character “Chiikawa,” saying, “What is this, anyway? Isn’t it a dog or a cat? What is it? Is this supposed to be cute?” — prompting the show’s commentator to scold him with, “That’s not good.” The exchange happened as the program was covering news that the sushi chain Kura Sushi had ended its collaboration with “Chiikawa,” and Hashimoto reacted this way after being shown an image of the character. On 5ch, opinions split between those defending him (“it’s just personal taste, Hashimoto didn’t do anything wrong”) and those who saw it as “just his usual contrarian act,” while plenty of others expressed sheer surprise that he didn’t even recognize such a massively popular character.
Sat, Sep 12, 18:25
Toru Hashimoto, former governor of Osaka Prefecture and lawyer, appeared on Mainichi Broadcasting’s “Seyanen!” on the 12th, rattling the studio with “inflammatory remarks” about the massively popular character “Chiikawa.”
That day’s program covered the news that Kura Sushi had cancelled its collaboration with “Chiikawa.” Ahead of that segment, an image of “Chiikawa” was put up on the monitor, and host and announcer Kaka Yamazaki asked, “Do you know how this character originally got its start?”
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
△ Personal taste
○ He's just doing his usual contrarian act
It's just embarrassing themselves for nothing.
I don't know it either
If it were really that popular, there's no way I wouldn't know it
He has no business being on a news show.
For better or worse, if this guy had stayed in Ishin (the party he founded), it wouldn't be enjoying the surge it's having now.
Kojicoji really brings out the dark side of Chibi Maruko-chan, doesn't he
There's a king character named Guerlain who Kojicoji says absolutely awful things to constantly lol
Isn't the youngest one still a teenager?
I want this to expose the toxicity of Japanese people who gang up on anyone who calls something uncute uncute
This terrifying national trait, where you get socially cancelled unless you lie and say it's cute, should be broadcast to the whole world
They dragged the Hyogo governor to go see the movie and he ended up holding a Bondo-kun sticker (a Chiikawa character) (´･ω･｀)
Is Chiikawa a dog?
People like that actually exist? If you're not a paid shill, that's surprising lol
Would you rather it be a gorilla, an orangutan, and a hamadryas baboon?
Is it a dog? Doesn't it look more like a polar bear?
Background and Key Points of This Story
“Chiikawa” is a character born from creator Nagano’s four-panel manga, and it grew into a massively popular property through an anime adaptation and collaborations with restaurant chains like Kura Sushi. This remark drew attention because it came up while the show was introducing a separate piece of news — the end of that Kura Sushi tie-in — and Hashimoto’s blunt reaction, plus the on-air scolding that followed, got reported together as a package, which is part of why it caught fire. The thread split into roughly two camps: those defending him with “taste is subjective, Hashimoto didn’t do anything wrong,” and skeptics arguing he was “just playing his usual contrarian character and pretending not to know a hit series.” On top of that, plenty of people were simply baffled that Hashimoto, known for having a large number of children, wouldn’t recognize a character so deeply embedded even in kids’ culture. One thing worth clarifying so readers don’t get the wrong idea: this remark had nothing to do with the decision to end the Kura Sushi collaboration itself — it was just a reaction made while the show reported on a decision that had already been finalized.
※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “Toru Hashimoto Makes Inflammatory Remarks About ‘Chiikawa’: “What Is This Anyway? Isn’t It a Dog or Cat? What? Is This Cute?” — Commentator Scolds Him: “That’s Not Good”.”
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