During a seat-raffle cheki (Polaroid photo) giveaway at Satoyoshi Uta’s birthday event, it was reported on 5ch that the winning seat number was actually empty, yet a middle-aged man sitting one row behind it accepted the prize instead. Some commenters have condemned this as fraud, while others suggest it may have simply been an honest mix-up about which seat was which, leaving opinions divided. Some posters also shared past experiences of similar confusion, such as mixing up the letters “J” and “K,” or rows “M” and “N,” and mistakenly believing they had won.
What people said
1AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:20
@
Satoyoshi Uta's Birthday Event, Part 1
Cheki giveaway via seat raffle
5AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:23
I don't get the nerve to cheat just to grab a prize.
11AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:24
Just say something to his face. What do you mean it'll 'ruin the mood'? Chicken.
14AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:25
Talk to Sekino about it — they'd figure out who's who in no time, even if people swapped seats.
15AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:26
Maybe he just sat down one row back by mistake.
18AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:27
Re: #15
That's possible, but everyone's already decided he's guilty.
16AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:26
These people are always so quick to broadcast their feelings.
20AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:27
You have to curse the lack of judgment behind a promotion that only makes a tiny handful of lucky fans happy.
22AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:28
Re: #20
Pretty much everyone runs this kind of promotion though.
29AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:30
Re: #22
But the fans aren't actually happy about it.
32AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:30
Re: #22
It gets a quick burst of hype in the moment, so people assume it's popular.
21AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:28
What are the odds he sat one row off AND the real winner happened not to show up…
23AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:28
You gotta speak up right then! No chickening out in the moment!
24AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:29
Couch fan detected lol (zaitaku — slang for a fan who never actually shows up to events). This kind of bit happens at all sorts of events lol
25AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:29
It'd make everyone happier if they just handed out masks to the whole crowd, like Hime Rara does.
26AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:29
Funny how everyone sitting around him just silently watched it happen too.
31AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:30
Vigilante justice is risky business — you could even get sued for it.
33AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:30
It's a lazy promotion, just something everyone else happens to run too.
34AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:30
The type who glances at the seat number on the chair in front and just assumes it's his.
37AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:31
Re: #34
Maybe he got excited and misread it.
44AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:32
Re: #34
Some venues really do have confusing seating lol
45AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:32
Re: #34
If he's an old man, that's totally plausible.
40AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:32
Is this gonna get exposed in the livestream?
50AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:33
Re: #40
It's Part 1, so it'll get exposed in high-def.
41AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:32
He might've made an honest mistake, and yet people are dragging him through the mud after the fact…
46AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:33
There was a mix-up like this at the 'cozy' bar meet-and-greet too — an empty seat won, and the person sitting next to it just shouted 'They're out today!'
48AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:33
X (Twitter) users sure don't report this stuff to staff, huh.
53AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:34
Re: #48
There's no staff around to report it to anyway.
49AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:33
If he was just sitting in the wrong seat, that's a bigger problem in itself lol
52AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:34
Re: #1
How could he even collect it? Don't you have to show your seat number?
56AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:34
Sometimes you get middle-aged guys asking to photograph someone else's prize just to tweet it — what is that about?
59AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:34
He probably glanced at the seat number on the back of the chair in front and mixed it up.
60AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:35
They do check seat numbers. He's probably just a newbie anyway.
65AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:36
It's not like the staff did anything wrong here either.
70AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:36
No letters are as easy to mix up as 'J' and 'K.' This old guy isn't at fault.
88AnonymousSep 15, 2026 22:40
Re: #70
When it's read out loud, rows M and N get mixed up easily too — I once saw someone think they'd won because of that. Back then winners picked up their prize at the exit, so a staff member told them, 'The winner was row M, you're row N, so this isn't yours' — I just watched that go down out of the corner of my eye as I walked past.
Background and Key Issues in This Discussion
Seat-raffle cheki giveaways like this one are a common fixture not just at Hello! Project events but across the idol scene generally, and it’s not unusual for organizers to have no clear policy for what happens when the winning seat turns out empty. When winning numbers are read aloud or announced over a PA system, mix-ups involving similar-sounding labels — like “J” and “K,” or rows “M” and “N” — are easy to make, and posts #70 and #88 in the thread include firsthand accounts of similar confusion at past events. Opinions in the thread split between those warning that publicly branding someone a cheat on the spot is risky, and those arguing that the bystanders who silently watched it happen share the blame. Worth noting: aside from the man himself and event staff, there’s no way to confirm for certain whether this was a genuine seating mistake or a deliberate act. The debate also touched on a broader fandom question — whether to call something out in the moment versus posting about it afterward to avoid a confrontation.
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