Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Kadonaka’s Retirement Game: Hawks Rally for 7th Straight Win as Yudai Yamamoto’s 3-Run Homer Seals It

    On October 2, the Pacific League game at Lotte’s home stadium against SoftBank was held as the retirement game for Lotte’s veteran outfielder Katsuya Kadonaka. The Hawks came back to win, 4-3 (M3-4H), stretching their winning streak to seven. In the 9th inning, pinch hitter Yudai Yamamoto hit his 6th home run of the season — a go-ahead 3-run shot — while Lotte closer Rikuto Yokoyama blew the save. On 5ch’s live-game thread, the home-plate umpire’s call during Kensuke Kondo’s 9th-inning at-bat, which set up the comeback, sparked controversy, and fans also compared the day’s events to other teams’ retirement ceremonies held the same day.

    SoftBank 　1 0 0　 0 0 0　 0 0 3｜4

    Lotte　　　　　0 0 0　 1 0 0　 0 2 X｜3

    [Battery]

    Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

    4AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:08
    Just witnessed a brutal blown call (5ch slang: "toilet umpire," for a terrible ump). And that's how they won.
    8AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Kind of sad that this is what he had to watch on his own retirement day.
    12AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Brutal.
    This is what you get on a retirement day?
    36AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:17
    Re: #12
    Orix's Hirano retirement game was way worse than this
    They gave up 6 runs in the first inning and the result was already decided
    By 6:30 PM
    it was just a matter of waiting for Hirano to come out
    14AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    Re: #10
    Kokubo's trash too for leaving Maeda in through the 8th when he wasn't even getting the win
    15AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    Hakata Hanamaru once said: "A lot of people nationwide dislike the Hawks, so I don't bring up the Hawks on national TV."

    A line from "Downtown's Bar-Hopping" a few years back

    If you've ever left Fukuoka, you'll understand this reality
    37AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:17
    Lotte's battery's pitch-calling was awful
    39AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:17
    This is what happens when you don't hold Kadonaka's and Karakawa's retirement games together
    They just embarrassed themselves lol
    40AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:17
    Imagine the Baystars trading away a catcher who can hit like that
    46AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:20
    Re: #3
    Yudai Yamamoto:
    "Did you see my go-ahead 3-run homer?!"
    49AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:22
    Kondo took a called strike three in the 9th
    There was no comeback

    The toilet-umpire is garbage
    50AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:23
    The umpire who turned Kondo's strikeout into a walk should not be forgiven
    51AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:24
    If they wanted to get Maeda Yu the win by leaving him in through the 8th, they should've let him finish the 8th properly
    52AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:26
    Yudai Yamamoto just got to the Pacific League, so he probably has no clue who Kadonaka even is
    57AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:35
    Toilet-umpire strikes again

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    This game served as the retirement ceremony for Lotte’s veteran outfielder Katsuya Kadonaka, taking place at a point when the Pacific League pennant race had already been decided in SoftBank’s favor. Against that backdrop, pinch hitter Yudai Yamamoto hit a go-ahead 3-run homer late in the game that decided the outcome. Where opinions split on the thread was the umpire’s call during Kensuke Kondo’s 9th-inning at-bat — fans disagreed over whether it should have been a strikeout or a walk. Since this kind of close call is hard to judge definitively from broadcast footage alone, this article only notes the fact that “the call sparked controversy” and withholds judgment on which side was right. It was also noted that Kadonaka wasn’t the only one retiring that day — his teammate, pitcher Yuki Karakawa, had his own retirement game too, and fans discussed how several teams held retirement ceremonies on the same day. The blown save by Lotte closer Rikuto Yokoyama could also affect how the bullpen is used down the stretch of the season.

    *This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Kadonaka’s Retirement Game] Pacific League M 3-4 H [10/2] Hawks Rally for 7th Straight Win! Yamamoto’s 6th Homer a Go-Ahead 3-Run Shot! Lotte’s Yokoyama Blows the Save.”

  • Nike’s June-August Revenue Falls 4%, Stock Plunges 7% — 5ch: ‘Well, What Did You Expect After Ditching the Brand?’

    Nike’s earnings report for the June-August 2026 quarter showed revenue down 4% year-over-year to $11.213 billion (about ¥1.7 trillion), with net income also down 2% to $712 million — both missing market expectations and sending shares down as much as 7% in after-hours trading. While there are signs of a rebound in North America, shrinking sales in Greater China dragged down overall performance. On 5ch, though, the thread cared less about the numbers than about gripes with Nike’s design choices and brand image, with plenty of comparisons to rivals like Asics, Mizuno, and Skechers — the comment that drew the most reactions was: “It sold because of the brand, and then they threw the brand away — well, of course.”

    [New York — Kenji Asada] Nike’s earnings report for the June-August 2026 quarter, released on the 1st, showed revenue down 4% year-over-year to $11.213 billion (about ¥1.7 trillion) and net income down 2% to $712 million. While there are signs of a rebound in the North American market, shrinking sales in Greater China weighed down overall results.

    Because revenue came in below prior market forecasts, Nike’s stock price fell as much as 7% in after-hours trading on the 1st compared with that day’s closing price.

    Nike has been working on its approach to consumers… (continues in the paid edition, 698 characters remaining)

    Source: nikkei.com / Original article here

    10AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:43
    Isn't this the reason?
    76AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:05
    Re: #10
    (;゚Д゚) that's genuinely rough… gross
    18AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:45
    I only wear Skechers slip-ons now.
    Low-cuts are fine, but boots are nothing but a hassle.
    78AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:06
    Re: #18
    I'm not picky about shoes, but out of everything I've worn, Skechers hold up the best, lol
    23AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:46
    Can't afford Nike or Adidas anymore.
    Might as well just wear steel-toe work boots at this point.
    54AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:56
    Re: #23
    It's not that they're unaffordable, I just think the logos and the try-hard designs look tacky.
    155AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:55
    Re: #23
    I wear Adidas safety shoes — ¥15,000.
    24AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:46
    There's been a 'Nike is embarrassing' vibe going around for a few years now.
    Their sneakers have been uncool for ages too.
    So many weirdly over-designed shoes that I never even pick one up when I'm in the store.
    28AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:47
    Re: #24
    Sorry, but I wear the Nike Pegasus Premium.
    147AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:47
    Re: #24
    Which Nike shoes have the 'try-hard' design exactly?
    Isn't the real problem that Nike doesn't have any bold designs anymore?
    Isn't it actually alarming that they're still cranking out Air Force 1s, Air Jordans, and Air Max in huge numbers to this day?
    25AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:46
    What era are we even in? Adidas is washed up too, right?
    Don't tell me it's Asics now?
    52AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:54
    Re: #25
    I'd guess On (the Swiss running brand).
    62AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:01
    Re: #52
    The sole looks awful, but is it actually trending?

    If that's the bar, PREMIATA is way better.
    66AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:02
    Re: #52
    Total garbage.
    Pretty much just a product of ad spend.
    29AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:48
    Asics gets a lot of respect overseas.
    60AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:00
    Re: #29
    Really?
    I wear Asics a lot too, plus Adidas as a safe pick.
    Saucony got a cheap reputation from being sold at ABC-Mart (Japan's discount shoe chain), but I kind of like them too.
    32AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:48
    Why not just push Onitsuka Tiger again?
    40AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:50
    Re: #32
    Or better yet, put 'Asahi Shoes' (a long-running Japanese footwear brand) front and center.
    34AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:49
    They give you blisters — just not wearable for Japanese feet.
    38AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:50
    Re: #34
    The Pegasus Premium is actually really comfortable,

    and the new Air Max models have gotten comfier too.
    56AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:57
    At this point us middle-aged guys might as well just shop at Workman (Japan's cheap workwear chain).
    58AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:59
    Re: #56
    Being a middle-aged guy myself, I've got my eye on the Asahi Cougar, but it's hardly ever in stock.
    63AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:02
    It sold because of the brand, and then they threw the brand away — well, of course.
    65AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:02
    Re: #63
    Isn't Nike not really a 'brand' anymore though?
    67AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:03
    If it's for resale/speculation, they really need to sort out that sole hydrolysis problem.
    69AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:03
    Re: #67
    People normally just wear them into the ground, lol
    85AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:08
    Nike, Adidas, and Puma are the big three.
    Asics is unfortunately a nobody on the world stage.
    Its pride only survives because Chinese makers haven't overtaken it yet.
    103AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:14
    Re: #85
    Nike and Puma are both washed up though.

    Adidas and Onitsuka Tiger are the ones actually growing.
    204AnonymousOct 2, 2026 22:44
    Re: #85
    What era are you even talking about?
    Puma's a total has-been now — its market cap and earnings are both way below Asics these days.
    90AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:09
    Sportswear got so expensive I can't afford it anymore.
    Uniqlo's the only option now.
    121AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:26
    Re: #90
    Sportswear basically always gets dumped at clearance prices once the season's over.
    Sometimes the tags are even cut off, but 90% off on Amazon isn't rare.
    You can grab stuff from ¥1,000 at Alpen or Xebio if you time a sale right, so buying Uniqlo instead is just throwing money away.
    Just like how HeatTech is considered terrible for actual sports use, you should leave specialty gear to the specialists.
    112AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:22
    Bought Mizuno and it was way better than I expected.
    The design is understated, and the big plus is nobody can tell what brand it is.
    117AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:24
    Re: #112
    Mizuno's good, right?
    135AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:35
    Premium sneakers, Kochikame (the long-running manga)
    Nike Air Max 95, a full-blown social phenomenon


    s://i.imgur.com/2LIids3.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/bBSW7d0.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/8HkfScV.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/xvXCjuV.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/LOmjQ1N.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/rOCLO9Q.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/lNLPTCg.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/5z00NJk.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/HdflRAS.jpeg
    s://i.imgur.com/kOQXEmE.jpeg
    140AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:41
    School-mandated shoes
    Moonstar (Tsukihoshi Kasei)
    Jaguar Σ 01 (1980)
    144AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:43
    Re: #140
    I'd want this one in black or navy.
    142AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:43

    Logo mark: the Nike Swoosh (since 1971)
    The swoosh design is based on the spread wings of Nike,
    the Greek goddess of victory — the brand name itself was taken from 'Nike' too.
    160AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:02
    Seiko Matsuda, Moonstar (Tsukihoshi)
    162AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:05
    Mizuno's M-Line series (1980-1986)


    *From 1986 the logo switched to the Runbird mark (a running bird).

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Nike’s fiscal Q1 (June-August) 2026 results showed revenue down 4% year-over-year to $11.2 billion and net income down 2% to $712 million, missing market expectations and triggering a sharp stock drop in after-hours trading. While North America shows signs of recovery, shrinking sales in Greater China dragged down overall performance — suggesting this is less a one-off slump than a structural shift in a key market. Reactions in the thread focused less on the figures themselves than on years of pent-up frustration with Nike’s product and brand strategy, rallying around lines like “it sold because of the brand, and then they threw the brand away” and “the designs are trying way too hard.” A post calling Nike an “antisocial-linked company” was left out of the main article as an unsubstantiated claim. One thing readers should be careful not to conflate: the thread’s energy is directed mostly at personal taste and talk of switching to rival brands (Asics, Mizuno, Skechers, etc.) within Japan, rather than at the actual core issue behind the earnings miss — shrinking demand in the Chinese market.

    *This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Earnings] Nike’s June-August Revenue Down 4%, Stock Briefly Falls 7% — Profit Decline Shows No Sign of Stopping.”

  • Former Child Star ‘Main-chan’ Marries Soccer Player Kubo

    A thread reporting the marriage of an actress affectionately nicknamed “Main-chan” during her child-actor days popped up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board and pulled in 41 replies. Her husband is soccer player Kubo, and topics like her own age — 28 — and her husband’s height of over 170cm quickly became hot talking points. Long-time fans’ congratulations stood out in the thread, but there were also plenty of jabs at the new husband and tangents name-dropping past co-stars and colleagues, making for a thread that mixed celebration with teasing.

    10AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:09
    Isn't she the one who looks like NKSK?
    18AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Re: #10
    Comparing her to Booska is way too disrespectful to Main-chan (Booska being the old tokusatsu monster mascot).
    12AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:09
    If you don't get married on momentum, taking a beat makes it fall apart.
    Marriage runs on momentum.
    15AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:09
    More importantly — she's 28 now…?
    17AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Quietly moving to Spain, just like Mano-chan did? (echoing former idol Mano Erina, who relocated there after marrying a soccer player)
    19AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Even I, a casual soccer fan, know who Kubo is —
    she landed herself a good player.
    20AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Both on the short side, huh — but surely Kubo's taller than Main-chan?
    45AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Re: #20
    Kubo's over 170cm.
    22AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Oh, so it's Kubo-san with Main-chan —
    for a second I thought it might be Airi, and that made me sad, so never mind.
    23AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    https://static.sanyonews.jp/image/article/size1/d/8/5/f/d85fe5c794708f9b95950c9a3ea68cc8_1.jpg
    27AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    Wait, she's the same age as Yamagishi Riko!

    Which means…?!
    37AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    Every day when he gets home, it's Main-chan Cooking (a nod to her old TV cooking segment).
    41AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Huh, so these two were dating? Was there a rumor about it?
    42AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Never even heard of this actress.
    50AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Re: #42
    Then why'd you even open the thread, lol
    58AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:14
    You can practically hear the Main-chan fanboys screaming, lol
    91AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    Re: #58
    She's still got fans?
    59AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:15
    73AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:16
    I've still got Sakurada Hiyori.
    82AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:18
    Re: #73
    She's with Ken-On, so that's a little sus (that agency always has rumors swirling).
    108AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:21
    Re: #73
    I kind of feel like Meguro Ren, who co-starred with her in a commercial, would be a better match.
    93AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    Kitaoka Karin-chan's former colleague
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXlb_zWUMAEY_MQ.jpg
    95AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:20
    Yeah, she's been popping up in a lot of dramas lately.
    99AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:21
    Re: #95
    She's an Asadora actress, you know (NHK's flagship morning drama slot).
    102AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:21
    https://cdn-ak.f.st-hatena.com/images/fotolife/c/cocomo888/20190809/20190809070148.jpg
    110AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:22
    These three are still at the same agency
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GKTScaUbgAACq9R.jpg

    Background and Talking Points

    5ch’s “Hello! Project board” is nominally meant for talk about idols from the Hello! Project franchise, but discussion of female celebrities in general tends to spill into it, which is why this marriage report about a former child actress drew so much attention there. Opinions in the thread split over how to judge her new husband, the soccer player: some posts praised him with lines like “she landed a good player,” while others teased that “she could have aimed higher.” Speculation about the couple’s height and age piled up reply after reply, with some posters stating things as settled fact that the couple themselves never actually confirmed — a reminder that not everything in the thread has been verified. Replies containing discriminatory language or insults aimed at the bride or her husband have been excluded from this article.

    ※This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Main-chan Is Getting Married LOLOLOLOL.”

  • Ramen Chain Sugakiya Buys Burger Chain Domdom — 5ch Asks: ‘So the Day We Eat With a Spork Has Arrived?’

    Sugakiko Systems, which operates the Nagoya-based ramen chain Sugakiya, announced on October 2, 2026 that it has made Domdom Hamburger — said to be Japan’s first hamburger chain — a subsidiary. The company raised its equity stake to over 50%, though the acquisition price was not disclosed, and Domdom will keep its name and continue to be run by President Shinobu Fujisaki. On 5ch’s Breaking News+ board, posters discussed the contrast between Sugakiya’s stores being heavily concentrated in the Tokai region while Domdom has only a handful of locations even in greater Tokyo, along with their fondness for Domdom’s quirky menu items like the crab burger and the shungiku (edible chrysanthemum greens) burger — mixing surprise and anticipation over the pairing of the two chains.

    Sugakiko Systems (Nagoya), which operates the ramen chain Sugakiya, announced on the 2nd that it has made Domdom Food Service (Tokyo), operator of “Domdom Hamburger,” a subsidiary. It acquired additional shares, raising its equity stake to over 50%. The acquisition price was not disclosed. The move is meant to speed up the sharing of store-operation know-how between the two companies and strengthen their business foundations.

    Domdom Hamburger is said to be Japan’s first hamburger chain. Even after becoming a subsidiary, Domdom will keep its company name, and President Shinobu Fujisaki will continue to lead its management. Sugakiko Systems reportedly had already taken a partial stake in Domdom Food Service back in December last year.

    Sankei Shimbun, October 2, 2026, 18:32

    Source: sankei.com / Original article here

    17AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:26
    Still standing in Oizumi Gakuen
    95AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:44
    Re: #17
    Oizumi Gakuen — isn't that Uga-chan's hometown? (TV announcer Natsumi Uga)
    115AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:52
    Re: #17
    Sounds like Oizumi Ryokuchi (a park down in Osaka) — did one of them rip off the other's name?
    18AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:26
    Kanagawa doesn't have Sugakiya or Domdom, but I wonder if Domdom will show up now. I've only ever eaten it at the place by Hanayashiki.
    86AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:42
    Re: #18
    Both are here, actually — though the Sugakiya just opened in October.
    107AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:48
    Re: #18
    There's one in Kanazawa-Hakkei. The Mitsukyo and Kamimizo locations closed though.
    22AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:27
    "Whole Crab Burger!! Sweet Chili Sauce Flavor"

    That's the kind of crazy stuff only Domdom does.
    81AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:42
    Re: #22
    That's still within normal range — come back after you've had the shungiku (chrysanthemum greens) burger.
    37AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:32
    Wait, didn't they turn a profit after swapping in that lady they poached from some fancy restaurant as president?
    70AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:39
    Re: #37
    The president and the company name stay the same.
    72AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:40
    Re: #37
    From Wikipedia:
    "The equity stake isn't disclosed, but the largest shareholder is President Fujisaki herself.[15]"
    https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOCC164DH0W6A110C2000000/

    Apparently so.
    39AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:33
    Gaia: "Mash! Ortega! Let's hit him with the Jet Stream Attack!!" (a line from the Black Tri-Stars in Mobile Suit Gundam)
    50AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:36
    Re: #39
    Since it's Domdom, this must be the GQuuuuuuX version lol (a reference to the Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime)
    44AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:34
    Hope Domdom's charm doesn't get erased.
    60AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:38
    Re: #44
    Domdom employee: "Huh, what do you mean?"
    71AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:40
    Could an anmitsu burger be next? Or a cream burger, maybe?
    122AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:56
    Re: #71
    Like putting Sugakiya soft-serve on top of Domdom's karinto manju (fried-dough sweet bun)?
    82AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:42
    Never had one, but I really want this

    96AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:45
    Domdom is a Japanese company — these days it's basically just Mos Burger and Domdom left. Gotta root for them.
    105AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:47
    Re: #96
    What about First Kitchen and Freshness Burger?
    97AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:46
    Re: #91
    There's a collab with FLABOIS, and Mamiko (the Domdom mascot) is in on it too
    https://domdomhamburger.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SNS01.jpg

    https://domdomhamburger.com/topics/7642.html

    Who's actually buying the collab clothes, though?
    110AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:50
    Re: #1
    Forget some minor chain like that — if you're going to do it, buy McDonald's or Burger King.
    113AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:51
    Re: #110
    McDonald's: "No thanks."
    Burger King: "We're doing just fine without Sugakiya buying us, thanks."
    111AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:50
    Sugakiya, don't come to Kanto — you're worse than instant cup noodles.
    114AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:51
    Re: #111
    Too bad — they already opened ones in Nagatsuta and Honatsugi.
    123AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:56
    So the only Domdom that's survived in Tokyo since the old days is the one inside the Maruetsu in Oizumi Gakuen, lol. You guys really never go to Domdom, huh lol.
    125AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:57
    That karinto manju shop — I've never had anything better anywhere else.
    134AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:02
    Re: #125
    Yeah, Domdom's karinto manju really is weirdly good — it's on a level that beats what you get at an actual Japanese sweets shop.
    133AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:01
    Will it turn into a "Suga Suga Burger"? (playful wordplay riffing on Sugakiya's name)
    135AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:02
    Re: #133
    Nope, it'll just stay "Domdom." There's already a Domdom store open in Osu, Nagoya.
    138AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:03
    Re: #135
    No way — guess I'll have to check it out sometime.
    137AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:03
    This kind of thing is great

    142AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:06
    Never thought I'd see the day you could eat a Domdom burger with a spork (the split spoon-fork hybrid famously used at Sugakiya).
    144AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:07
    Re: #142
    Don't eat the spork itself lol
    178AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:26
    Doesn't Sugakiya itself barely have any stores? 🥺
    181AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:28
    Re: #178
    There's a ton of 'em in Aichi, y'know ("dera" is Nagoya dialect for "really/a lot").
    182AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:28
    Re: #178
    They're everywhere in the Tokai region — there's even one inside Ghibli Park's Morikoro Park.
    192AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:35
    Re: #178
    Among ramen chains, Sugakiya actually has a fairly large number of stores — they're just heavily concentrated in Tokai, especially Nagoya.

    Aside from Ohsho and Ringer Hut, the top chain Hidakaya leans so heavily on Kanto that people from Kansai barely know it. Ramen chains in general tend to be intensely regional like that.
    195AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:36
    Domzou (the Domdom mascot) looks kind of sad
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HTnZqLGbEAAHaww.jpg

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    Domdom Hamburger is regarded as Japan’s first hamburger chain, but it has shrunk dramatically from its peak, and today only a handful of locations remain even in greater Tokyo, such as the Oizumi Gakuen store. Reactions in the thread were split: some posters said Sugakiya should have gone after McDonald’s or Burger King instead, while many others voiced real affection for Domdom’s quirky offerings like the crab burger, the shungiku burger, and its karinto manju. Sugakiya itself is also a chain whose stores are concentrated in Aichi and the Tokai region, with still few locations in Kanto — the fact that neither company is a nationwide household name fueled comments like “I’ve never even seen a Sugakiya store.” The plan is to keep Domdom’s name and have President Shinobu Fujisaki continue running it after the acquisition, so how much of Domdom’s distinctive character survives will be worth watching.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “[Breaking] Sugakiya🍜 Acquires Domdom Hamburger🐘.”

  • Shot Put Hits Student in the Head, Fractures Skull: 7th-Grade Girl Seriously Injured During Club Activities in Kasugai, Aichi

    On September 30 at a public junior high school in Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture, a female student (12) from the handball club entered the track and field club’s shot put practice area to retrieve a ball, and was struck in the head by a 4-5 kg shot put thrown by a male student, suffering a serious injury that fractured her skull. The student is hospitalized but able to talk, and the school has set up an investigative committee to look into the cause of the accident. In threads on 5ch, many users pointed out that similar throwing-event accidents have happened repeatedly in the past, while opinions split between those blaming the carelessness of the student who wandered into the practice area and those questioning the school’s responsibility for failing to secure a safe practice environment.

    10/2 (Fri) 20:06

    The Kasugai City Board of Education in Aichi Prefecture announced on the 2nd that a first-year female junior high school student (12) suffered a serious injury, fracturing her skull, after being struck in the head by a shot put during club activities at a city junior high school in late September. The student was taken to the hospital and remains hospitalized, but is reportedly able to speak. The school has set up an investigative committee to look into the cause of the accident.

    According to the board of education, at around 4:30 p.m. on September 30, a female student from the handball club entered the track and field club’s shot put practice area on the school grounds to retrieve a ball that had rolled in, and was struck in the head by an iron shot put weighing roughly 4 to 5 kg, thrown by a male student. The school reported the accident to the Kasugai Police Station on October 1.

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

    3AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    The boy who threw it is probably traumatized for life at this point.
    5AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    Sounds like a freak accident, but honestly you hear about this kind of thing happening all the time.
    6AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    If he'd just been in the 'go-home club' (i.e., no club at all), nobody would've gotten hurt.
    7AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    Getting hit by a shot put, getting impaled by a javelin — stuff like this happens on a regular basis.
    8AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    Every single year some shot put or javelin
    ends up hitting a student.

    That's just way too stupid at this point.
    It's entirely on the school.
    10AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    How does it even hit someone?
    Something's seriously messed up here.
    11AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    Bystanders getting seriously hurt by throwing events — classic club-activity accident.
    12AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    The brain's basically like clay, so it's fine even if the shape changes a little.
    15AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:15
    That's terrifying.
    The club advisor's probably getting fired over this.
    23AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    Everyone knew the practice was going on — someone should've shouted a warning.
    24AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    Does this kind of injury usually leave lasting disabilities?
    26AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    If there'd already been a few near-misses before this, that's a major sin on the school's part.
    27AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    The writing in this article is terrible.
    Did an elementary schooler write it?
    29AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    Accidents like this happen every few years.
    Doing shot put or hammer throw on a regular schoolyard is just too dangerous.
    32AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:22
    A shot put grazed my temple back in PE class too — I got lucky it didn't hit me square on.
    33AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:24
    There's really no need for clubs to even do the shot put, is there? (´・ω・`)
    36AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:26
    Re: #33
    Yeah, throwing a shot put around
    doesn't exactly contribute to
    the healthy development of young people.
    35AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:25
    Normally that would've killed her.
    She basically survived only because it was a scrawny middle schooler's weak throw.
    38AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:28
    Compensation's gonna be like 30 million yen.
    57AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:39
    Re: #38
    > A female handball club student entered the track team's shot put practice area on the school grounds to retrieve a ball that had rolled in

    Way too careless on her part.
    39AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:28
    A Western lariat would do more damage, honestly. (a pro-wrestling clothesline move)
    46AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:34
    Shot put, discus, javelin—
    winning a medal for throwing stuff around is pretty pointless, isn't it?

    Go do something more worthwhile.
    65AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:42
    Re: #46
    LOL, all you do is throw it.
    Can't even aim it at a target.
    Kind of disrespectful to baseball, honestly.
    52AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:37
    Track and field has way too many events that are hard to even wrap your head around, like shot put or pole vault.
    Why can't it just be running, hurdles, and long jump?
    62AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:41
    Re: #52
    Javelin too.
    Probably a holdover from hunting, huh?
    55AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:38
    Rare case where the victim's actually the one at fault.
    This isn't really about the shot put specifically—
    same thing could've happened with a soccer shot
    or getting hit by a softball swing.
    63AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:42
    Re: #55
    Nah,
    the school's also seriously at fault for not securing a safe area.
    69AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:44
    Javelin and shot put are sports for barbarians.
    82AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:51
    Re: #69
    Funny how that comment's getting upvoted lol
    74AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:46
    Again? I think last time it was a boy who got hit. If these accidents don't stop, they'll have no choice but to ban it lol
    What's even fun about throwing an iron ball around in the first place?
    78AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:48
    Re: #74
    They're idiots, so they get obsessed with throwing a pointless iron ball lol
    89AnonymousOct 2, 2026 22:02
    There was that incident — more like a scandal, really — where a kid fooling around threw an umbrella in the classroom and it stabbed another student in the eye.
    91AnonymousOct 2, 2026 22:04
    Re: #89
    Looking back, it's terrifying how many things we did as kids that could've easily turned into major accidents—
    doing a Skylab Hurricane by the poolside, or a brainbuster on a gym mat. (pro-wrestling moves)

    Background and Points of Debate

    Throwing events like shot put and hammer throw are often held in a limited corner of the schoolyard, and accidents in which students from other clubs wander into the practice area during club activities have occurred at schools around the country before. In this case, the accident happened when a female student entered the track and field club’s practice area to retrieve a ball from her own club, and opinions in the thread were split between those pointing to the fault of the student for entering a dangerous area, and those questioning the school’s management responsibility for failing to safely isolate the throwing area. Including whether charges such as professional negligence resulting in injury will be filed, where responsibility for the accident ultimately lies will depend on the prefectural police’s ongoing investigation, and at this point it remains unclear whether the school or the student bears greater fault.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuho+) thread “Shot Put Hits Student in the Head, Fractures Skull: 7th-Grade Girl Seriously Injured During Club Activities in Kasugai, Aichi”.

  • Kinnikuman: Muscle Tag Match Returns in the Reiwa Era — Coming to Smartphones

    Bandai Namco Entertainment has announced that it’s reviving “Kinnikuman: Muscle Tag Match” — the head-to-head action game originally released for the Famicom in 1985 — as a pay-once smartphone title this fall 2026. Running alongside the release is the “Kinnikuman Choujin General Election 2026,” where the top-ranked Choujin (the superhuman characters of the series) will earn a spot in the game, with a planned roster of over 50 Choujin in total. Over on 5ch’s Geinou/Sports News+ board, the thread lit up with nostalgia over the original game’s quirks and arguments over the strongest characters, alongside skepticism about the smartphone-exclusive release model — and at points, the conversation drifted into complaints about the current state of the anime industry.

    Bandai Namco Entertainment has decided that it will release the smartphone action game “Kinnikuman: Muscle Tag Match — Reiwa Revival Chapter” this fall 2026,

    distributing it digitally.

    Alongside this, the “Kinnikuman Choujin General Election 2026” will be held, and the Choujin who place highest will be granted the right to appear in the game.

    Source: gamespark.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:32
    Guess all they've got left to lean on is the content's golden age — the '80s through 2005 (lol)
    4AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:35
    Re: #2 That's exactly how pathetic modern anime has become. Anime that can't even spark a social phenomenon these days is garbage.
    3AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:35
    I loved the Disk System game, Kinnikuman: Kinniku Star Throne Wars.
    59AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:00
    Re: #3 If you play it straight, Warsman is the strongest — he can wreck even super-tough bosses like Mammothman and Omegaman without taking a single hit.
    7AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:37
    Back in the day, if you couldn't land the low dropkick 100% of the time, you were basically out of the running.
    8AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:37
    Re: #4 There just aren't many kids around anymore.
    15AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:40
    Re: #8 That's just an excuse. Whenever an isekai/"Naro-kei" show (series adapted from the self-publishing site Shosetsuka ni Naro, usually reincarnation/fantasy stories) becomes a hit, everyone copies it and suddenly it's isekai everywhere. Whenever a cute-girl show hits, same story. There's basically no anime left these days that shows real originality instead of just copying whatever's popular. Pretty pathetic.
    37AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:51
    Re: #15 Who cares about niche anime like that.
    10AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:38
    Brocken's banned, by the way.
    46AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:55
    Re: #10 Fine, Warsman it is then.
    93AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:19
    Re: #10 Brocken's actually weak, though.
    11AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:38
    A one-time purchase on smartphone works for me, but how long are they actually going to keep it updated for new OS versions?
    12AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:38
    I vaguely remember a character who threw something like a croquette. What was that thing?
    67AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:03
    Re: #12 Where I'm from, we called it wasabi.
    14AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:39
    Whenever you grabbed the power-up orb, it was always Ramenman, Warsman, or Buffaloman going on a rampage.
    17AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:41
    Machirito (the nickname for legendary Shonen Jump editor Kazuhiko Torishima) said this one was a masterpiece.
    20AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:42
    There was a Kinnikuman game on MSX too, right? The one where the crowd cheers every single time you land a hit.
    22AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:42
    Oh, so you can battle via Bluetooth? Wonder if the controls actually work well on a phone screen.
    23AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:42
    Honestly, this game's pretty boring — win too many matches in a row and you can't even progress to the next stage.
    25AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:43
    Poison gas attacks are obviously a no-go, so who's going to end up being the strongest character?
    26AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:43
    Is Brocken Man's "Nazi Gas" attack even going to make it into this? (Brocken Man's original design and move set lean heavily on Nazi imagery.)
    27AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:44
    Oh, there are new characters? Now I really want to play this.
    28AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:44
    Call me cynical, but going smartphone-exclusive feels like they're just cashing in one last time on nostalgic old guys who don't even own a game console anymore.
    29AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:45
    Since the popularity poll doubles as the vote for who gets into the game, I agonized over it so much I gave up trying to be strategic and just voted for my 3 favorite Choujin.
    30AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:46
    For 1000 yen, I'm definitely buying this (48 years old).
    31AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:47
    On the topic of Kinnikuman games — "Muscle Grand Prix," the arcade/PS2 fighting game from around 2008, was a genuinely great one, overflowing with love for the source material. It was also fun that the character callouts were done by Lenne Hart, the rolling-R narrator famous from PRIDE. "Rrrrrobin! Maaaaaaask!"
    32AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:47
    Early on, there was a theory that Brocken Jr. was the strongest, but after grinding through it, the consensus became that Terryman and Ramenman were the top two (with Brocken right behind).
    49AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:57
    Re: #32 Brocken Jr. isn't even in this game, so that theory doesn't help much.
    34AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:50
    Wait, it's only 1000 yen? I was bracing myself for something like 2000.
    35AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:50
    I voted for Satan, Soldier, and Leopard.
    39AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:51
    The Stray Devils duo is better than Sunshine going solo, right?
    40AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:52
    Characters whose finishers require getting behind the opponent tend to be weak, so Phoenix and General will probably end up underpowered. Neptune and characters like him will probably be strong, though.
    42AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:53
    Landing Warsman's Bear Claw felt so satisfying that I remember using him constantly.
    57AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:00
    Back when I was playing the Throne Wars game, my character suddenly turned into King the 100-Ton out of nowhere. It must've been some kind of hidden trick, but it only ever happened to me once, and I had no idea why. Looked it up since, and yeah — turns out it really was a secret code.
    94AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:21
    Re: #57 Thing is, that trick actually costs you a character and doesn't carry over to stage 2, so it's kind of a pain to actually use.
    79AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    I'm curious to see how they handle the poison gas attacks (´・ω・｀)
    81AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Re: #79 Just call it "poison mist" instead and move on.
    95AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:22
    Isn't this just a trash game where Warsman is broken and nobody else matters?
    97AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:23
    Re: #95 The consensus is that Terryman is the strongest.

    Background and talking points

    “Muscle Tag Match” was originally released by Takara for the Famicom in 1985; this new Reiwa-era revival will be distributed by Bandai Namco as a pay-once smartphone title. A key feature is that it’s tied in with the “Choujin General Election 2026,” which doubles as a vote for who gets to appear in the game — the thread featured plenty of agonizing over ballot choices and anticipation for newly added Choujin. The discussion also branched out into debates over the original Famicom version’s mechanics; arguments over things like the hit rate on the low dropkick, and the “strongest character” debates centering on Warsman, Terryman, and Ramenman, are all rooted in glitches and strategy info from back when the original game came out. Worth noting: “Kinniku Star Throne Wars” is a separate Disk System game based on the same Kinnikuman source material — not the same title as Muscle Tag Match — so some of the nostalgia shared in the thread actually mixes up two different games.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Game] ‘Kinnikuman: Muscle Tag Match’ Revives in the Reiwa Era as a Pay-Once Smartphone Release! Originally an ’85 Famicom Game, Over 50 Choujin Planned to Appear.”

  • Asian Games Soccer Final: Japan vs. South Korea Tickets Top 36,000 — Could Hit 40,000 on Game Day?

    It has emerged that more than 36,000 tickets have already been issued for the Aichi Asian Games men’s soccer final — a clash between Japan’s U-21 squad and South Korea’s U-23 squad — set for October 3 at Toyota Stadium in Aichi. With the match falling on a Saturday and carrying the extra weight of a Japan-Korea showdown, organizers expect attendance to approach 40,000 including day-of sales, making it the single biggest draw of the entire Games. The two sides go in dead even, having split their last two meetings — one win apiece in February’s U-23 Asian Cup and a March friendly. Online discussion ranged widely, touching on confusion over the mismatched age brackets, the attendance gap with other sports, and worries about pitch conditions.

    It was revealed on the 2nd that more than 36,000 tickets have already been issued for the Aichi/Nagoya Asian Games final pitting Japan’s U-21 team against South Korea’s U-23 team.

    The match takes place on the 3rd at Toyota Stadium in Aichi. With it falling on a Saturday and being a high-profile Japan-Korea matchup, large numbers of fans and supporters are expected to turn out. Including walk-up sales on the day, attendance is projected to reach close to 40,000 — the largest crowd of this year’s Games.

    Japan’s U-21 team and South Korea’s U-23 team met in February’s U-23 Asian Cup and a March friendly, splitting the two games one win apiece.

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:21
    Because watching Osaka night-view video channels on YouTube beats watching Peace-kun from Omiya Park (the swan mascot of Saitama's Omiya Park zoo, livestreamed online) any day.
    4AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:22
    Meanwhile, the women's soccer team…
    5AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:24
    Re: #4
    The winning team in women's soccer gets to enter the national junior-high boys' tournament unseeded (a dig at the gap in skill level).
    6AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:24
    Re: #1

    ⚽ Japan National Team Soccer Schedule 📺

    Aichi Asian Games Men's Soccer Final
    10/3 (Sat) 19:30~
    Japan vs South Korea
    Toyota Stadium
    📺 TBS network

    Kirin Cup Final
    10/5 (Mon) 19:30~
    Japan vs New Zealand 🇳🇿
    National Stadium
    📺 TV Asahi network

    Mizuho Bank Challenge
    11/14 (Sat) 19:15~
    Japan vs Brazil 🇧🇷
    📺 TV Asahi network

    Mizuho Bank Challenge
    11/17 (Tue) 22:10~
    Japan vs Paraguay 🇵🇾
    📺 Nippon TV network


    8AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:24
    Re: #1
    So you're saying this is outselling that ultra-minor-league 'World' event?
    9AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:25
    If they draw 36,000, that's 36 times the women's attendance.
    10AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:28
    I checked and all that was left were wheelchair seats — am I missing something? I'd go if I could actually get a regular seat.
    11AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:28
    How'd the baseball ("yakyuu" — a mocking nickname fans use for the sport) final go? Something like 6,000, wasn't it?
    13AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:30
    This is exactly why they can never cut soccer from the Olympics.
    14AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:30
    The one success story in an Asian Games full of failures, huh.
    16AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:31
    I think it'll top 50,000.
    82AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:04
    Re: #16
    Capacity's only a bit over 40,000, so…
    18AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:32
    When's baseball even happening? They haven't played a single game.
    19AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:32
    So Japan's fielding U-21 while Korea's got U-23? Our neighbors are probably winning this one easily. Losing to younger guys would be a pride thing they just can't allow, lol.
    26AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:38
    Re: #19
    Why even set up a matchup like this? Is it supposed to be a handicap match?
    49AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:01
    Re: #19
    Apparently Korea's got solid over-age (OA) players stacked in their squad too.
    21AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:34
    What about transportation? There's no parking lot spectators are allowed to use. Is the road from the station going to be jammed with pedestrians again, backing up traffic across Route 248?
    22AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:37
    Nah, they're playing for completely different stakes — there's just no way we win.
    23AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:37
    Isn't baseball ("yakyuu") starting yet? They haven't played anything at all.
    24AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:38
    This looks like it'll be more fun to watch than yesterday's senior national team match.
    25AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:38
    Korea's the overwhelming favorite, but I'm still looking forward to it — hope we land at least one blow.
    28AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:40
    They're the stronger side, so we'll probably lose.
    32AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:43
    Re: #26
    For Japan, this is the ideal opponent to help develop the LA Olympics generation. For Korea, it's the ideal opponent because winning means every player gets exempted from military service.

    Talk about a win-win.
    43AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:54
    Re: #32
    Korea's level of desperation is just different, isn't it. Just hope Japan doesn't come away injured from some reckless studs-up tackle born out of misplaced intensity.
    39AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:50
    Wait, even with all the top athletes, track and field draws fewer fans than an under-23 soccer match?
    44AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:55
    Re: #39
    Track meets normally pull under 10,000 anyway, so that's just par for the course.
    46AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:57
    Baseball's got softball and everything else going on too, and none of it even gets broadcast — totally washed up.
    51AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:03
    Re: #46
    Guess softball really is part of the 'tax-leeching ball' family too then, lol (a dig implying the sport drains public funding for little payoff).
    47AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:59
    Wait, is Nadeshiko (the women's national team) not playing right now? Who even cares about volleyball.
    66AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:17
    Re: #47
    It's streaming live on U-NEXT, that's how I'm watching it.
    70AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:23
    Re: #1

    Aichi Asian Games

    TBS: "Thank you — thanks to the under-21 national soccer team, our ratings went up 😭"

    lolololol
    73AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:25
    Yesterday's pitch at Yokohama Kokusai was rough too, but it rained non-stop across the Kanto region all through September — the turf's probably in bad shape everywhere. Wonder what the weather's been like in Nagoya.
    80AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:52
    Re: #73
    I'd guess Toyota Stadium's pitch is in even worse condition — this'll be the 10th match in 17 days, and the Tokai region's had near-constant rain as well.

    Background and Talking Points

    Attendance at the Aichi Asian Games varies hugely by sport — track and field events, for instance, routinely draw fewer than 10,000 spectators. Against that backdrop, soccer’s drawing power stands out as exceptional. The age-bracket mismatch that drew questions in the thread — Japan fielding a U-21 squad against South Korea’s U-23 squad — stems from differences in each country’s development policy and each tournament’s eligibility rules, rather than any deliberate handicap. For South Korea, there’s an added incentive: players on a winning squad are exempted from mandatory military service, which is often cited as a reason for their greater intensity on the pitch. The two teams enter the final on even terms, having split their two meetings this year — one win apiece in February’s U-23 Asian Cup and a March friendly. Separately, though left out of the main article, some posts in the thread included derogatory remarks about nationality; readers should keep in mind that a Japan-Korea matchup is a topic prone to running hot.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuhou+) thread “[Soccer] Asian Games Men’s Soccer Japan-Korea Final: 36,000 Tickets Issued — Could Exceed 40,000 on Game Day, Toyota Stadium.”

  • Juice=Juice Tipped for a Japan Record Award Nod — 5ch: ‘Moreemi Sticks in Your Head’

    A thread titled “Juice=Juice will be nominated for the Japan Record Award” went up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. The reasoning given was that Up-Front (UFA) reportedly lobbied to help establish “record performance and transmission rights” — something the Japan Association of Music Enterprises (Ongeikyo) had wanted for years — tied together with the hit single “Moreru! Mi Amore.” The thread split over whether the song actually falls within the eligibility window (October 21 of the previous year through October 20 of the current year), and over whether sponsorship money can sway the award race. Some also pointed out that the last Hello! Project nomination was Čute, back in 2008.

    1AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:01
    @hnR5uTVhIPxqs2v
    My guess is Juice=Juice gets nominated for the Record Award this year. Not just because "Moreru! Mi Amore" was a hit — Up-Front reportedly lobbied politicians to get "record performance and transmission rights" established, something Ongeikyo had wanted for ages. Ongeikyo has a lot of sway over the Record Awards, you know.
    2AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:01
    What even is this "record performance and transmission rights" thing?
    6AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:08
    Re: #1
    Re: #2
    This is from ◆fveg1grntk, who's been spamming threads all day since 4am on the "Wolf" board, posting under IDs that never start with 0 [Chugoku Electric Power – %], running the affiliate blog "Čute-ha Nan-day." If you all keep posting, he won't have to reply to himself just to bump the thread for his recap — so please keep the posts coming. And please go visit Čute-ha Nan-day to help him rack up ad revenue (said sarcastically, calling out the spammer).
    4AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:05
    Yeah, you can definitely feel Up-Front's standing rising lately.
    5AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:07
    Honestly there's barely any good songs this year, so Moreemi might just barely sneak in.
    7AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:08
    Does anyone even care about the Record Awards anymore? And it's just a nomination, too.
    9AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:09
    Re: #7
    It's a Grand Prize nomination, right?
    That means they'd get to be at the venue.
    12AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:13
    Pretty sure the Record Awards have a rule that the song has to be released within a set window.
    15AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:16
    Re: #12
    That's what the EP is for.
    13AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:15
    Songs eligible for the Japan Record Award are, in principle, those released between "October 21 of the previous year and October 20 of the current year."

    Juice=Juice, "Moreru! Mi Amore"
    Released October 8, 2025 as part of the single "Shikano Yui Iwazu Satto Wakarete Ageta / Moreru! Mi Amore"

    It's outside the eligibility window.
    17AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:16
    Re: #13
    That's what the MORE EP is for.
    14AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:15
    They didn't win Best New Artist, huh.
    This is their revenge!
    16AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:16
    That's exactly why they put out the MORE! MORE! EP.
    18AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:17
    Crappy agencies really do care about stuff like the Record Awards.
    But don't you need to pay up to actually win?
    I read that in a tabloid magazine way back when.
    34AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:36
    Re: #18
    If it's just a nomination, it probably doesn't cost that much, right?
    19AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:19
    Wait, is that even allowed?
    If so, couldn't you just re-release some old classic and snag a Record Award?
    20AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:19
    What hit songs even came out this year?
    24AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:24
    Re: #20
    Equal Love, maybe?

    #Idol MV Daily View Count Ranking for 10/02
    Aggregation period: 2026/10/01
    https://ohayua.cyou/twimg/HTlsIrHa4AAZdFH.jpg
    https://ohayua.cyou/twimg/HTlsIq7bgAE8v9M.jpg
    https://x.com/mi2cal_net/status/2105833213205811245
    22AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:20
    When Hibari Misora got nominated, was that song actually released that same year?
    23AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:24
    Feels like they'll end up on some no-name award show instead.
    29AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:31
    And here we go again —
    "This program is brought to you by Up-Front"
    — buying their way in with sponsorship money.
    30AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:32
    Not one Record Award song from the past five years that regular people actually know. But Moreemi? Plenty of people have heard it and it sticks in your head.
    31AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:33
    Rosie deserves this so bad, PLEASE let her be rewarded!!!
    37AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:39
    Johnny's doesn't pay the Record Awards, that's why they never show up.
    39AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:41
    Re: #37
    I read somewhere that Johnny's stopped entering because Mary (the agency's co-founder) said she didn't want her own talents competing against each other.
    Of course, if they went all out they'd win with someone from the agency anyway — she just didn't want it turning into SMAP vs. Arashi, pitting their own acts against one another.
    38AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:39
    An agency that's willing to pay up gets treated well, right? It's not just about this year — they want to keep a good relationship going forward too, since they're the ones footing the bill.
    40AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:45
    Well, they'll probably show up. Though the Grand Prize is going to MILK.
    42AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:47
    Johnny's just got frozen out after they tried to force Ninja into winning the enka category at the Record Awards and it caused a whole mess.
    44AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:48
    Re: #1
    We've known for ages that talent agencies have a lot of pull over the Record Awards.
    46AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:51
    Speaking of the Record Awards, that on-screen caption reading "Sponsored by Up-Front Agency" was shocking. Wonder how much they paid that time.
    57AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:05
    Re: #46
    Stuff like that happens because the award was already decided, and then they become a sponsor — not the other way around. If becoming a sponsor guaranteed you the award, they'd sponsor it every single year.
    47AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:52
    AI-generated summary

    Johnny's & Associates (now STARTO ENTERTAINMENT) has, since 1990 (the 32nd awards), generally not participated in award races like the Japan Record Award, due to a policy of not ranking its own talents against one another (opting out of award races).
    49AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:53
    8 Anonymous Recruiting…
    Account ver. | Cannon
    2026/10/02 (Fri) 20:09:17.330
    Chairman Yamazaki's probably thrilled.

    Well, "thrilled" might not be quite the word — watching Juice=Juice lately feels more like he's going out in one last blaze of glory.
    51AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:55
    These past few years, Up-Front and Rising Production have been shut out of the Best New Artist award, huh.
    52AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:55
    That collab with Hiromi Go kind of felt like a flex within the industry.
    53AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:56
    Mary: "If I went all out for it, every award would just end up going to one of my own kids anyway."
    56AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:04
    Is there anyone else actually selling besides MILK, Monaki, and Nogizaka46?
    61AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:09
    Has Hello! Project even been nominated for the Record Award before?
    62AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    Re: #61
    The last Record Award nomination was Čute, back in 2008.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The Japan Record Award’s eligibility window is officially set as “October 21 of the previous year through October 20 of the current year,” and the thread saw pushback noting that Juice=Juice’s single (released October 8, 2025) would actually fall outside that window — countered by the argument that the MORE! MORE! EP could cover it instead. The thread also brought up how Johnny’s (now STARTO) has opted out of award races since 1990 under a policy of not pitting its own talents against one another, and the fact that no Hello! Project act has landed a Grand Prize nomination since Čute in 2008. Meanwhile, the claim that kicked off the thread — that Up-Front was involved in establishing “record performance and transmission rights” — comes from a single post by the thread’s creator, with no source or evidence provided. Opinions also clashed over whether sponsorship money buys awards, with some citing how TV program sponsor credits shift around award season as proof, and others arguing the win comes first and the sponsorship follows. Neither side offered more than speculation, so this point should be taken with caution.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Good News] Expert: “Juice=Juice will get a Record Award nomination because UFA lobbied politicians to establish the ‘record performance and transmission rights’ that Ongeikyo had long wanted”.

  • Miyane-ya Goes Off Air After 20 Years as Host Seiji Miyane Delivers His Signature “Shop’s Closed!” Send-Off

    Nippon TV’s “Joho Live Miyane-ya” aired its final episode on October 2, bringing down the curtain on nearly 20 years of broadcasting since its 2006 debut. Host Seiji Miyane closed out the show with his signature catchphrase, “That’s it, shop’s closed!” Freelance announcer Shinichi Hatori also stopped by, and reporter Koji Fujimura — making his first appearance in four months — revealed that he had been battling cancer. On the 5channel “Entertainment/Sports News+” board, the thread focused less on nostalgia for the show and more on debate over Miyane’s hosting style, with users also discussing whether he’d keep appearing on other programs like Fuji TV’s “Mr. Sunday.”

    “Miyane-ya” Airs Final Episode, Closing the Book on 20 Years… Host Seiji Miyane: “That’s It, Shop’s Closed!” “A Mix of Sadness and Relief” — Reporter Koji Fujimura Reveals Cancer Battle

    The final episode of Nippon TV’s “Joho Live Miyane-ya” (weekdays at 1:55 p.m.) aired on the 2nd, closing out its 20-year run.

    Alongside the show’s regular cast, freelance announcer Shinichi Hatori also joined the ending segment. Reporter Koji Fujimura appeared in the studio for the first time in four months and revealed that he had been battling cancer.

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here

    4AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:24
    Is the Fuji TV version of Miyane-ya still going?
    24AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:41
    Re: #4
    Yeah, the "Shuichi" version of Miyane-ya is still on (Shuichi is Hatori's own Fuji TV show).
    5AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:27
    Miyane constantly cutting off Nakayama's reports just to ask questions was seriously annoying.
    11AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:32
    Re: #1
    That "Ripple Breathing" thing Miyane does before he talks (a mashup joke of JoJo's Hamon/Ripple and Demon Slayer's breathing styles) always creeped me out.
    Ssshhh── ssshhh──
    12AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:32
    You'd think people only ever see Miyane on Miyane-ya, yet somehow he's mysteriously hated anyway.
    19AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:38
    Weather forecaster Horai showed up wearing a mask —
    some mysterious punishment where he's not even allowed to show his face.
    21AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:39
    But he's still sticking around on Fuji's Mr. Sunday, right?
    25AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:42
    He's the same age Hitoshi Kusano was when "The Wide" ended, so I guess he rode it out to the limit.
    53AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:00
    Re: #25
    Wait, seriously?!
    Kusano was that young back then?
    I liked The Wide better anyway.
    26AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:42
    They just swap out the host, but the same commentators keep showing up — nothing actually changes.
    27AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:43
    Even the Sato Jiro thing shows Burning's grip on the industry has clearly been slipping (Burning = Burning Production, a powerful talent agency).
    29AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:44
    I hated how Miyane would talk over — practically cut off — the female announcers while they were explaining the panel content.
    32AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:46
    Re: #29
    Even in the final episode, he started talking while a guest was still mid-sentence.
    Seriously thought, what a jerk.
    31AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:46
    Lol, Miyane wasn't even on screen during his own "shop's closed" line.
    33AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:47
    Wide shows themselves are a dying format —
    who even cares about celebrity gossip anymore.
    40AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:50
    Re: #33
    Then why are you even on the entertainment/sports board?
    35AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:48
    Re: #1

    Doing a live show every
    Monday through Friday
    for a Kansai TV station,

    versus having two or three regular slots on Tokyo stations —
    the latter pays more and is easier on the body.
    41AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:50
    Anyway, why did Miyane end up hated this much?
    I get it with the toupee guy from Tokudane (slang for his obvious wig) — he was public enemy #1 for 2channelers — but Miyane?
    43AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:52
    Re: #41
    Hosts who act full of themselves usually end up hated.
    42AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:51
    Even with the Johnny's Nevada lawsuit just getting underway,
    they're rubber-stamping the same Johnny's talent bookings like clockwork —
    it's back to square one, like nothing ever happened.
    51AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:59
    Re: #42
    The TV stations were complicit in it from the start anyway.
    58AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:04
    Re: #42
    There's no evidence anyway, so it'll probably go nowhere.
    45AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:55
    Same as any salaryman — one day you're an exec at a big company, the next day you retire and you're just an unemployed old man.
    46AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:56
    But you guys actually like the show with Nagashima, Ishihara, and the violin guy, don't you?
    It's full of people you'd expect to hate — so what makes them different?
    48AnonymousOct 2, 2026 18:56
    What nerve, doing a bit from Okada — a regular on rival show Hiruobi — right at the very end.
    55AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:02
    Re: #48
    Maybe because Hiruobi isn't actually considered a rival timeslot.
    59AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:07
    Wasn't Miyane doing another wide show too? Can't be bothered to even look it up, but…
    66AnonymousOct 2, 2026 19:20
    Re: #59
    Fuji's Mr. Sunday, right?
    That one's been running for a good while too.
    80AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:06
    Gotta get home and watch Tenki-man.
    88AnonymousOct 2, 2026 20:27
    Re: #80
    First time I've seen that.
    Honestly the weather info just doesn't stick in my head with that one.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Produced by Yomiuri TV, “Miyane-ya” launched in 2006 and ran for roughly 20 years as a daily national news/talk program on the Nippon TV network; its ending appears to be part of a broader schedule reshuffle across the network. In the thread, complaints about host Seiji Miyane’s hosting style outweighed any nostalgia for the show itself, with several commenters citing specific moments — like talking over a reporter’s explanation or cutting in while a guest was still speaking. That said, the end of Miyane-ya doesn’t mean Miyane himself is stepping back: he’s expected to keep appearing on Fuji TV’s “Mr. Sunday,” a point users in the thread confirmed with each other. This is where readers can easily get the wrong idea — conflating the show’s end with a drop in Miyane’s overall TV presence — when in fact his work on other programs continues. As for why Miyane specifically draws so much hate, no clear answer emerged in the thread; beyond general dislike of his on-air persona as a host, no concrete reasoning was offered.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[TV] ‘Miyane-ya’ Airs Final Episode, Closing the Book on 20 Years… Host Seiji Miyane: ‘That’s It, Shop’s Closed!’ ‘A Mix of Sadness and Relief’.”

  • Actress Haruka Fukuhara and Soccer Star Takefusa Kubo Announce Marriage

    Actress Haruka Fukuhara (28) announced on October 2 via her Instagram that she is marrying Japan national team midfielder Takefusa Kubo (25). Fukuhara first found fame on the children’s cooking show “Cooking Idol! Ai! Mai! Main!” before going on to star in “Honest Real Estate,” “Laid-Back Camp,” and as the heroine of the NHK morning drama “Mai Agare!” On 5ch’s Entertainment & Sports Express+ board, users buzzed over how the two might have met, drew comparisons to fellow talent-agency actress Haruna Kawaguchi (who is also married to a soccer player), and debated the couple’s height and age gap.

    Actress Haruka Fukuhara (28) updated her Instagram on the 2nd, announcing her marriage to Japan national team player Takefusa Kubo (25).

    [Photo] Her partner is… professional soccer player Takefusa Kubo

    Fukuhara was born August 28, 1998, in Saitama Prefecture. She began working as a child actress from the first grade. She rose to popularity on the children’s cooking show “Cooking Idol! Ai! Mai! Main!,” which aired from 2009 to 2013. In 2012, she won the Grand Prix at the 20th “Pichimo Audition” out of roughly 9,000 entrants, and went on to become an exclusive model for the fashion magazine “Pichi Lemon.” She has appeared in the film “Cheer Dan” (2017), the drama “Honest Real Estate” (2022), the “Laid-Back Camp” drama and film series, and played the heroine in the NHK morning drama “Mai Agare!,” which aired in the latter half of 2022. She has also worked as a voice actress, including as Himari Arisugawa / Cure Custard in the anime “Kirakira Pretty Cure A La Mode.”

    Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here

    11AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:03
    Where would their paths even have crossed?
    374AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    Re: #11
    Even across totally different industries, people connect in surprisingly many ways, you know.
    641AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:16
    Re: #11
    Probably an Instagram DM? Or maybe some kind of dinner get-together.
    22AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:04
    Baseball players' wives…
    AKB's Itano lol, Oba lol, Tada lol, Eto lol
    345AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    Re: #22
    Hey, lay off Takahashi Yuji
    (His wife is former AKB member Aki Takajo)
    652AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:16
    Re: #22
    Don't you dare forget about Tani, you jerk
    33AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:04
    Following Haruna Kawaguchi from the same talent agency, another soccer player–actress pairing
    58AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:05
    Re: #33
    Wasn't it just a group mixer lol
    35AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:04
    I hear the name Kubo a lot, but how good is he actually these days?
    45AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:05
    Re: #35
    Not much going on with him lately
    447AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Re: #35
    A former prodigy who's now been left far behind by Lee Kang-in
    95AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:07
    Marriages with an older wife tend to end in divorce, don't they
    113AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:07
    Re: #95
    I want them to divorce within a year
    134AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:08
    Re: #95
    Aren't most athletes married to older women anyway?
    97AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:07
    Seriously, where did they even meet?
    Tell me, I need it for reference
    119AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:07
    Re: #97
    Step one: become a Japan national team player
    133AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:08
    I wonder which one of them is actually taller
    152AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:08
    Re: #133
    It's gotta be Kubo, obviously lol
    161AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:08
    Re: #133
    She's surely taller than 160cm (about 5'3")
    418AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    Re: #133
    He just looks short because he's surrounded by bigger guys — Kubo's actually a bit above average height himself
    144AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:08
    Fans in tears lmaoooooooooooooooooo
    191AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:09
    Re: #144
    Was Haruka Fukuhara always this cute?
    216AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:10
    Re: #144
    Look at that face lol
    Guess he couldn't let a beauty like her slip away
    300AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:11
    Re: #144
    I didn't want to see Kubo-kun looking like this
    162AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:08
    Can't believe Main-chan is already 28… (her nickname from the old kids' show)
    189AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:09
    Re: #162
    Honestly that shocked me more than the marriage news
    397AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:12
    Is it okay to just look?

    449AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Why are soccer players so popular anyway?
    498AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:14
    Re: #449
    Probably the lean, athletic build and the stamina
    491AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    I wonder who Keito Nakamura will end up marrying? Wouldn't be surprised if it's actually a classmate from junior high or high school.
    513AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:14
    Re: #491
    There's no one else for him
    638AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:16
    Re: #491
    Sounds like he's dating some sultry Italian woman
    495AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:13
    Don't know her, who is she?
    583AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:15
    Top 20 young actresses/talents in their 20s popular with Gen Z


    She's ranked #10, Re: #495
    518AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:14
    How on earth

    do their paths even cross lmaoooooo
    552AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:14
    Re: #518
    Rarely has there been a couple whose backstory I want to know this badly
    621AnonymousOct 2, 2026 21:15
    Re: #518
    If there's any connection, maybe it's through Yuka Kageyama —
    they co-starred in the "Kaguya-sama: Love Is War" movie

    Background and Talking Points on This Story

    Born in 1998, Haruka Fukuhara starred in the children’s show “Cooking Idol! Ai! Mai! Main!” and worked as a model before building a career that includes “Honest Real Estate,” “Laid-Back Camp,” and the lead role in the NHK morning drama “Mai Agare!” Takefusa Kubo is a Japan national team midfielder who moved to Spain as a junior-high student and played in Real Madrid’s youth academy; in recent years he’s become something of a polarizing figure, at times described as a “former prodigy.” The thread didn’t really have a central point of conflict — instead it buzzed with lighter topics: curiosity about how the couple met, the fact that this follows another actress from the same talent agency, Haruna Kawaguchi, also marrying a soccer player, and debate over their age and height difference. The one caveat worth noting is that neither party has made an official statement about details of their private life, such as how they met, so everything in the thread remains speculation.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports Express+) thread “[Breaking] Haruka Fukuhara & Takefusa Kubo Announce Marriage.”