Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Tsubaki Factory Fan Parking Nuisance: Odyssey Opens Lot Early — 5ch: “Butthurt Otaku, LOL”

    Odyssey, the company that runs Hello! Project’s concerts, announced it would open the parking lot ahead of the scheduled time after a string of complaints that Tsubaki Factory fans were illegally parking at nearby facilities. On 5ch, opinions clashed: some questioned the organizers (“If the instructions were unclear, they should’ve just opened it from the morning”), while others fired back at the fans (“Don’t get defensive when you’re the one who showed up early and parked illegally”). The thread eventually spiraled into comparisons of fan etiquette across other Hello! Project groups.

    Odyssey

    @ODYSTAFF

    [Notice]

    Source: x.com / Original post here

    6AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:58
    Guess Juice=Juice's Kōhaku spot is gone too (NHK's New Year's Eve singing contest)
    17AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:06
    Re: #6
    This is the part that really stings
    8AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:01
    Tsubaki otaku getting defensive in the comments, incredible lol
    32AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:17
    Re: #8
    You can tell from how few followers they've got
    13AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:04
    They probably won't get to use this venue again next year
    15AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:05
    Those old Shōwa-generation geezers' bad manners never improve, not till the day they die (a jab at older fans)
    18AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:07
    They should've figured people would park illegally and just opened it from the morning
    39AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:20
    Re: #18
    Re: #28
    Nice tantrum, nuisance otaku (lol)
    20AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:07
    They should've just opened the field early
    21AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:08
    It's precisely because Tsubaki takes on all this trouble that the other groups stay peaceful
    24AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:11
    Re: #21
    That's exactly the reason they can't disband Tsubaki
    23AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:11
    Tsubaki's and Rosy Chronicle's fans have zero manners, honestly
    33AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:18
    Re: #23
    You mean Tsubaki and OCHA NORMA ("Ocha")
    Rosy Chronicle barely even has fans to begin with
    74AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:38
    Re: #23
    A lot of them are fans of both groups anyway
    27AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:14
    Arrests
    Heatstroke deaths
    Groping incidents
    30AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:15
    Tsubaki Factory Summer Festival 2026 ~Scorching Heat~ | Kawaguchiko Stellar Theater & Kawaguchiko Round Hall
    https://stellartheater.jp/kouen/11119/
    34AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:18
    For them to get called out publicly like this, it must've been pretty bad
    Sounds like they weren't handling it this way until last year
    36AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:19
    I heard Tsubaki fans had great manners…
    37AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:19
    It's not even a real parking lot, just a school yard
    They can't exactly open that up first thing in the morning
    47AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:24
    @ The smoking area 🚬 is set up somewhere it absolutely shouldn't be (right next to the merch line) — Odyssey is seriously done as an event organizer.

    The guy getting defensive is mad about other stuff too
    53AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:29
    Re: #47
    Is that really the reverse case though?
    60AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:31
    Re: #47
    Instead of posting on X that they're "done as an organizer," couldn't they just say "could you move the smoking area away from the merch stand"?
    48AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:24
    Ignoring the rules just because the instructions were unclear — are Tsubaki fans all middle schoolers or something?
    50AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:27
    Is there even a point in showing up that early in the morning?
    51AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:28
    A low-key, unpopular group with a mysteriously badly-behaved fanbase
    54AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:29
    They probably just want to be close or grab a good spot
    57AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:30
    Re: #53
    I think it's that the guy who got defensive is also mad about other things — the post itself isn't necessarily the "getting defensive" one
    58AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:31
    For a one-day weekday event out in Yamanashi,
    Tsubaki's cranking out merch like it's a Budokan show

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQjV9Raa4AAAm6a.jpg
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQjV9Rda0AAJWmu.jpg
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQjWPhza0AAtJjE.jpg

    https://imgur.com/Ss1fLrN.jpeg
    62AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:32
    Re: #58
    Meanwhile Juice=Juice had nothing but leftover MORE T-shirts and unsold Pia merch even at a huge festival
    66AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:33
    Looks like stuff like the hand towels sold out almost instantly by midday
    https://imgur.com/viSrUt7.jpeg
    71AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:36
    Re: #66
    Guess you'd better get there early then
    That's on the organizers for not bringing enough stock and not predicting fans would show up early
    67AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:34
    Re: #60
    Instead of complaining here, go reply and tell them directly lol
    70AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:36
    Re: #67
    Oh hey, it's Dewa-san 😁 (apparently a nickname for a regular poster)
    75AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:38
    The random blind-box collectibles are selling out instantly too
    https://imgur.com/NwrfiwD.jpeg
    79AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:44
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQsK55AbAAAM3Wp.jpg

    *This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Odyssey: ‘Numerous cases of Tsubaki Factory fans illegally parking at nearby facilities have been confirmed, so we are opening the parking lot now, ahead of the scheduled time’”.

  • Toyota, NTT, and Tokyu Add Matchmaking Apps to Employee Benefits — 5ch: ‘Even Big Companies Can’t Get Their Employees Married?’

    A growing number of major Japanese companies — including Toyota, NTT, and Tokyu — are rolling out matchmaking apps as an employee benefit for their single staff. A prime example is “Aill goen,” a corporate matchmaking service that startup Aill has offered to businesses since 2021. On 5ch, users reacted with surprise (“Even big companies need this to get married?”), while others said knowing a match’s employer in advance offered peace of mind. Still, plenty of commenters questioned whether the initiative would actually do anything to fight Japan’s declining birthrate.

    Published 8/27 (Thu) 5:35 AM

    ITmedia Business Online

    More companies are introducing “matchmaking apps” as an employee benefit. “Aill goen,” offered to businesses since 2021 by Aill (based in Nakano, Tokyo), is a matchmaking app available to single employees at client companies.

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

    5AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:04
    Get transferred out to the countryside while still pulling a head-office salary and you'll end up rich.
    87AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:43
    Re: #5
    A friend's company would transfer guys out to the regional offices if they couldn't find a spouse in Tokyo.
    Apparently it actually works.
    10AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:06
    Wait, even people at big corporations can't get married without something like this?
    35AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:14
    Re: #10
    Even making 10 million yen+ (~$65k+) a year at a big company, one flaw and you're out of the running.
    Women you meet as a working adult are brutally picky.
    138AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:57
    Re: #10
    At the end of the day they're just corporate slaves ("shachiku").
    Once you're past 35 you never know when you'll get cut loose.
    37AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:14
    These days young guys want to marry a highly-educated, high-earning career woman.
    Back in the day they'd happily marry the not-so-bright junior-college grad who served tea around the office…
    50AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:21
    Re: #37
    Junior college grads have basically disappeared these days.
    As women shifted upward in education and status, "marrying up" got that much harder to do.
    41AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:16
    Getting married and buying a house have always been the corporate slave's leash (lol)
    Pair everyone off so they can't run, then work them nearly to death from overtime (lol)
    45AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:19
    Re: #41
    Used to be, the moment you built your own house they'd slap you with a solo transfer, no argument.
    "You've got a home to come back to no matter where in the country we send you" — lol
    44AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:18
    I guess the reassuring part is you can't even sign up unless you work at a decent company.
    115AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:15
    Re: #44
    That's probably the biggest advantage.

    Everyone on it made it through a tough hiring process, so the filtering is on a completely different level from your average matchmaking app ("machi-apu") — that gives real peace of mind.
    51AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:21
    What a creepy era we live in, lol
    Just handle your own love life.
    57AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:22
    I can already picture the future where everyone takes maternity leave and paternal/parental leave nonstop and the company just scraps this program.
    71AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:29
    I want a matchmaking app for married people.
    74AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:31
    Re: #71
    >a matchmaking app for married people
    Cuddle:
    One of the largest services out there, with over 1 million members. Features AI-based recommendations and same-sex matching too.
    Healmate:
    500,000+ members. Offers 24-hour monitoring and photo-blurring, geared toward serious "second partner" searches.
    Kikonsha Club (Married People's Club):
    A large cumulative match count, with strong privacy protections like automatic photo blurring and message-deletion features.
    79AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:34
    Marry someone from within the company and it feels like you'd end up talking shop at home too…
    86AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:39
    Re: #79
    I recall the reasoning being something like: since you know their workplace, there's more understanding of your husband's work style, and for women it's seen as a kind of background guarantee since hires often come through connections.
    99AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:54
    I feel like all the attention just piles onto the good-looking people and this accomplishes nothing.
    Same as any regular matchmaking app.
    105AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:03
    Re: #99
    I see…
    Maybe matchmaking apps are actually part of why the birthrate's falling. Huh, that tracks.
    Eh, whatever, doesn't really matter.
    103AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:00
    Wow, big companies really take care of you that much, huh.
    Guess if you don't land a job at a major company right out of school, your life's basically over.
    Working at a small or mid-size company really has no upside.
    104AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:03
    Re: #103
    What's in Re: #1 does feel like overkill — I can't help wondering "do you really need that?" — but
    the treatment you get really is on a whole different level at a big company.
    Better to shelter under a big tree, as they say…
    112AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:13
    Maybe it just means a lot of people are fine staying single.
    118AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:23
    Re: #112
    I've heard people say they want to meet someone but just don't have an opening to.
    122AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:28
    Fine if it's a big company doing well, but
    what happens if you're both laid off at once?
    And on top of that, if the couple's holding company stock through the employee stock ownership plan,
    that's putting way too many eggs in one basket.
    123AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:29
    Re: #122
    That's got nothing to do with the matchmaking app though, lol
    137AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:55
    They should really slap a company logo on employees who join through this benefit.
    They'd get snapped up in no time.
    143AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:06
    Re: #137
    It's not like they're enrolling employees as some kind of "benefit" exactly —
    it's just matching employees across big companies with each other.
    Used to be group blind dates ("gokon"), but those dried up with COVID, so I guess this is the replacement.
    144AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:06
    Guess even at big companies like Toyota and NTT, people just aren't getting married.
    Bottom line, marriage and having kids are seen as nothing but risk these days.
    146AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:08
    Re: #144
    Exactly.
    These days, getting married means you've lost.
    156AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:16
    Even at small and mid-size companies, some places actually prioritize hiring married men.
    157AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:19
    Re: #156
    Though conversely, more small and mid-size companies are avoiding people with young kids because their attendance isn't reliable.
    175AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:57
    Anyone who's still not married at a certain age is basically a social misfit.
    And it's always exactly those guys who insist, "I'm not unable to get married, I'm just choosing not to!"
    179AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:11
    Re: #175
    It'd be fine if you just took the workload off those "misfits",
    but instead everyone keeps building systems that just dump more work on them —
    that's why every country's birthrate policies keep failing.
    183AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:24
    Unless you're living somewhere really rural, I'd think just living a normal life gives you normal chances to meet people and fall for someone.
    Can people just not bring themselves to ask someone out on a date?
    If you really have zero chances to meet anyone, maybe you're just spending too much time buried in your phone and the internet.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “[Matchmaking App] Toyota, NTT, and Tokyu Add “Matchmaking Apps” to Employee Benefits — Why Are Companies Supporting Their Employees’ Love Lives?“

  • ‘Atelier Resleriana’ Shutting Down — 5ch: ‘Guess You Don’t Need to Open Your Wallet Anymore’

    News broke that the mobile game ‘Atelier Resleriana’ is ending its service, and the Console Wars board erupted with complaints about the game’s sluggish performance since launch and a story-progression balance overly skewed toward gacha pulls. The discussion spread to the poor sales of the console version ‘Atelier Resleriana: Red/White,’ the circumstances behind operations shifting to Koei Tecmo, and evaluations of Yumia and Kalia as successors to Ryza.

    8AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:19
    This'll probably get the Blue Reflection treatment too — a story-compilation offline version ported to consoles for one last cash grab.
    106AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:15
    Re: #8
    Well, all those costume outfits they made would go to waste.
    But there's nothing else besides Red/White — it's not even a trilogy, let alone a quartet.
    That'll be a hard sell.
    16AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:21
    At this rate the players who opened their wallets are just suckers!
    18AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:23
    Re: #16
    Guess it's one of those Osaifu-Keitai (wallet-phone, Japan's mobile payment feature) compatible smartphones, huh?
    22AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:25
    You don't need to pull out your wallet anymore.
    24AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:26
    Re: #22
    Ryza: "Open your wallet!"
    25AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:27
    38AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:31
    Re: #25
    https://may.ftbucket.info/may/cont/may.2chan.net_b_res_1430414487/img/1787653620167.jpg
    29AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:28
    Yeah, averaging around rank 500 on the iOS charts monthly.
    Companies running games like this tend to fold around this point.

    32AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:28
    There was talk it'd end in August, then it got an update so I figured it'd keep going… but nope, it's ending after all.
    66AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:43
    Re: #32
    Well, they gotta squeeze every last gem-purchase out of you until the very end.
    33AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:28
    The balance was so skewed toward gacha rares that they clearly had no intention of letting the story progress, but I liked everything else about it.
    Guess the console Resleriana just didn't sell — failure, failure, failure, failure, failure.
    42AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:33
    Re: #33
    Red/White Resleriana was garbage, so tying it into the mobile game's main story was a bad move.
    35AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:29
    Isn't the team with Team Ninja (Koei Tecmo's in-house studio) staff on it probably gonna make the offline version?
    41AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:33
    Re: #35
    With the Ryza 3 → Yumia → Kalia pipeline, it now takes about two years to put out a mainline Atelier game, so this'll probably get drafted in to pad out the release schedule in between.
    Even Blue Reflection, which had way less presence than Atelier, got its mobile game re-edited and ported.
    43AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:34
    Re: #35
    Though whether they can announce this stuff simultaneously really changes the impression it leaves.
    40AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:32
    It was a sluggish mess right from launch.
    A mobile game that doesn't run smoothly gets passed over for that reason alone.
    47AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:34
    Re: #40
    Yeah, it was picky enough about hardware that unless you had the latest phone at launch, it wouldn't even run past the title screen.
    55AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:37
    I thought 'The Crimson Alchemist' on Steam was the offline version.
    63AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:42
    Re: #55
    It's technically Atelier Resleriana 2, but there's zero indication it's a sequel to a related title.
    Nippon Ichi made the exact same mistake with Phantom Brave.
    58AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:38
    I do respect that the Atelier series manages to put out a solid 80-point game roughly once a year.
    59AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:40
    Re: #58
    These past few years they haven't even managed a 50-point game.
    60AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:41
    What's this 'wallet commercial' thing lol
    62AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:42
    Re: #60
    A 'wallet video' made for a promotional video contest.
    68AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:44
    Re: #62
    Worse than I imagined, lol
    61AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:41
    67AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:44
    Well, once operations moved to Koei Tecmo, it was pretty much a done deal that this was ending.
    72AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:45
    Re: #67
    Honestly, as an alchemy game the series was solid up through Sophie, but everything from Firis onward has been rough.
    75AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:47
    Re: #67
    They were bringing up service termination on official streams within three months of launch.
    "We won't end it right away, we'll see the story through to the end," lol.
    Users must have abandoned it insanely fast.
    69AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:44
    I heard the power creep was insane from the very start of service and it genuinely scared me.
    70AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:45
    Re: #69
    Yeah, no wonder they kept telling you to open your wallet.
    76AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:47
    Ryza blew up, then things went off the rails, and now they're scrambling to produce a successor — wonder how that'll pan out.
    78AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:49
    Re: #76
    Didn't Yumia sell well but get a bad reputation?
    The fact that this is billed as a sequel carrying on that world already sounds shaky.
    79AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:49
    Kalia's character design just doesn't scream 'Ryza's successor.'
    I think a more shamelessly pandering character design, like Totori or Rorona, would land better.
    Though that would probably drive even more female fans away.
    84AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:52
    Re: #79
    But Rorona, Totori, and Sophie were all popular with female fans too, weren't they?
    82AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:50
    When Yumia got its Switch 2 Edition, it barely made any waves, so handing the baton off after Ryza was a failure.
    The biggest reason for that is treating a mainline numbered title like a mobage.
    86AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:54
    Re: #82
    That one's bad — they advertised improved frame rates, but it was choppy, barely hitting like 15fps.
    Apparently it got better with a patch, but seeing stuff like this makes you think all they really care about is "open your wallet!"
    87AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:54
    Re: #82
    Pretty sure the word was that patching it actually made it even worse.
    83AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:51
    Just make an Atelier game with Sophie's illustrator already.
    85AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:54
    Re: #83
    NOCO did half the character designs for Lydie & Suelle.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Console Wars)) thread “【👛】Atelier Resleriana Service Ending.”

  • Reina Tanaka Cast in Musical ‘The Three Musketeers: Reborn’ — 5ch Reacts: ‘Ueda x Reina Has Arrived!’

    Former Morning Musume member Reina Tanaka has announced on her own X (Twitter) account that she will play Constance in the musical “The Three Musketeers: Reborn,” staging in Osaka and Tokyo in 2027. The cast lineup features Johnny’s talent led by star Tatsuya Ueda (KAT-TUN), and on 5ch’s Hello! Project board, comments poured in like “This might be the biggest stage of Reina’s career” and “If she’d had to audition, she’d have crushed the competition anyway.”

    Reina Tanaka Official

    @ganbareina11

    I have an announcement 💖

    Source: x.com / Original post here

    2AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:26
    Tatsuya Ueda to star in musical "The Three Musketeers: Reborn," with Richard Kusama Keita and others joining the cast
    https://natalie.mu/stage/news/686850

    Musical "The Three Musketeers: Reborn"
    Dates & Venues
    January 15 (Fri) – 24 (Sun), 2027, Sky Theatre MBS, Osaka
    February 3 (Wed) – 26 (Fri), 2027, Shinbashi Enbujo, Tokyo
    Staff
    Original story: Alexandre Dumas
    Music: Michael David / Bryan Adams
    Direction, adaptation & lyric translation: Koumei Kanno

    Cast
    Athos: Tatsuya Ueda
    D'Artagnan: Richard Kusama Keita
    Aramis: Shota Hayashi
    Porthos: Daichi Imae
    Milady: Narumi Tamaoki
    Constance: Reina Tanaka
    Jussac: Hirotaka Uchi
    Cardinal Richelieu: Koji Utsumi

    https://ogre.natalie.mu/media/news/stage/2026/0827/3jshi_mv.jpg
    https://ogre.natalie.mu/media/news/stage/2026/0827/3jshi_cast.jpg
    3AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:34
    Richard Kusama lol
    6AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:42
    Re: #3
    The guy who got arrested for indecent exposure outdoors and was kicked out of his group
    13AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:46
    You're probably the only one here who actually knows anything about Tanaka's stage career
    16AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:49
    Names in parentheses are the previous cast

    Athos: Tatsuya Ueda (Masayuki Sakamoto)
    D'Artagnan: Richard Kusama Keita (Seiya Suezawa)
    Aramis: Shota Hayashi (Kohei Kamiguchi)
    Porthos: Daichi Imae (Yuichi Harada)
    Milady: Narumi Tamaoki (Sylvia Grab)
    Constance: Reina Tanaka (China Yabiku)
    Jussac: Hirotaka Uchi (Ryuji Ueyama)
    Cardinal Richelieu: Koji Utsumi (Kiyotaka Imai)
    21AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:53
    <Osaka> Sky Theatre MBS
    January 15 (Fri) – 24 (Sun), 2027, Sky Theatre MBS, 11 performances
    Presented by: MBS
    Produced by: Shochiku Co., Ltd.
    Planning/Production: Quaras

    <Tokyo> Shinbashi Enbujo
    February 3 (Wed) – 26 (Fri), 2027, Shinbashi Enbujo, 29 performances
    Presented/Produced by: Shochiku Co., Ltd.
    Planning/Production: Quaras
    24AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:54
    In the anime version of The Three Musketeers, Constance was voiced by Noriko Hidaka
    25AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:57
    Didn't realize the Hikaru Genji guy hadn't left the agency (Hikaru Genji = a famous 1980s Johnny's idol group)
    27AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:58
    I think Ueda might be the best-looking guy in Johnny's history
    28AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:59
    Wait, is Constance even the heroine?
    Anyway, with this lineup there's no need to worry about ticket sales
    Didn't realize Tamaoki was still active
    29AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:00
    Wait, is this the Ueda whose only 'scandal' in his whole long career is that he never danced to 'Chankapana'? (a KAT-TUN song/dance move he famously skipped)
    30AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:01
    If anything, it's Reina's own fans who are going to struggle to get tickets at this level
    32AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:03
    This is wild
    So it's a ticket war against Johnny's fans now
    Honestly this lineup screams 'we're going all out to sell tickets'
    33AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:04
    She's the heroine in the original novel, but this production seems to center on Athos, so that's different here
    35AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:06
    There's no way Tanaka would go through an audition — this has to be a direct offer
    38AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:08
    Re: #35
    Cheap to hire, can sing, can move, good looks, can act, doesn't cause trouble, and has free time
    No wonder she gets so many offers
    36AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:06
    Apparently there's rapping in it too — guess it's a more modern-style arrangement
    40AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:10
    At Tanaka's level she's got the track record, so it's an offer, not an audition
    If she did audition she'd win by a landslide anyway
    44AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:12
    Re: #40
    There's basically nobody more talented than Tanaka still going around doing auditions
    41AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:10
    Is this a Johnny's production?
    45AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:12
    Re: #41
    Every guy in it is from Johnny's
    42AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:11
    It's a Johnny's production
    Which actually makes it easier, I think
    Tickets and everything else should sell just fine
    43AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:12
    She probably gets offers for smaller productions too, but stage work eats up so much time — if you're going to do it, might as well stick to big ones like this
    47AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:13
    Re: #43
    Depending on the co-stars, it can be a hassle too
    46AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:13
    Reina's said outright that she only takes good roles
    48AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:14
    I wonder if Tanaka's husband has some connection to Johnny's
    49AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:14
    I'd seen people on X saying for a while now that they wanted an Ueda x Tanaka pairing
    Didn't think it would actually happen
    50AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:14
    I don't want Reina getting overshadowed by the Johnny's guys…
    55AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:16
    Re: #50
    She has kids, so Johnny's is probably comfortable offering her the role
    56AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:16
    Over on X too, people are going 'Ueda x Reina has arrived!' lol
    57AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:17
    Re: #56
    Is there something going on between her and Ueda?
    58AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:19
    This looks like it'll be a pretty good production
    Good for her
    59AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:19
    Reina's presence is amazing
    People are going wild off just the casting announcement
    61AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:21
    Re: #57
    People say if Reina Tanaka were a man she'd be Tatsuya Ueda, and if Tatsuya Ueda were a woman he'd be Reina Tanaka
    62AnonymousAug 27, 2026 14:22
    Richard's the vocal member in Aぇ! group, I think
    A skill really can save you (i.e., his singing chops are what got him in)

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread ‘Reina Tanaka: “I’ll be playing Constance in the musical The Three Musketeers: Reborn 😊🙌”‘.

  • Why Are They Making More 1-Yen Coins? 3-5% Card Fees Are Squeezing Stores, Sparking a ‘Cash Comeback’

    A video released by the Japan Mint showing 1-yen coins being mass-produced racked up more than 13 million views and became a hot topic on social media. On 5ch, users debated why 1-yen coins are increasing even as cashless payments spread, with many pointing out that the 3-5% payment processing fees stores must shoulder are so heavy that some businesses are drifting back to cash.

    Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 15:25

    In July, a post went viral on social media. The Japan Mint had posted footage of “1-yen coins” being mass-produced, and it racked up over 13 million views. But still — in this “cashless” era, why on earth…?

    We asked around the streets of Shizuoka: Team “cashless”? Or team “cash”?

    Source: look.satv.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousAug 27, 2026 06:59
    For stores, having to eat the payment processing fee themselves is just too much of a burden.
    If it were a flat ¥100,000 a month, sure that's pricey, but it's about the cost of hiring one part-timer, so you can swallow it — once the fees alone top ¥200,000 though, it feels like you're getting fleeced.
    It's 3-5% of sales, so as an expense it's just too heavy.
    For costs that don't directly generate sales, a few tens of thousands of yen is about the max a store can stomach.
    3AnonymousAug 27, 2026 07:12
    Who's actually footing the bill for mass-producing all these 1-yen coins?
    4AnonymousAug 27, 2026 07:14
    Ramen shops basically price in 10-yen units, so 1-yen coins don't really factor in, do they?
    34AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:08
    Re: #4
    If a bowl of ramen is ¥880 before tax, that comes to ¥968 once consumption tax is added.
    5AnonymousAug 27, 2026 07:38
    If Japan built a zero-fee cashless system like India's, stores would've been so much better off.
    35AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:15
    Re: #5
    The maintenance and other running costs there are covered by taxes, though.
    And naturally, with no competition, it ends up way pricier than anything private.
    6AnonymousAug 27, 2026 07:43
    Credit card fraud: ¥50 billion in damages.
    7AnonymousAug 27, 2026 07:53
    Everyone keeps talking about rising prices, but inflation is only around 2%.
    They're just tacking the cashless processing fee on top of that.
    14AnonymousAug 27, 2026 08:38
    Re: #7
    Prices go up every year, and there are subsidies for energy and other things on top of that — that comment is way off base.
    8AnonymousAug 27, 2026 07:58
    Because cashless is starting to feel outdated.
    11AnonymousAug 27, 2026 08:23
    Compared to the U.S.,
    the credit card processing fees stores have to pay in Japan are just higher.
    12AnonymousAug 27, 2026 08:25
    Thinking about management costs,
    I think it'd be fine to just scrap the 1-yen and 5-yen coins
    and round all cash payments to the nearest 10 yen.

    Vending machines and ticket machines already don't take them anyway,
    so I don't think there'd be much pushback.
    18AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:13
    Re: #12
    That's the consumption tax's fault.
    13AnonymousAug 27, 2026 08:35
    I wonder if they'll ever make a new 2,000-yen bill.
    15AnonymousAug 27, 2026 08:58
    Just charge the customer the processing fee — problem solved.
    16AnonymousAug 27, 2026 08:58
    Re: #14
    Well, while prices overseas have doubled over the past 30 years,
    Japan was the only one stuck in deflation,
    so honestly this is just that "distortion" slowly working itself out.
    19AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:26
    I don't go to cash-only stores.
    If I walk in and find out it's cash-only, I just walk back out.
    Cash means a pocket full of jangling coins, which is annoying.
    20AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:36
    With prices climbing, I've started going more often to stores like OK (a discount supermarket chain) that offer cash discounts.
    21AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:45
    Losing 3% of sales to fees really stings. At my company, our commission rate dropped and our take-home pay went down because of it.
    22AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:47
    > Because of this "return to cash" trend, demand for 1-yen coins,
    > which had been steadily declining, has now "leveled off." That's why
    > production got a big boost this fiscal year.

    The headline and the actual point of the article don't really match up lol
    23AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:12
    Before the consumption tax was introduced, 1-yen coins barely got used at all.
    24AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:13
    I wonder if these fees just end up lining the pockets of amakudari bureaucrats (retired officials parachuted into cushy industry jobs).
    25AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:21
    Meanwhile the EU caps cashless processing fees at 0.3%.
    33AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:03
    Re: #25
    Why can't Japan do the same?
    26AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:25
    It's a vicious cycle — fees won't drop because nobody uses it, and nobody uses it because the fees won't drop.
    27AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:26
    Bottom line, these fees are basically protection money. Bureaucrats, politicians, corporations — this country runs on a real thug mentality.
    28AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:42
    Any store that can't stomach a mere 3% or so in fees deserves to go under.
    The "impulse buy" boost from offering cashless payments outweighs that cost anyway.

    Stores that can't take a short-term hit for long-term gain are just running on fumes — sooner or later they'll get weeded out.
    39AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:12
    Re: #28
    It really is a strange situation, but since nobody's doing anything about it, nothing changes.
    For a payment processor, whether it's a ¥10 purchase or a ¥100,000 one, the cost of providing the service is the same. There's no justification for skimming 3% off the sale. It's also absurd that cash prices and electronic payment prices have to match. I wish antitrust and anti-cartel law would step in on this. This is clearly a predatory business practice.
    42AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:20
    Re: #28
    Aren't you confusing this with credit cards?
    You can't exactly make impulse buys with Suica or PayPay, can you?
    29AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:42
    I want them to make a low-denomination coin about as heavy as the 500-yen coin. A hole through the center would help too — you could string a bunch together.
    You need something like that to jab at a creep's eye or temple to scare them off.
    31AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:58
    You can really feel the desperation to trash cashless payments here.
    They just keep churning out the same kind of article over and over to justify cash lol
    32AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:02
    The same people who normally gripe about middlemen skimming profits go dead silent when it comes to cashless's rip-off fees.
    If anything, they're the ones saying "just pay it, it's not a big deal."
    36AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:37
    Re: #33
    Since they can't make money off merchant stores anymore, there's no cashback for consumers.
    With no other way to profit but squeezing consumers, annual fees and issuance fees just get tacked on like it's totally normal.
    38AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:10
    Cashless payment fees around the world

    Japan: 3-5%
    Europe: 0.2-0.3% (capped by law)
    China: 0% (state-run)
    India: 0% (state-run)
    45AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:55
    Re: #38
    What about the US?
    41AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:17
    Realistically it needs to drop below 1% or it's rough.
    A ¥25 fee on a ¥1,000 bowl of ramen isn't something you can just shrug off.
    I heard China's rate is around 0.5%.
    43AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:32
    Going cashless would cut all kinds of costs — minting, printing, transport, security, storage — and stores would save on making change and training staff, while also cutting the risk of theft from the till. There should be a legal basis for reining in these unreasonably high processing fees. The reason the government won't do it is that it would invite the same criticism leveled at all the various pretexts it already uses to squeeze taxes out of the public.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Business News+) thread “[Society] One in Three People Are Cashless — So Why This Era of “1-Yen Coin Mass Production”? Stores Are Ditching QR Payments… The Surprisingly Convincing Reason“.

  • Apple Refreshes Mac Mini and Mac Studio — 5ch: ‘That’s Hiace Van Money’

    Apple announced new Mac mini and Mac Studio models, sparking discussion on 5ch’s Business News+ board. The new Mac mini starts at $899, while the top-end Mac Studio configuration runs $5,499, and debate broke out over memory capacity and pricing for running AI locally. Some commented, “You could buy a Hiace (Toyota’s popular commercial van) for what the Mac Studio costs,” and the thread expanded into comparisons with Windows.

    (Bloomberg): Apple Inc. unveiled the latest models of its “Mac mini” and “Mac Studio” desktop computers on the 25th, significantly upgrading the processors in both high-demand machines.

    The new Mac mini starts at $899 and comes equipped with Apple’s new “M6” chip or the “M5 Pro.” For the Mac Studio, the M5 Max configuration starts at $2,499, while the new M5 Ultra configuration runs $5,499.

    According to Apple, both models are available for pre-order starting the 25th, with in-store sales beginning September 22. They will ship with the latest version of the Mac operating system, “macOS 27 Golden Gate,” pre-installed. The OS will begin rolling out to other Mac users this fall.

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

    2AnonymousAug 26, 2026 19:57
    I'd have bought one if it were still ¥100 to the dollar.
    3AnonymousAug 26, 2026 20:04
    For a while, a high-memory Mac Studio is a necessary evil.
    If the Republicans somehow win the midterms, the world will probably start shifting away from US reliance, toward Medusa Halo + Linux Mint or OpenSUSE.
    22AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:47
    Re: #3
    Calling one model choice a "necessary evil" — you don't understand the world at all.
    Amazing you can write about things with such a narrow worldview.
    4AnonymousAug 26, 2026 20:21
    If I were buying, it'd be the Mac mini.
    Not that I'm buying, lol
    5AnonymousAug 26, 2026 20:32
    Isn't this basically just a price hike?
    6AnonymousAug 26, 2026 20:34
    Mac mini | Dell (3x 32-inch monitors)
    7AnonymousAug 26, 2026 20:42
    The Mac mini got popular for running AI locally and became hard to find.
    But if the new one is 4x faster at AI, guess it's fine I never got my hands on the old model.
    8AnonymousAug 26, 2026 21:19
    32GB is the wall for running local models with around 10 billion (10B) parameters.
    If you're aiming for 100B, you need 128GB.
    11AnonymousAug 26, 2026 21:49
    Re: #8
    DDR5-44800 64GB x2 runs about ¥300,000, you know?
    14AnonymousAug 26, 2026 22:15
    Re: #8
    It's unified memory, but the mini tops out at 64GB while the Studio goes up to 512GB, so it should work fine either way?
    Configure the Studio with 128GB RAM and a 1TB SSD and it ends up costing about the same as an NVIDIA DGX Spark.
    9AnonymousAug 26, 2026 21:28
    The new Mac mini is basically an AI machine.
    10AnonymousAug 26, 2026 21:45
    I tried to buy a Mac mini back in July, but the lead time was so absurdly long it killed my motivation and I just let it drop.
    My old Catalina-era iMac still works fine for most things, but it's no good for AI.
    12AnonymousAug 26, 2026 22:12
    Honestly, at this point secondhand is fine.
    13AnonymousAug 26, 2026 22:15
    I'm on an M2, and AI models do run — but they still eat up way too many resources.
    At this rate it's not even going to fit on a phone. Not good enough yet.
    15AnonymousAug 26, 2026 22:34
    Is it really worth paying through the nose for these high specs and tokens?
    16AnonymousAug 26, 2026 22:42
    I'll wait for the M7.
    17AnonymousAug 26, 2026 22:45
    Looked it up — the original Mac mini (2005): $499, ¥58,590 including tax.
    24AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:54
    Re: #17
    Totally different thing — that's comparing to an Intel-era model. The original was a PowerPC, ancient history now.
    Then it went Intel.
    Then M1.
    Completely different machines each time.
    18AnonymousAug 26, 2026 22:57
    1.2TB/s — that's RTX 5080-class memory bandwidth. They really splurged on this one.
    19AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:11
    Why not just run AI in the cloud?
    25AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:59
    Re: #19
    That's true for most people.
    But if you want an AI agent actually doing work for you,
    running it yourself keeps costs down.

    If you don't get that, you don't need this at all.
    Claude Code
    OpenAI Codex
    Peter Schneider, who made "Clawd Code," has joined OpenAI and says he's building something even moms can use, so before long
    something that does this remotely — and cheaper, regardless of the big names — should show up.
    Enjoy the wait until then.

    If it's not for work, this is otaku-level hobby stuff.
    20AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:30
    Which is better — this, or a Windows machine with a beefy GPU crammed in?
    23AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:48
    Re: #20
    Depends on what you actually want to do with it.
    If you don't even know that, you don't need either one.
    21AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:32
    From what I've experienced, with Apple you get performance that matches what you paid.
    Windows, on the other hand…
    26AnonymousAug 26, 2026 23:59
    I put Linux (Ubuntu) on my mother Masako's old iMac.
    She doesn't seem to have any complaints.
    They claim 20% of Americans use Linux — yeah, sure.
    Meanwhile in the People's Republic of China there are orders to use Linux.

    What's that about?
    It's been hot this year, so I figured whatever runs power-efficiently is fine — that's how I ended up here.
    28AnonymousAug 27, 2026 00:20
    > The M6 Mac mini comes with 16GB of memory, with up to 32GB available as an option.

    Given the power of this thing and the workloads it's meant to handle, I still can't wrap my head around that amount of memory being enough.
    29AnonymousAug 27, 2026 00:39
    Mac Studio costs as much as a Hiace van, lmao
    30AnonymousAug 27, 2026 05:38
    Local LLMs aside, once Apple Intelligence really kicks in it's apparently going to eat up a ton of memory, so max out the RAM as much as your budget allows. Go with a half-measure amount of memory and you'll want to upgrade again in no time.
    31AnonymousAug 27, 2026 05:50
    You don't have to force yourself to use Ollama — just run the "apfel-chat" command and you get a similar setup.
    33AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:12
    Buy a Mac, and if you've already got Windows you'll just stop using it anyway.
    It'll end up as an expensive paperweight.
    An iPhone, sure, if it's cheap, go ahead and buy one.
    36AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:31
    Re: #33
    Exactly right.
    Switching over ends up cheaper in total cost.
    34AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:06
    The argument is that paying for cloud ends up cheaper.
    37AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:35
    Use case? Anything a Mac can do, Windows can do too.
    Software assets? That's rich coming from Mac, which has abandoned its own software every time it switched architectures.
    With Windows, apps from 20 years ago still run, and you've got virtualization too.
    38AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:40
    Re: #37
    Mac's CPU architecture has changed three times, after all.
    Meanwhile some Windows 95-era software still runs on Windows — actually, Windows's backward compatibility is just absurd.
    40AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:52
    Re: #37
    If they can both do the same thing, just buy whichever one you like, no?

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Business News+) thread “[PC] Apple Refreshes Mac Mini and Mac Studio.”

  • Boss’s contradictory “think for yourself and act” demand goes viral — 5ch: “Never seen anyone who says this actually succeed”

    A post about a boss who says “Act without being told — think for yourself!” but then scolds “Don’t do things on your own without permission!” the moment you actually act, struck a chord on 5ch.

    The thread kicked off with someone pointing out “Isn’t that just contradictory?” and spiraled into a heated debate over how to interpret instructions at work and the generational gap behind it.

    1AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:07
    Boss: "Don't do things on your own without permission!"
    Isn't that messed up?
    6AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:10
    Never seen anyone who says this actually make it big.
    75AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:36
    Re: #6
    This. Any normal working adult can tell the difference.
    9AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:12
    As if an idiot could ever grasp what that phrase actually means.
    What you should really tell them is "You don't need to come in tomorrow."
    43AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:22
    Re: #9
    That's a case you'd lose 100% at the labor standards office.
    13AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:14
    Anyone who just does exactly what they're told is useless.
    19AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:15
    Re: #13
    Do exactly what you're told → get told to do more.
    Do more than you're told → get told not to do things nobody asked for.
    So what am I supposed to do?
    18AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:15
    Think for yourself, then get permission before you act. That's what a job is.
    22AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:16
    Re: #18
    That era is over…
    24AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:16
    If someone's about to eat sashimi and asks you to pass the soy sauce, what would OP do?
    28AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:18
    Re: #24
    I'd just hand them the soy sauce.
    36AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:21
    Re: #24
    I'd go buy soy sauce together with them.
    27AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:17
    Re: #22
    It's not over — that's exactly why bosses like the one in the thread title still exist.
    31AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:18
    Re: #27
    You're just getting left behind.
    32AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:19
    Re: #28
    The boss is saying OP's job is to pour the soy sauce into the little dish for them, not just hand it over.
    42AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:22
    Re: #32
    Then just say so! And you know full well that the moment you pour it, they'll turn around and say "don't just pour soy sauce without asking."
    33AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:19
    Re: #31
    So what? Accommodating your boss is just how a company works.
    37AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:21
    Re: #33
    You're changing the subject lol
    39AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:22
    How old is OP? If you're in your early 20s, fine, I get it — but if you're in your 30s or older saying this, you're definitely bad at your job.
    45AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:24
    Re: #39
    I'm 34, for the record.
    49AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:26
    This is literally this guy lol


    55AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:29
    Re: #49
    I'm starting to feel bad for this store manager.
    58AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:30
    Re: #49
    This is an exaggerated, fictional example, but it happens because the instructions were too vague. It's on the boss for slacking off and never explaining that "greeting customers" was part of the job.
    61AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:31
    Re: #49
    This part-timer is definitely bad at their job, right?
    65AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:32
    Re: #59
    What exactly did I get wrong here lol
    69AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:34
    Re: #65
    The moment you start bringing up "the times have changed," you're blowing this single one-off exchange way out of proportion.
    78AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:38
    Re: #69
    That's exactly what you're not getting. That logic used to fly back in the day. But it just doesn't work on kids today anymore. The education they grew up with is 180 degrees different from the Showa/Heisei era. So we have to update ourselves too.
    85AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:41
    Re: #78
    There you go drifting back to the "times have changed" thing again — which is exactly why people have to accommodate you just to have a conversation.
    72AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:35
    The result of thinking for yourself and taking action lmaooooo



    81AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:40
    Re: #72
    Getting fired seems well deserved given the huge damages lol
    Though the manager who wasn't there at opening AND didn't answer the phone probably got grilled hard by head office afterward too.
    79AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:38
    Re: #74
    And now you switch to a strawman argument lol How cowardly can you get lol
    82AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:40
    Re: #79
    Huh? So you want to get paid without ever gaining any work experience?
    87AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:42
    Re: #82
    Let's lay this out first, shall we? You used a strawman argument, didn't you? YES or NO.
    95AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:47
    Re: #87
    NO.
    Because your labor is no different from when you were first hired, right? So why should your pay go up? That's my question. Answer it.
    100AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:51
    Re: #87
    One more question. Companies pay the cost of providing training and experience — in other words, they're investing to increase your value. But you're denying that any value increase happens. So explain to me the logic behind why pay should still go up. And spare me the socialist logic, okay?
    107AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:54
    Re: #100
    That's a lot of questions lol Maybe start by reconsidering your "attitude when asking questions." Is that really how someone asking a question should behave?
    109AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:56
    Re: #107
    So you're admitting you can't even understand something that simple?
    114AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:58
    Re: #109
    Maybe you should learn how to actually have a back-and-forth conversation lol
    119AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:59
    "Don't wait to be told" = figure out the next step yourself to achieve the goal.
    "Don't do things on your own" = don't make decisions alone that go beyond your authority.
    In other words, it comes down to this:
    "Think for yourself — but also figure out for yourself where the line is that needs checking first."
    It's actually not contradictory at all, but the line is fuzzy, which is genuinely hard for people with developmental disorders (ADHD/ASD-type traits) to grasp.
    123AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:00
    Re: #119
    Have you actually interacted with kids these days?
    124AnonymousAug 27, 2026 13:01
    Re: #119
    People probably tell you you're really good at articulating things, huh?

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “Boss: “You’re supposed to act without being told! Think for yourself and act!” Me: “Got it”“.

  • ‘Product of Canada’ Label, US Company Inside: Shoppers Stunned by the Search for Truly Canadian Goods

    On a Canadian discussion board, as the boycott of American products continues, users have been debating how to spot “truly Canadian” goods. The popular pancake mix “Pearl Milling Company” was labeled “Product of Canada,” but it turned out to be a brand owned by U.S. giant PepsiCo, sparking widespread distrust of product labeling. Commenters shared the difference between the “Made in Canada” and “Product of Canada” standards, along with tips on genuinely domestic alternatives.

    1Anonymous2026-08-26 20:46
    Looking for Canadian-made products
    Pearl Milling is a Canadian company. I've been using it since the tariff war started. Tastes just as good. So here we are again, flipping over boxes checking for 'Product of USA.'
    2Anonymous2026-08-26 21:40
    Learned a lot from this thread, thanks everyone. So you're saying a product can say 'Product of Canada' and still be owned by a US company? How are Canadians supposed to tell the difference??
    15Anonymous2026-08-26 23:57
    There's a site called Madeinca.ca that does pretty thorough research for you — just type in the product name. It doesn't cover everything, but someone else in the thread also posted a good method for looking things up yourself.
    35Anonymous2026-08-27 02:51
    Honestly, I think the best move is to just not buy this kind of product at all. Buy Canadian flour made from Canadian wheat and make your own pancakes instead of this ultra-processed stuff.
    3Anonymous2026-08-26 20:51
    Pearl Milling Company is a PepsiCo brand, so I don't think it's especially 'Canadian' compared to other brands. No Name and President's Choice are Loblaws' private labels, so those are arguably more of a Canadian company (even if the actual manufacturer might be American).
    12Anonymous2026-08-26 20:53
    At least they have a plant in Canada and employ Canadians, I'd think.
    19Anonymous2026-08-26 21:01
    Took this photo at No Frills today. Pearl Milling was the only one labeled 'Product of Canada' — every other brand said 'Product of USA.'
    4Anonymous2026-08-26 21:18
    Pearl Milling Company's products are literally just Aunt Jemima with a new name.
    6Anonymous2026-08-26 21:33
    Huh, I looked into it a bit. Wait, seriously?? 'Product of Canada' doesn't mean what we all thought it meant. I think we need a new rule — 'Product of Canada' should have to mean 'Canadian company.' Thanks everyone for the info, this genuinely helped!
    5Anonymous2026-08-27 01:08
    Googled this real quick, hope it helps with your choices. 'Made in Canada' means at least 51% of the production cost was incurred in Canada and the last substantial transformation happened here. 'Product of Canada,' on the other hand, requires that 98% of the ingredients and processing be Canadian.
    8Anonymous2026-08-26 21:49
    Pancake mix is easy to make ahead yourself. Just buy local ingredients and mix them together.
    17Anonymous2026-08-26 22:20
    Agreed on that. But now is the 'Product of Canada' flour I buy actually Canadian? I'm starting to realize that just because it says 'Product of Canada' doesn't mean the profits are actually going to Canada…
    27Anonymous2026-08-26 22:39
    Is Bulk Barn a safe bet?
    36Anonymous2026-08-27 04:06
    Found flour at my local Save-On from a mill about 100km away. There's also a store where you can get flour from another mill within 200km. If you're serious about going local, it's worth hunting for stuff like this.
    10Anonymous2026-08-26 22:29
    Habitant went downhill, it's pretty bad now — no great loss.
    16Anonymous2026-08-26 22:32
    Agreed. If you want a genuinely Canadian soup brand, check out Sprague. It's fairly easy to find. You might have to check a few stores, but more and more of them have started carrying it since all this started.
    11Anonymous2026-08-26 21:09
    There's also Farine Five Roses, out of Montreal.
    13Anonymous2026-08-26 22:16
    'Product of Canada' just means 'made in Canada,' nothing more. By that definition, even Pepsi counts as 'Product of Canada' — the Pepsi sold here is made at a Canadian plant, but that plant is owned by PepsiCo.
    24Anonymous2026-08-27 00:20
    So that just means part of the process happened in Canada. For Canadians who actually want to buy something where the packaging, manufacturing, growing, and shipping are all done entirely in Canada, there's no way to know that from the label.
    14Anonymous2026-08-26 22:16
    Agreed. But finding out the profits are actually flowing to the US even though the package says 'Product of Canada'? That's a real 'wait, what?' moment.
    18Anonymous2026-08-27 01:00
    Thanks for the info. It's disappointing that some grocery stores are still giving American products such prime shelf space.
    20Anonymous2026-08-26 22:17
    It varies by product, so you just have to read the label. Same with Shoppers' Life Brand — some items are made in Canada (the parent company, Loblaws, is Canadian), while others are made in the US or elsewhere.
    28Anonymous2026-08-26 20:51
    Wait, are No Name and President's Choice made in America?
    29Anonymous2026-08-26 23:59
    At the end of the day, it's just rich people who want to Americanize everything lining their pockets.
    30Anonymous2026-08-26 20:59
    Went to No Frills today. Everything except Pearl Milling was labeled 'Product of Canada.' One said 'Packaged in Canada,' but it still said 'Product of USA' too.
    21Anonymous2026-08-26 22:22
    We need a new label. It should show 'who actually profits from this product.'
    25Anonymous2026-08-27 00:16
    Right, whether it's a Canadian billionaire profiting or an American one.
    22Anonymous2026-08-26 23:48
    Can't speak for all Canadians, but personally, if I know something's Canadian-made, I'll pay a bit more for it.
    37Anonymous2026-08-27 03:58
    I think that's fair. I'm not judging anyone whose budget is tight and price has to come first. But if it's the same price, or just a few cents difference, I'd hope people choose Canadian.
    42Anonymous2026-08-26 23:15
    Let's all just say it together: 'you buy what you can afford.' Not everyone has the wiggle room to pay extra for Canadian products.
    23Anonymous2026-08-27 00:39
    Nice, I like that you're actually doing something about it.
    31Anonymous2026-08-26 21:11
    You wrote 'everything except Pearl Milling was Product of Canada' — didn't you mean 'Product of USA'?
    32Anonymous2026-08-26 21:14
    Yes! Oops, I got it backwards. Everything except Pearl Milling was 'Product of USA.' Thanks for the correction!
    33Anonymous2026-08-27 00:42
    Bulk Barn is a Canadian company, but you have to check to know where the actual product comes from. They used to label country of origin — not sure if they still do.
    34Anonymous2026-08-27 03:56
    Is the PC brand an American company, or just American-made?
    38Anonymous2026-08-27 03:59
    Sorry, but I think that's just something she has to put up with.
    41Anonymous2026-08-27 02:09
    My girlfriend works at a grocery store and this whole thing is driving her up the wall. It's already a tough, thankless job. If people want to boycott American products, they can just read the label — flipping every box over on the shelf doesn't accomplish anything.
    39Anonymous2026-08-26 23:14
    Who's doing that — customers, or employees?
    40Anonymous2026-08-27 01:55
    Miss the days when Pearl Milling was still Aunt Jemima.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Lemmy c/canada) thread “Sovereignty Shopping.”

  • Apple to Hold New Product Event on September 9 — Anticipation Builds for Foldable iPhone

    Apple is reportedly set to hold one of its biggest product launch events of the year on September 9, and the long-rumored first foldable iPhone is finally starting to feel real. On 5ch, the discussion ranged from price predictions to a debate over whether a vertical or horizontal fold is more practical, to comparisons with Samsung and Huawei’s existing foldables.

    Published 8/27 (Thu) 2:32 AM

    TBS CROSS DIG with Bloomberg

    (Bloomberg) — Apple will hold its biggest new product launch event of the year on September 9, marking the full debut of the new leadership era under CEO John Ternus.

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

    2AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:06
    Gonna run about ¥400,000?
    159AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:02
    Re: #2
    Probably ¥450,000 for the Pro?

    So cheeeap!
    5AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:07
    Stock's tanking, lol
    Guess everyone already knows it won't sell
    107AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:07
    Re: #5
    Uh, it's up though?
    Got a source, or is that just in your head?
    150AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:55
    Re: #5
    If you want a big screen, a tablet just makes more sense
    28AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:14
    When are we getting a phone that just projects an image floating in mid-air?
    30AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:15
    Re: #28
    Forget that, I want a computer that beams the image straight into my head, no eyes needed
    31AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:15
    Re: #28
    The day's coming when holograms fly spaceships and perform surgery
    50AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:24
    Re: #28
    It won't be totally empty space, but NHK's research labs are already building holographic displays smaller than before
    Hopefully it's ready by like Virtua Fighter 10
    38AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:17
    If they put out some Android-tier monstrosity like this, Jobs is gonna rise from the grave
    67AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:35
    Re: #38
    The 'Bald Notch' iPhone was already a bizarre design itself (jab combining 'bald' — likely aimed at Tim Cook — with the iPhone's notch)
    42AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:20
    Huawei's got a foldable that doesn't shrink the screen for videos and manga — it stays full-size. They're releasing it as a 16:9 phone, and honestly this 16:9 approach beats Apple's.
    69AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:37
    Re: #42
    On phones, Huawei really does feel like they're ahead of the game
    44AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:21
    Out of ideas, so they're just copying Samsung
    Who cares if it folds
    Lame
    48AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:24
    Re: #44
    Apple hasn't put out anything decent since Jobs died… they're just a company coasting on his legacy at this point
    45AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:21
    They should've realized way earlier that leaving the display fully exposed was a bad call
    58AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:27
    Re: #45
    You can just throw a book-style cover on it though
    Plenty of people already do that, right?
    46AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:22
    Would Jobs even call this beautiful?
    53AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:26
    Re: #46
    The man said even phone cases were annoying clutter — anything that's not sleek and minimal is a non-starter for him, let alone something this bulky
    Is Apple heading downhill again…
    51AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:25
    A book-fold is already old news, so maybe they'll just go straight to a quad-fold
    I'm kind of serious
    52AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:25
    Is there really demand for a folding iPhone? Isn't the iPad what actually needs this?
    If the iPad could fold, it'd fit in a small bag — now that would actually be convenient.
    60AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:29
    Re: #52
    Between iPhone and iPad, Apple ships way, way more iPhones, so that's where the priority is
    91AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:52
    Re: #52
    Unfold it and it basically becomes an iPad mini, right?
    109AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:08
    Re: #52
    Pretty sure it's just going to turn into a mad scramble to get one
    54AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:26
    The vertical-fold one seems fine, but I can't picture what the horizontal-fold one is actually for
    59AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:28
    Re: #54
    Fold it vertically and Tetris or other falling-block games would be great. Fold it horizontally and it's perfect for reading, like a Kindle.
    110AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:09
    Re: #54
    The vertical-fold ones are seriously unpopular, basically dead in the water at this point
    65AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:32
    Re: #60
    Tablets are honestly a pretty niche, in-between product now, squeezed between laptops and phones with bigger screens. They might just fade away eventually.
    114AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:10
    Re: #65
    That's what you'd think
    I thought the same, but once I bought one, there's not a day I don't use it
    66AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:33
    A foldable phone will change your life, seriously
    Ridiculously convenient. Feels like carrying a mini laptop!
    80AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:46
    Re: #66
    Tried out Samsung's and yeah, it actually felt pretty good
    Just heavy and pricey lol
    75AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:43
    So the old flip phone was right all along
    78AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:45
    Re: #75
    Back then it wasn't two screens, just one screen plus buttons, so it wasn't that pricey. Two screens basically means double the phone. You'd need Nintendo DS-level mass production to bring costs down.
    77AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:45
    Unfold it and all you get is a bigger rectangle — videos won't actually display much bigger, so it's money down the drain
    112AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:10
    Re: #77
    The iPhone fold looks like it'll land a good screen ratio, so no worries there
    79AnonymousAug 27, 2026 09:46
    Japanese people who wouldn't even glance at Samsung's foldables are about to swarm this one
    117AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:15
    Re: #79
    Same here, don't need Android
    Has to be iOS or there's no point

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “[Smartphones] Apple to Hold New Product Event on September 9 — Foldable iPhone Reveal?.”

  • Roki Sasaki Pulled Early with Blister on Middle Finger — 5ch: ‘Yamamoto 12 Wins in 23 Starts, Sasaki Just 5’

    Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki was forced out of Saturday’s game against the Braves (Aug. 26 U.S. time / Aug. 27 Japan time) partway through the 4th inning. He’d thrown 66 pitches over 3 1/3 innings, allowing 6 hits and 4 runs; the cause was announced as a blister on the middle finger of his right hand. The thread was split between comparing his win total to Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s despite a similar number of starts, and debating whether it’s acceptable for a pro to leave a game over a blister.

    ◆MLB: Braves vs. Dodgers (Aug. 26, at Truist Park, Atlanta, Georgia)

    Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (24) started on the road against the Braves on Aug. 26 (Aug. 27 Japan time), but was forced to leave the game early after an incident partway through the 4th inning.

    He showed signs of discomfort in his right hand and abruptly left the mound, missing out on his 6th win. He threw 66 pitches over 3 1/3 innings, allowing 6 hits and 4 runs, with 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. His fastest pitch topped out at 98.9 mph (about 159.2 km/h), and his ERA rose to 4.60.

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

    2AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:33
    A blister, huh?
    Good thing it's not chickenpox.
    3AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:33
    He's pitching well but just can't catch a win.
    28AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:45
    Re: #3
    He wasn't pitching well today though.
    88AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:15
    Re: #3
    Where exactly was the good pitching??
    You're setting the bar pretty low, lol
    6AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:34
    Yamamoto → 12 wins in 23 starts
    Sasaki → 5 wins in 23 starts
    7AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:35
    This guy's always busting a blister.

    [High School Baseball] Roki Sasaki pulled from the U-18 national team send-off game due to a blister — no throwing for the time being
    https://hayabusa9.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/mnewsplus/1566900077/
    32AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:47
    Re: #7
    Doesn't the skin usually get thicker where a blister forms?
    8AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:35
    SoftBank or the Giants, huh. I'd love to see him in a Tigers uniform though. (Hanshin Tigers)
    83AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:10
    Re: #8
    Any team that signs him after he snubbed NPB like that would be out of its mind.
    13AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:37
    Ohtani: 'I'm the only one allowed to leave a game because of a blister.'
    16AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:38
    6 hits, 4 runs — that's not an 'emergency exit,' that's just getting knocked out, lol.
    This spin is rough.
    22AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:43
    Roki: 'Ow, ow… ( ﾉД`)ｼｸｼｸ…' (sobbing emoticon)
    23AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:44
    He's already made 23 starts?
    Pretty sure he didn't throw that many even back in his Marines days.
    24AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:44
    The Dodgers are full of guys who break down in an instant, total duds — 'Glass Ace' or whatever.
    25AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:44
    Come on, offense — hit a little more when Sasaki's on the mound!
    84AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:11
    Re: #25
    He actually gets better run support and defense than Yamamoto or Ohtani do. He just doesn't rack up wins because he doesn't pitch deep into games.
    26AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:45
    If it were Kikuchi or Sugano, they'd get left in to be exposed even after giving up 7-8 runs, but this kid gets protected.
    Though part of that's because those teams don't have anyone to replace them with.
    31AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:46
    'A diligent father who sneaks around' — read it backwards… (wordplay: まめ/mame means both 'blister' and 'diligent'; the line is a kana palindrome)
    33AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:52
    This cracked me up.

    Roki Sasaki takes a comical tumble, has the umpire cracking up
    1 Mid-broadcast, but reposting to affiliate sites is prohibited (ﾜｯﾁｮｲW 9196-CC7s) 2026/08/27 (Thu) 10:40:54.34 ID:bIH/fiF70
    https://tadaup.jp/8oEUzlS5.mp4
    34AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:53
    Well, silver lining —
    now he can drop out of the rotation with a clear conscience.
    36AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:53
    Still better than Murakami though.
    How many games has that guy gone hitless now?
    He's been completely figured out, totally.
    98AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:31
    Re: #36
    Not totally sure, but
    he hasn't gotten a hit in something like 10 games.
    Just 1 hit total.
    37AnonymousAug 27, 2026 10:53
    If they're going to give a minor-league-level pitcher the most starts on the team, they've got the money — they should've gone out and majorly reinforced the rotation instead.
    60AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:25
    Re: #37
    They did, though —
    in a big way.
    39AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:01
    Leaving a game over a blister?
    That's a failure as a pro.
    40AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:01
    There he goes again, getting bailed out mid-inning.
    44AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:05
    Weird for Sasaki to get a blister —
    he never had blister trouble back in his Japan days, right?
    48AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:11
    Re: #44
    He had plenty of it.
    53AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:22
    Re: #44
    I asked Chappy (nickname for ChatGPT) about Roki Sasaki vs. blisters —

    Roki Sasaki's battle with blisters goes back to his U-18 national team days in 2019 and has kept recurring since he turned pro.
    2019: Pulled mid-game twice at the U-18 tournament (after 12 and 19 pitches)
    2022: Sidelined about a month after a blister burst
    2023: It recurred, but he was pulled early and managed carefully to prevent it from getting worse, then returned.
    67AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:31
    Must be rough throwing a splitter with a blister on your middle finger.
    105AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:41
    Re: #67
    He throws so many splitters — that's exactly why he gets blisters on his middle finger.
    68AnonymousAug 27, 2026 11:35
    For a second I thought it said Kim Hye-seong, lol
    87AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:14
    Re: #68
    Didn't the lineup flow better — and wasn't Ohtani's bat hotter — when Kim was playing instead of Tucker?
    85AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:12
    Re: #32
    He hasn't thrown much since high school.
    100AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:33
    Re: #85
    Ah, I see — so he's not logging enough throwing reps.
    His finger-callus thickness is like Lv10 out of a max Lv99?
    103AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:38
    Why is it only Ohtani and Sasaki who keep coming down with 'it hurts, it hurts' disease?
    Huh, so Yamamoto's fine?
    104AnonymousAug 27, 2026 12:39
    Re: #103
    Because they rely on raw talent and don't have the technique.

    ※This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Speed+) thread “[MLB] Roki Sasaki pulled early in the 4th inning… showed signs of discomfort in his right hand on the mound — cause announced as a blister on his right middle finger.”