Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

On 5ch’s Livegalileo (“Nandemo Jikkyo”) board, a post arguing “alcohol is no different from drugs, so it might as well be banned” sparked a wide-ranging debate. Opponents pointed to America’s Prohibition era (1920–33), which failed after fueling bootlegging and black markets, while supporters countered that “if you fix what caused it to fail back then, it could work this time.” The thread also touched on gradually curbing demand through tax hikes and tighter rules the way cigarettes have been handled, what to do about cooking sake, and whether home brewing should be allowed — with opinions split over where exactly to draw the line between banning, regulating, and leaving things as they are.

53AnonymousSep 23, 2026 13:17

Just treat it like cigarettes. Look at where smoking is now — prices went up, and smokers ended up looking like this lol ↓


Do the exact same thing with alcohol. Turn bars that serve it into cage-like holding pens, and isolate the people drinking inside. When they want to leave, measure their breath, and the key-lock only releases if they're under a certain level. Not a ban — quarantine.

61AnonymousSep 23, 2026 13:19

Re: #53
Just raise the liquor tax tenfold. Prices go up, but you can still drink if you really want to — so demand for alcohol gradually declines.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Reiwa-era guy: “Isn’t alcohol basically the same as drugs? Might as well ban it, right?”.”

In Hello! Project’s daily “Hello! Q&A” feature, Hana Goto was asked what she considers cute about herself and answered, “For better or worse, I trust people, so I figure I’ll probably get talked into buying a vase myself someday, lol” — a remark that quickly became a talking point on 5ch’s Hello! Project board. “Getting talked into buying a vase” is an old Japanese expression for so-called “spiritual sales” scams run by religious groups (con artists pressuring believers into buying overpriced “spiritually powerful” vases or seals). The thread saw posters invoking Junko Sakurada, an idol who faced similar rumors back in the 1980s, alongside surprised comments wondering whether the joke “still lands in the Reiwa era.” At the same time, the remark also pulled the conversation toward the broader social fallout from the former Unification Church, so the thread ranged from lighthearted banter to more topical exchanges.

*This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Goto Hana: ‘For better or worse I trust people, so I figure I’ll probably get talked into buying a vase myself someday, lol’.”

A thread titled “Bipolar NEET (27), it’s been 4 days since Mom vanished” on 5ch’s Newsoku VIP board drew a wave of replies. The poster, who says they hold a disability certificate for bipolar disorder and live with their mother while chipping in for living expenses despite being a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), explained that their mother left on a trip with the poster’s older brother and hasn’t come home in four days. The thread ranged from the state of the house — trash and dirty dishes piling up — to arguments over whether the poster had actually gone to Hello Work (Japan’s public employment office), and on to talk of calling the police and whether welfare benefits were even an option. Commenters alternated between teasing the poster for having been “abandoned” and the poster’s own deadpan pushback.

※This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Newsoku VIP) thread “Bipolar NEET (27), it’s been 4 days since Mom vanished.”

A thread about new employees botching phone calls has been buzzing on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board. Posters shared story after story of new hires mixing up the company name — like answering “Hello, this is XX Battery Factory” — or getting flustered over the right way to speak while putting a caller on hold. The thread split into two camps: those who saw these blunders as a matter of the new hire’s own aptitude, and those who blamed company culture for putting rookies on phone duty from day one without proper training. The discussion gradually expanded into broader workplace issues — unpaid overtime, how new-hire training should be run, and how harassment complaints get handled.

124AnonymousSep 23, 2026 11:49

133AnonymousSep 23, 2026 11:55

Re: #124
This is exactly why wages never go up — because companies pander to people like this.
Worker's rights have gotten so strong that hiring an employee has become a liability.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (“Nandemo Jikkyo G”) thread “[Sad News] Gen Z’s Reasons for Quitting Have Reached Their Limit.”

Juice=Juice’s Inoue Reon has revealed that on the night her joining the group was announced, she got a welcome message on LINE from Danbara Ruru. The two had barely spoken before Inoue joined, but that message brought them close, and they’re now on nickname terms, with Inoue calling her “Ruru-chan.” Danbara herself has looked back on it, saying she was “happy to finally have a same-age groupmate,” reflecting on a stretch of time when she didn’t have peers her own age. The thread was full of warm reactions to the pair’s bond, along with a lively side debate over the hypothetical: “What if Inoue had ended up in a different group?”

※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[Emo] Inoue Reon: “Danbara Ruru, who I’d never even talked to, sent me a LINE message welcoming me the night my joining Juice was announced”.”