Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Not Sakamoto: Who’s the Active Player Being Hailed as the One Who ‘Absolutely Must Become Manager’?

    The Yomiuri Giants, locked in a fierce pennant race with the Hanshin Tigers, are buzzing with talk about next season’s managerial appointment. Former manager Shinnosuke Abe abruptly resigned in May, and coach Hideki Hashigami has been serving as acting manager ever since — but he’s seen as unlikely to be promoted to the job outright. An AERA DIGITAL article hinted that there’s someone who ‘absolutely must become manager,’ phrasing it in a way that seemed to point not to presumed favorite Hayato Sakamoto but to someone else entirely. On 5ch, users ran with the article’s provocative headline, floating names like Seiji Kobayashi and Tomoyuki Sugano, and even Suguru Egawa and Tsuyoshi Shinjo, while others pointed out the unwritten rule that a Giants manager must be a homegrown player who was either a cleanup hitter or an ace. The discussion also touched on Sakamoto’s track record and the long-standing exclusion of Egawa from managerial consideration over his brief stint with the Hanshin Tigers.

    9/16 (Wed) 12:30 — AERA DIGITAL

    Attention is turning to the Yomiuri Giants’ managerial appointment for next season and beyond, as the team wages a fierce pennant race against the Hanshin Tigers.

    Acting manager Hideki Hashigami took the helm on May 26 following former manager Shinnosuke Abe’s abrupt resignation, and through skillful bench management and deployment of players, he has put the team within reach of a come-from-behind title against a stacked Hanshin roster. Even so, the prevailing view is that Hashigami is unlikely to be promoted to full-time manager this coming offseason.

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

    2AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:09
    We don't need some analyst's opinion!
    14AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:13
    Re: #2
    Sakamoto: "The analyst should be the one to become manager."
    4AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:10
    >I think the person who absolutely must become manager is Seiji Kobayashi

    Huh?
    6AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:10
    He just gives off 'quirky/spacey' vibes to me, personally (fushigi-chan — slang for an eccentric, space-cadet type)
    16AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:14
    Isn't it the case that only a player who's batted cleanup for the Giants or been treated as the team's ace can become manager?
    17AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:14
    ＞A certain Giants OB says this.

    Who's going around saying such sloppy stuff, lol
    18AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:14
    At this rate they'll end up a team that only cuts it on the world stage
    20AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:14
    The guy who chowed down on a croissant while getting chewed out by his coach
    25AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:17
    Please, no bringing in Nishi as a coach
    28AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:18
    He can't hit because his baseball IQ is bad
    29AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:19
    Wait?
    I thought there was news about Abe coming back, was that wrong?
    Is this just a clickbait rumor piece?
    88AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:39
    Re: #29
    It was just Hirooka saying things like
    "What if they brought Abe back?"
    "An outsider can't teach the Giants' tradition and pride"
    "It's strange why they let Hashigami, one of Nomura's disciples, serve as acting manager"
    30AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:19
    Re: #1
    Sincere guys won't cut it
    You need someone who can play the heel
    32AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:21
    If they don't make Hashigami the manager, the Giants are really going to slump
    There's no upside to this 'pure bloodline' policy
    33AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:21
    Just go for it and offer the job to Shinjo
    35AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:22
    With Yoshinobu going back on the air and opening up a slot at Nippon TV, Kobayashi's the best fit for that
    38AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:23
    Kobayashi's been on the national team too, so he's qualified, right?
    39AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:23
    Don't you know the requirement isn't just being homegrown — you also need to have been cleanup hitter or ace?
    43AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:24
    Re: #39
    Did Sakamoto even bat cleanup that much, though?
    40AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:23
    Wait, wait… don't you mean Sugano?
    44AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:24
    Maybe the type who eats bread in the middle of getting scolded is actually the better choice
    74AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:33
    If popularity's the criteria, there's Egawa, Kuwata, Makihara, Saito (though he might not leave much of an impression)

    Dave's a problem child but he could work too

    Might as well go with Kiyo at this point
    76AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:34
    Re: #74
    Kiyo's great
    'Baseball, totally turnt' (a dark joke about his past drug scandal — gangimari is slang for being high, and yakiu is meme-speak for 'baseball')
    91AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:41
    Kobayashi's just good-looking, that's it
    92AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:42
    Re: #91
    Isn't he popular with the middle-aged auntie Giants fans?
    116AnonymousSep 16, 2026 19:00
    Re: #91
    There's even a bento named after him or something on the Tokyo Dome menu
    so he must be popular, right?
    95AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:44
    Why couldn't Egawa become manager in the first place? That's messed up
    Kuwata's next in line after him
    99AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:49
    Re: #95
    Because of the 'pure bloodline' policy
    Egawa was with the Hanshin Tigers for even just a moment

    Background and key points of discussion

    Former Giants manager Shinnosuke Abe abruptly resigned in May, and coach Hideki Hashigami has been running the team as acting manager ever since. There’s said to be an unwritten rule that a Giants manager must be a homegrown player who served as cleanup hitter or ace, with Hayato Sakamoto widely seen as the frontrunner — though there’s also strong support for keeping Hashigami on permanently. The thread mainly revolved around two points. First, in response to the article’s provocative line about someone who ‘absolutely must become manager,’ a string of half-joking posts floated names other than Sakamoto — Seiji Kobayashi, Tomoyuki Sugano, and even Suguru Egawa, Masumi Kuwata, and Tsuyoshi Shinjo. Second, there was debate over the ‘homegrown’ requirement itself, tied to the fact that Egawa has reportedly been excluded from managerial consideration because of his brief stint with the Hanshin Tigers. It’s worth noting that the ‘Abe comeback’ claim mentioned in the article appears to be little more than speculation based on the personal opinion of Tatsuro Hirooka.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread ‘[Giants] Not Sakamoto: Who’s the Active Player Being Hailed as the One Who ‘Absolutely Must Become Manager’?.’

  • New Ramen Shop Management Game Hits Early Access September 28 — 5ch: ‘The Original Was Charumera’

    Wild Dog Inc. has announced that the early access version of “Japanese Ramen Simulator,” a ramen shop management simulation supporting up to 6-player co-op, will launch on September 28. The game has players running a shop in pursuit of the perfect bowl of ramen. Following the announcement, 5ch lit up with a mix of reactions — debates over the true origins of ramen, nostalgic callbacks to older titles like the PS1’s “Ramen Bashi” and the Famicom’s “Charumera,” and cautious opinions that the trailer alone made it hard to gauge what the game actually plays like.

    [Up to 6-Player Multiplayer] Management Sim “Japanese Ramen Simulator,” About Chasing the Perfect Ramen Shop, Set for Early Access Release on September 28

    September 16, 2026, 10:45

    Wild Dog Inc. announced on September 16 that the early access version of its in-development title “Japanese Ramen Simulator” will release on September 28.

    Source: news.denfaminicogamer.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:07
    Re: #1
    Is it coming to smartphone?
    I'd give it a try if it is.
    4AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:10
    I'd play a game where you go around assassinating the owners of Iekei ramen shops in your neighborhood. (Iekei = a popular pork-broth ramen style/chain)
    5AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:10
    Isn't ramen originally Chinese food anyway?
    14AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:14
    Re: #5
    What we think of as ramen, supposedly derived from China, is actually "Nisshiki ramen" (Japanese-style lamian) — a dish that doesn't even exist in China. It's uniquely Japanese.
    62AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:28
    Re: #5
    I saw Chinese people getting mad about this — saying Japanese ramen is nothing like Chinese ramen, so stop pretending it's Chinese.
    7AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:11
    That's way too loaded up, lol
    8AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:11
    Feels like this type of management sim was all the rage a while back.
    12AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:14
    Do you stand there with your arms crossed glaring at customers while they eat?
    13AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:14
    Quit messing around with dumb stuff like this and…


    GET. A. JOB!
    17AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:16
    There was that gloriously bad cult classic on the original PlayStation called "Ramen Bashi."
    19AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:19
    The most important thing for a ramen shop is the sales pitch — it's all about how well you can hype it up online.
    21AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:20
    Hmm, hard to tell from just the trailer… looks kinda boring lol
    Might be better off just playing a Kairosoft game. (Kairosoft = Japanese studio known for simple, quirky management sims)
    22AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:21
    Once you hit your 40s, fatty ramen just sits heavy in your stomach.
    23AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:22
    Wait, this is on the entertainment/sports board??
    I'm reporting this as stealth marketing.
    25AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:24
    Is there a Staphylococcus aureus topping option?
    26AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:28
    Can you build the kind of ramen shop where the customers cause a nuisance to the whole neighborhood?
    29AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:32
    If you can't actually taste it, this can't really work as a game
    As a task it's just too simple to be fun
    Watching a stockpot, boiling pre-made noodles, slicing pre-made chashu and vegetables, and plating it
    This genre basically can't be more than Kairosoft-level content
    33AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:34
    Wasn't there a Yoshinoya customer-service game back in the PS2 era? Is it gonna be like that?
    47AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:51
    Re: #33
    That one was a real weird game.
    This one actually looks decently fun though.
    69AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:45
    Re: #33
    Isn't that the same series as the convenience store one and the card game shop one?
    35AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:35
    You lose if your food stall causes a mass food poisoning outbreak.
    38AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:39
    You should just try working a part-time job at one for real.
    The kitchen smells, the ingredient odors, the manager yelling at you — it's rough until you get used to it, but that's the real deal.
    39AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:39
    Got an idea —

    instead of a game about chasing success, make one about surviving at absolute rock bottom. That would sell like crazy.
    40AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:40
    Let's go get crab ramen! Let's go get crab ramen!
    41AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:40
    It's probably just gonna be some garbage Steam game anyway.
    45AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:50
    Just picking the shop curtain design and staff T-shirt designs is probably gonna eat up as much time as customizing a team in Winning Eleven
    I bet there are like 100 different arm-crossing poses for the shop owner too.
    50AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:02
    Back in the day there was a game called "Charumera," you know.
    51AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:06
    Aside from Charumera, ramen games are pretty much all just goofy shovelware
    "Shoyu Ramen Forever" was actually pretty fun though.
    52AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:08
    Let's open a shop next to a gas station and sell rice balls and trading cards too.
    54AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:14
    Thought this was gonna be that Doraemon dorayaki shop game, but nope.
    56AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:18
    The original ramen game is Charumera
    65AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:39
    Re: #56
    What's the game actually like?
    57AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:23
    There have been other "Ramen Simulator" games before too, right?
    60AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:27
    What's even the objective?
    Is there a shop manager role or something?
    Co-op play makes no sense to me lol

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    “Japanese Ramen Simulator” is one of many restaurant management sims that have proliferated in recent years, with its up-to-6-player co-op support highlighted as a key feature. Discussion in the thread centered on two main points. The first was the debate over ramen’s origins: while the dish traces back to Chinese noodle cooking, it evolved into its own uniquely Japanese form known as “Nisshiki ramen” (Japanese-style lamian), and some posters noted pushback from Chinese commenters objecting to the dish being passed off as Chinese. The second was comparison with past ramen-themed games, with titles like the PS1’s “Ramen Bashi” and the Famicom-era “Charumera” coming up, alongside cautious opinions that, based on the trailer alone, the cooking gameplay might not differ much from Kairosoft-style simulations. The early access version is slated for release on September 28, though it’s worth keeping in mind that early access content is often less complete than a full release.

    *This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Management Simulation] “Japanese Ramen Simulator,” a Game About Chasing the Perfect Ramen Shop.”

  • Used Syringe Left in Fushimi Inari Shrine Restroom: “Public Safety Is Done For” — What a Cleanup Volunteer Told Us

    A photo circulating on social media showed what appeared to be a used syringe needle thrown away in a restroom trash bin at Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha shrine, mixed in among discarded plastic bottles. It was posted by a man who has volunteered as a cleanup worker at the shrine for several years, and he says illegal dumping of trash has become a serious problem there amid the recent surge in tourists. The post sparked a big reaction on 5channel’s News Express+ board, with commenters speculating about what the needle had been used for, pointing out that a patient who self-injects would normally be meticulous about disposal, and others mentioning they’d seen similar warning notices posted at a nearby train station.

    At Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Taisha, famous for its thousand torii gates, illegal trash dumping has become a serious problem in recent years. In mid-month, an image showing what appeared to be a used syringe needle left among discarded bottles and other empty containers went viral, causing a stir. We spoke in detail with the man who posted it, who says he’s volunteered to clean up at Fushimi Inari Taisha for several years.

    [Photo] The abandoned syringe needle… an actual photo from the Fushimi Inari Taisha restroom

    “Why is there a ‘syringe needle’ just tossed in the trash in a Fushimi Inari restroom? Isn’t that seriously bad?”

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

    17AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:37
    Care for a little injection, dear? (playful Kyoto-dialect phrasing, mimicking a shopkeeper's polite offer)
    197AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:01
    Re: #17
    Much obliged (eyes rolled back)
    29AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:46
    There was a similar notice posted in the restroom at Higashi-Yodogawa Station too.
    33AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:49
    Re: #29
    Does Higashi-Yodogawa Station even have anything that would draw foreign tourists?
    148AnonymousSep 16, 2026 20:06
    Oh my, I wonder if it was some poor soul with diabetes? (said in gentle Kyoto dialect)
    151AnonymousSep 16, 2026 20:11
    Re: #148
    Patients who self-inject always clean up their syringe and needle.
    They don't just leave it lying around.
    They understand the risks all too well.

    This is definitely a drug addict.
    187AnonymousSep 16, 2026 20:39
    What was in that syringe was just plain glucose!!
    188AnonymousSep 16, 2026 20:40
    Re: #187
    Then just drink it like a normal person (lol)

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    Fushimi Inari Taisha is one of the tourist sites where illegal trash dumping and manner violations have become an issue alongside the recent surge in foreign visitors, and this incident is an extension of that trend. Patients who need to self-inject for conditions like diabetes generally follow the rule of placing used needles in dedicated disposal containers and returning them to a hospital or pharmacy, and the thread reflected this, with posters noting that “a patient who self-injects wouldn’t leave it lying there.” At the same time, as of this report neither the shrine nor the police had given any official explanation of who discarded the needle or why, and the person responsible remains unidentified. Plenty of online speculation linked the incident to drug use or to specific nationalities or regions, but none of that was based on confirmed information, so it should be treated with caution.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (News Express+) thread “[Kyoto] “Public Safety Is Done For” — Syringe Needle Found in Restroom, Cleanup Worker Nearly… Fushimi Inari Taisha’s Dire State Goes Viral, We Asked Those Involved What Really Happened.”

  • Asian Games Soccer: Japan Opens with 2-0 Win Over Hong Kong, but Crowd of 7,720 Draws Cries of ‘Empty Stadium’

    In the opening match of the men’s soccer first-round group stage at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, Japan defeated Hong Kong 2-0. The match at Toyota Stadium reportedly drew a crowd of 7,720, and on 5ch the main topics were remarks about the sparse attendance (“way too empty,” “are they padding the numbers?”) and comparisons with baseball event crowds. Meanwhile, opinions were split over the fact that the squad was built mainly around domestic J.League players and over manager Takashi Oiwa’s tactics, with more attention going to the empty seats in the stands than to the match itself.

    Sports Nippon

    [September 16, 2026, 21:22]

    Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games Men’s Soccer Group A Opening Match: Japan 2-0 Hong Kong (September 16, 2026, Toyota Stadium)

    Source: sponichi.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:00
    Oh come on—

    They're probably saving their peak form for the final

    They're just not taking it seriously, right?
    10AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:04
    Empty stands
    https://tokyo-sports.ismcdn.jp/mwimgs/8/a/800w/img_8aca5abc279210a8b74f62683fb1610b213533.jpg
    13AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:05
    Re: #10
    More like 3,000 people
    Padded-attendance soccer
    16AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:06
    Re: #10Re: #11
    Here we go again, cherry-picking a shot from behind the visitors' goal and hyping it up themselves lolol
    Never change, do they lolol
    17AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:08
    Re: #10
    Damn lol
    You could run a flowing-noodle stand in those empty stands
    11AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:04
    Man, that was empty
    7,720 people, apparently lol
    Bet that's padded too lol
    102AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:43
    Re: #11
    Baseball's gonna be packed, so I'm jealous

    Ohtani's playing too, right?

    When's the first game?
    19AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:08
    Feels like it's been a while since I've seen such an epic "rocket launch" (slang for a shot blasted sky-high, way off target)
    24AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:11
    Re: #19
    Wide open with no one marking him, and he still skied it over the bar — happened a lot
    23AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:10
    Re: #16
    Soccer fanboys post those wide-angle "curved" shots to call baseball crowds empty, but now that it's their own sport they play the victim?
    Looks like there's only about 3,000 people there, tops
    Padded-attendance soccer
    32AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:13
    Re: #23
    No way that's happening
    Typical baseball fanboy who doesn't even realize the venue's just huge
    28AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:12
    If Ozeki were really a genius playmaker, he wouldn't be riding the bench in the J.League at his age. Some 'strongest squad ever,' TBS.
    29AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:13
    Re: #28
    Nah, they just want to slap a catchy tagline on him to drum up interest lol
    30AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:13
    Re: #28
    Apparently only domestic-league players are eligible for the group stage
    Didn't the commentator say that?
    34AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:14
    Oh, the baseball fanboys were watching soccer?
    Go watch Samurai Japan too then
    43AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:17
    Re: #34
    Baseball's schedule is packed, unlike soccer's
    38AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:15
    Re: #30
    The ACL (Asian Champions League) group joins from match 2
    And the overseas-based players reportedly join from match 3
    49AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:18
    Re: #38
    Ah, I see
    Looking forward to match 3 then
    48AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:18
    Isn't this supposed to be a hugely popular sport? Why are the stands so empty?
    52AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:20
    Re: #48
    It's a weekday and it still drew 7,000
    Baseball's U-18 tournament only pulls in like 1,200
    56AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:23
    Re: #48
    It's not popular, it's unpopular
    They brought out the pros and this is what they got lol
    53AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:20
    Re: #1
    ■ Players this tournament's U-21 Japan squad couldn't call up

    Ryunosuke Sato (Spain, 1st division)
    Keisuke Goto (Germany, 1st division)
    Koki Ando (Belgium, 1st division)
    Shion Shinkawa (Belgium, 1st division)
    Gaku Nawata (Belgium, 1st division)
    Shunsuke Saito (Belgium, 1st division)
    Ryoga Kida (Argentina, 1st division)
    Kazuya Kita (Spain, 2nd division)
    Kento Shiogai (Germany, 2nd division)
    Reo Takaoka (Belgium, 2nd division)
    Yuki Yoshinaga (Belgium, 2nd division)
    Ryota Onoda (Augsburg second team)
    Keito Kamishiro (Frankfurt second team)
    Taiyu Yamazaki (Mainz second team)
    Asuma Ikari (Hannover second team)
    83AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:35
    Re: #53
    Never heard of most of these guys
    88AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:37
    Re: #53
    Kosugi's on this (U-21) side, but he should be getting called up to the full national team like Goto and Sato
    Hardly anyone even on the senior team starts at full-back in one of the big five leagues. Hashioka was a season-opening starter but got injured
    Sugawara's only been coming on as a sub
    59AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:26
    Soccer fanboys are making excuses, but
    this is with J.League players called up, right?
    A national team with pros in it only draws 7,000? (and that's padded)
    That really says something about how popular soccer is
    65AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:29
    Re: #59
    It's the U-21 team lol
    64AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:28
    Following yesterday's Nadeshiko (women's national team) story, now there's this article too

    "Painful to watch" — Asian Games broadcast causes a stir as men's soccer Japan's opener also has noticeably empty seats… "Way too empty, this is bad" "Should this even be on terrestrial TV?"
    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/2f1b2c44531e8d54dd6409261fdc88e587878f60
    68AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:30
    Re: #64
    Show me the attendance numbers for the other events then
    71AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:31
    Re: #64
    lolol
    Just broadcast soccer's lack of popularity to the whole country
    They brought out J.League players and this is what happened lol
    78AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:34
    Re: #64
    Forget the attendance, the soccer being played was the real problem
    Honestly, if the stands had been packed for a performance like that, it'd be almost embarrassing
    66AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:29
    Nakayama was going on and on about it, but
    their finishing is just too poor
    There's definitely no one here from a big-five league or the senior national team
    84AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:35
    Re: #66
    Isn't it like that right now too? Not sure though
    People complain about the E-1 Championship and this tournament every single time
    89AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:38
    Re: #66
    You're overreacting off just one game
    72AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:31
    Re: #52
    Baseball's All-Star Series in Niigata, even with a bunch of no-name players, drew 10,000 on a weekday
    And this soccer team's supposedly made up of J.League players, right?
    80AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:34
    Re: #72
    Baseball's U-18 tournament only drew about 1,000 too though
    91AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:39
    Re: #88
    Oiwa, the incoming manager, is fine as he is
    For Moriyasu's senior squad, just call up Nagatomo or someone
    104AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:43
    Re: #91
    But there's nothing really to gain from this tournament anyway
    The level of play is exactly what you'd expect, and the attendance matches it
    The only team taking this tournament seriously is Korea, since winning it exempts their players from military service

    Background and talking points on this story

    This tournament’s men’s soccer squad is built around U-21 players, kept separate from the senior national team that includes players from Europe’s big five leagues. As the article notes, players from AFC Champions League clubs join from the second match and overseas-based players from the third, meaning the team took the field without many of its key players available. The “7,720” attendance figure comes from media reports; the thread lit up comparing it to baseball events, but that comparison glosses over differences like the weekday scheduling and the Asian Games’ particular status as a tournament — taking it at face value risks missing the bigger picture. Criticism of the manager was also divided, with some saying it’s too early to judge given how recently the squad came together, and others saying there’s simply no tactical identity — no consensus has been reached.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking+) thread ‘[Asian Games] Oiwa’s Japan Opens with 2-0 Win Over Hong Kong, Hisatsugu Ishii Scores First Goal, Manager: “It Was Quite a Struggle”‘.

  • FamilyMart launches ‘¥250 breakfast’ deal — first of its kind for 45th anniversary, no end date set

    On September 15, FamilyMart launched its “Morning FamilyMart Combo Discount” to mark its 45th anniversary. Combining eligible items gets shoppers up to ¥145 off, effectively rounding out a breakfast for ¥250 — and the company says it’s a permanent offer with no set end date. On 5ch, the thread saw a mix of price comparisons (“My Basket is always under ¥200,” “supermarkets are cheaper”) and welcoming comments like “still cheaper than McDonald’s breakfast menu,” with opinions split on just how good a deal it really is.

    Updated September 15, 2026, 12:35 PM

    Text: Hideaki Nakayama / Editor: ASCII

    FamilyMart, which marked its 45th anniversary this September 2026, has rolled out another groundbreaking promotion! The “Morning FamilyMart Combo Discount” kicked off on September 15.

    Source: ascii.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 15, 2026 23:09
    I wish they'd make the nutritional balance good enough to pass as a school lunch.
    3AnonymousSep 15, 2026 23:17
    My Basket (Aeon's mini-supermarket chain) always has stuff under ¥200.
    34AnonymousSep 16, 2026 12:53
    Re: #3
    Now that you mention it, true.
    Almost got fooled there.
    4AnonymousSep 16, 2026 00:03
    At a supermarket: rice ball ¥78 + private-brand tea ¥68 = ¥146
    6AnonymousSep 16, 2026 00:47
    Depends on the product, this kind of thing.
    7AnonymousSep 16, 2026 00:49
    Just go to La Muu (a discount supermarket chain), no?
    10AnonymousSep 16, 2026 00:59
    Re: #7
    Their ¥198 bento really is impressive, gotta admit.
    8AnonymousSep 16, 2026 00:56
    Used it for about 30 years, but once they get a clerk with dyed hair working there, I'm done going.
    9AnonymousSep 16, 2026 00:58
    ■Drugstore chains
    Rice balls are ¥100 —
    triangular ones, properly wrapped all the way around in roasted seaweed,
    plus they're bigger with more rice overall, and it's not like
    the filling is skimpy either.
    12AnonymousSep 16, 2026 01:05
    Cooking or making it yourself
    works out cheaper.

    I only buy this stuff when it's on sale,
    or has a 40%-off/half-price sticker on it.
    13AnonymousSep 16, 2026 01:07
    The convenience store near my place should just
    have a half-price sticker ready on the beef bowl whenever I show up.
    15AnonymousSep 16, 2026 01:19
    The embarrassing convenience store chains run embarrassing ads
    using pricey, wealthy celebrities and athletes.

    It makes customers cringe and back away —
    dumb Japanese companies you don't even want to walk into or buy from.
    16AnonymousSep 16, 2026 01:26
    How much did FamilyMart even pay Shohei Ohtani, anyway? Ohtani. Of course, I
    never read those embarrassing sports tabloids, and I don't follow pro sports
    at all normally.

    Seriously, how much did FamilyMart pay Ohtani?
    FamilyMart: "We're out of money now."
    21AnonymousSep 16, 2026 04:09
    Guess this is fine for breakfast.
    22AnonymousSep 16, 2026 05:27
    Way cheaper than getting "Morning Mac" at McDonald's ("マクド" is Kansai slang for McDonald's).
    29AnonymousSep 16, 2026 06:15
    Re: #22
    Wait, don't people just say "Morning McD"?
    23AnonymousSep 16, 2026 05:32
    The Bacon Egg McMuffin (a McDonald's breakfast sandwich) is
    way more nutritious.
    24AnonymousSep 16, 2026 05:34
    Just one rice ball, just one piece of bread —
    keep that up and you'll get sick eventually.

    And by "bread," I bet they mean a sweet bun,
    not a sandwich.

    How can anyone settle for that?
    25AnonymousSep 16, 2026 05:38
    Just one sweet bun and one can of coffee.
    Surprisingly, a lot of Japanese people eat like this.

    Japan has the most diabetics in the world.

    And the growing number of dialysis patients, who require
    expensive medical care, is straining the national health insurance system's finances.
    26AnonymousSep 16, 2026 05:41
    Wouldn't it be better if they just bundled up yesterday's unsold rice balls and Famichiki for ¥250?
    Throw in the oden that fell on the floor too, while they're at it.
    28AnonymousSep 16, 2026 06:14
    Re: #26
    And what happens when someone actually gets sick from that?
    33AnonymousSep 16, 2026 09:15
    For this kind of content and price, I'd just get the breakfast set at Yoshinoya or Matsuya.
    35AnonymousSep 16, 2026 13:59
    How long are they gonna keep doing that thing where you get a coupon if Ohtani hits a home run or gets the win?
    36AnonymousSep 16, 2026 17:30
    So you buy this in the morning and eat it at lunch?
    37AnonymousSep 16, 2026 17:39
    Not even cheap.
    This is just normal pricing.
    39AnonymousSep 16, 2026 18:18
    That's expensive.
    Don't need the drink, I bring my own bottle.
    If it were 3 rice balls or breads for that price, I'd buy it.
    40AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:38
    Throw in a Famichiki too.

    Background and Talking Points

    According to the article, FamilyMart was founded in 1981, making this its 45th anniversary. The company calls it “the first-ever Combo Discount promotion,” but as commenter #31 in the thread points out, there was a period when rice balls sold for ¥100, so some felt “the low price itself isn’t really new.” Price comparisons drew heavily on non-convenience-store options — My Basket, discount-supermarket bento boxes, drugstore rice balls — suggesting the real debate was about the price competitiveness of convenience stores as a whole. Worth noting: unlike a one-off sale, this is a standing promotion with no set end date.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Business News+) thread “FamilyMart Launches “¥250 Breakfast”! No End Date Set, Up to ¥145 Off — First-Ever Promotion for 45th Anniversary.”

  • Schools Scrap Summer Picture Diaries Because “Memories Create Inequality” — 5ch: “Next They’ll Make Everyone the Same Height”

    On a BS TV Tokyo program aired on the 15th, Asuka Wada raised questions about schools scrapping the summer picture-diary assignment, citing the reason given: “because it creates inequality in memories.” Following on from the trend of not ranking kids in school sports day races, the story was picked up on 5ch, where the thread split between plain reactions like “I don’t even remember what I wrote in my picture diary” and clashing personal accounts ranging from “kids don’t really care that much about differences between households” to “no, there really are kids who get hurt by it.” The discussion also spread to the scrapping of graduation albums and the truth behind urban legends about school footraces.

    Asuka Wada: “I was shocked to hear this” — questioning the reason behind schools scrapping picture diaries

    “It’s strange to view it through a lens of pity”

    Cooking expert and TV personality Asuka Wada (39) appeared on BS TV Tokyo’s “Asuka Wada to Yuru Takunomi” (Tuesdays, 10:00 PM) on the 15th and raised questions about recent trends in school education.

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

    3AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:38
    Don't even remember what I wrote in my picture diary.
    That's how forgettable it was.
    Wouldn't bother me a bit if they scrapped it.
    6AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:41
    Just make them keep a morning glory observation journal instead (´・ω・`)
    26AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:49
    Re: #6
    It's gotten so hot now that morning glories bloom and wither before summer break even starts.
    12AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:44
    Honestly I think scrapping the picture diary is fine.
    The world of kids is a surprisingly cruel community too.
    27AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:49
    Re: #12
    Didn't you notice that when you're a kid, like elementary school age, you don't really care about rich-vs-poor that much?
    I knew that kid's house was big and had tasty snacks, but it wasn't so much envy as "lucky, I get a snack."
    I don't think elementary schoolers really feel jealousy or self-pity like that yet.
    15AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:45
    Next they'll probably say they're making all kids the same height.
    20AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:47
    Re: #15
    Sitting height and chest measurements got dropped because they were pointless.
    Height and weight will probably go too, since that's a medical checkup thing, not something to do with education.
    19AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:47
    Apparently somewhere in Aichi is scrapping graduation albums too.
    They used "personal information" as an excuse, but that's just insane.
    43AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:02
    Re: #19
    Good news for us, though.
    31AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:51
    Next they'll probably ban bringing your own pencil case too and just hand out writing tools at school.
    56AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:09
    Re: #31
    I heard mechanical pencils used to be banned because they were a luxury item some kids couldn't afford.
    32AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:51
    Education is starting to look like communism.
    46AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:03
    Re: #32
    Raised on platitudes like "everyone's equal" and "hold hands and cross the finish line together," then thrown straight into the brutally competitive world of entrance exams, job hunting, and work — where reality is nothing like what school preached — and straight into depression they go…
    37AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:54
    Re: #27
    It's incredibly narrow-minded to assume everyone should feel the way you did just because you did.
    Some kids really do develop complexes, and some get bullied for being poor.
    There was also a kid in my class who suddenly became untouchable after their surname changed.
    41AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:58
    Re: #37
    Sorry, I grew up in an ordinary family, so I wouldn't have known.
    42AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:00
    Still, is it really right that everyone has to go along with accommodating a sympathetic minority, cutting out all kinds of experiences in the process?
    Same with media compliance stuff lately — is it really okay for the majority's fun to keep getting suppressed just to cater to an overwhelmingly small number of "poor kids"?
    48AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:05
    Re: #42
    No kid actually looks forward to writing a picture diary.
    Don't invent some fictional child that doesn't exist and make claims based on it.
    52AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:08
    Re: #48
    Can't you read context properly?
    The "fun" part isn't writing the diary itself — it broadly means things like the family outing you'd plan around it, or other school events.
    Try talking to people more.
    76AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:17
    These days I actually envy them.
    Being made to say what your dad did for work was rough.
    My elementary school was in a new residential development full of returnee kids, so when someone said "Mitsubishi Corporation" or "pilot," the teacher would go "wow, amazing~."
    My dad worked at a small factory, so it was seriously humiliating.
    85AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:21
    Re: #76
    That "dad's job presentation" thing, seriously, what was that even for…
    The classmate whose surname suddenly changed and became untouchable obviously got skipped over by the teacher and never had to present,
    but that just made them even more isolated.
    I was embarrassed too, having to say stuff like "my dad drives his own taxi and works hard every day."
    82AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:21
    It's probably the kids who got hurt by this back then who, now grown up, are the ones scrapping it.
    92AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:24
    Re: #82
    Probably true.
    And the experience gap really does become a huge complex.
    93AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:24
    Doesn't only the teacher ever see the picture diary anyway?
    Guess banning "talking about your summer memories" can't be far off either.
    102AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:27
    Re: #93
    No, normally they'd set up a folding table at the back of the classroom, line up everyone's diaries, and let anyone in the class flip through them freely.
    99AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:26
    It wasn't framed as being about inequality, but long, long ago there were schools that had kids hold hands and cross the finish line together in footraces, with no ranking at all.
    This was a long, long time ago…

    A strange kind of twisted equality that's long existed in education.
    104AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:28
    Re: #99
    Actually there's no source for that "everyone holds hands and crosses together" story.
    103AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:27
    So they want to strip kids of the drive that comes from seeing a classmate's overseas-trip picture diary and thinking, "when I grow up, I'll take my own family abroad too!"
    118AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:30
    Re: #103
    A kid with that kind of drive is nothing but your fantasy.
    In reality it's mostly kids getting smacked down by inequality, feeling miserable, developing complexes, or getting bullied.
    114AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:30
    Aren't there plenty of cases where a poor kid's own creatively improvised play is more fun than an overseas trip parents arranged down to the last detail?
    Well, from a kid's perspective, scrapping the tedious picture diary is a relief either way.
    130AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:34
    Re: #114
    You shouldn't underestimate the perspective and experience you gain from traveling abroad.
    119AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:31
    Did morning radio calisthenics disappear too?
    124AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:32
    Re: #119
    Sounds like a lot of places don't do it anymore.
    Probably because there aren't adults around to run it.
    126AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:33
    The result of this kind of education lately…

    – Academic ability

    – Physical fitness
    134AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:36
    The gap is wider than it used to be.
    I guess jokes like "oh, so-and-so's family is rich"
    just don't land as jokes anymore.
    139AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:38
    Re: #134
    Plus basically only people with money get married these days.
    It's a completely different situation from the Showa through early Heisei era, when people kept having kids even if they were poor.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The “inequality” criticism surrounding summer picture diaries and unranked sports day races is closely tied to the recently prominent concept of the “experience gap” (taiken kakusa). The idea that a household’s financial situation creates differences in opportunities like travel or dining out, which in turn affects children’s self-esteem, has long been discussed in education and welfare circles, and scrapping picture diaries appears to be an extension of that response. Meanwhile, the thread brought up the anecdote of runners “holding hands and crossing the finish line together” at sports day — a story often cited in the 1990s–2000s as a “symbol of yutori (relaxed) education,” but one for which almost no confirmed real-world cases exist, making it more of an urban legend, as some commenters in the thread pointed out. A point readers can easily get wrong is that this picture-diary ban isn’t a uniform nationwide policy, but a response reported at some individual schools. Whether someone “minds” inequality varies hugely by personal experience, and the split between supportive and critical comments in the thread reflects exactly that difference.

    *This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Following unranked sports day races, schools now scrapping picture diaries too… Asuka Wada: “The reason is that memories create inequality,” “I was shocked to hear it”.”

  • PS5’s Wolverine Slammed for “PS2-Level” Water Effects — Sparks Zelda and GTA Comparisons

    Footage of the PS5-exclusive title “Marvel’s Wolverine” drew attention on X (formerly Twitter) when its rough, “PS2-level” water effects raked in over 50,000 likes. Once the clip made its way to 5ch’s hardware/industry board (Geha), the discussion evolved into comparisons with the water in “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” and the unnatural splashes and ragdoll movement in the GTA6 trailer. Opinions split over which game’s effects actually held up better — and whether the comparison even made sense in the first place — with the thread running long as posters also chimed in on Wolverine’s redesigned look.

    No exaggeration, this is genuinely PS2-quality lol

    Source: video.twimg.com / original clip here

    15AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:32

    By the way, this blew up past 50k likes — it's genuinely become a worldwide laughingstock
    17AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:32
    Re: #15
    The mutant who makes everyone smile
    25AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:42
    Zelda's water beats GTA's, no contest

    Ocarina of Time's water physics are better than GTA VI's 🤯
    https://x.com/JeltyTV/status/2097877143057482017
    34AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:53
    Re: #25
    Zelda's always had gorgeous water effects
    Meanwhile GTA's is sloppy
    Even the ragdoll does a weird little spin after flying through the air lol
    41AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:56
    Re: #25
    I don't even get what's supposed to be "better" here
    GTA's got it beat since they even modeled underwater detail
    They built out hundreds of kilometers of ocean, deep-sea fish and all
    58AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:01
    Re: #25
    GTA's water is total garbage
    The fluid sim looks like someone dropped a pebble in a puddle lol
    *plop* lol
    35AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:54
    Can we drop the Zelda talk already
    Just reminds me of the loading times and I can't stop laughing
    39AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:55
    Re: #35
    Dead serious, lol

    Someone's mad? lol
    43AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:56
    Re: #39
    Try speaking proper Japanese
    44AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:57
    Re: #39
    That guy's already cycling through IDs (switching poster IDs to dodge scrutiny)
    40AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:56
    Re: #33
    Baked lighting, now that's nostalgic
    It was famous back in the PS3/360 era, like in Sonic Unleashed
    Nishikawa even wrote an article about it
    45AnonymousSep 17, 2026 00:57
    Re: #40
    "PS3/360"…
    Guess Nintendo really has no technical chops
    60AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:02
    Re: #40
    The people who used to break this stuff down on gaming sites back then are all covering other genres now, huh
    Or they've retired… kind of makes me sad
    69AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:06
    Re: #58
    Apparently it looks cheap because they're using Sony's bargain-bin engine
    Even the guy flying through the air does a full rotation ignoring gravity
    Hard to believe this is the quality after 13 years and 200 billion yen
    84AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:12
    Re: #69
    I hadn't even noticed the guy lol He's really spinning in zero gravity lol
    Doesn't matter what the framerate is, the physics engine is just garbage lol
    89AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:16
    Speaking of water effects, the pond with the koi in the cutscene looks pretty bad too
    99AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:19
    Re: #89
    This one?
    Look at just this part and it really does look like PS2
    https://hstorage.jp/dl/6YeVSlhSdMXD.png
    163AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:36
    Re: #99
    That's just as bad as GTA's zero-gravity spin
    Guess nobody involved has the technical chops
    132AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:28
    https://x.com/xboxbg/status/2100019186852405685?s=46
    By the way, this is the part everyone's making fun of right now
    157AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:35
    Re: #132
    Every time I see Wolverine's bare face I think…
    something's just missing, it doesn't hit hard…
    I picture him as more feral, more savage, but here he looks weirdly gentle
    161AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:35
    Re: #157
    Right there with you
    Zero rough edge to him, it's like "who even is this guy"
    167AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:38
    Re: #157
    Even fans overseas are saying they've softened him up compared to the original actor
    https://x.com/playstation/status/2099868339161948540?s=46
    183AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:44
    The smear campaign against Spider-Man 2 was brutal too
    People kept saying 2 was a downgrade from 1 and all that


    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    It’s worth noting that the footage that kicked this off appears to be from a work-in-progress build, so it doesn’t necessarily reflect the quality of the finished product. Also, the comparison point that came up — “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” — is a 1998 Nintendo 64 title whose water effects were exceptionally sophisticated for their era, a reputation that has lived on as an internet meme ever since, which makes a straight comparison with a cutting-edge PS5 title a bit of a stretch. Some posters claimed it was “because of Sony’s cheap engine,” but that’s unsubstantiated speculation — GTA6, for its part, is known to run on Rockstar Games’ own in-house engine, RAGE, so readers should take some of the thread’s technical claims with a grain of salt, since a few of them are simply inaccurate. What really divided the discussion wasn’t the roughness of the water effects themselves so much as a side issue: whether the gravity-defying “one full spin” that became a talking point in the GTA6 trailer was an actual bug or an intentional animation choice — and since neither side could produce any conclusive evidence, it devolved into an endless back-and-forth.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “[Sad News] PS5 Wolverine’s Water Effects Are Genuinely Being Called PS2-Level.”

  • Ebata Misaki Was Core-Member Material From Day One — 5ch: ‘They Said Her Group Would Take Over’

    A thread on 5ch’s Hello! Project board asked whether anyone had predicted, back when idol group Juice=Juice’s Ebata Misaki first joined, that she’d become the central member she is today. Posters recalled praise for her looks going back to her trainee days, and some claimed that at the scouting stage people were already saying “if we land this girl, this group will dominate.” Others pushed back, arguing that with senior members like Danbara Yamato and Inoue Haruka commanding so much presence, it’s a stretch to call her a true central member — leaving opinion split.

    1AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:10
    I thought she was cute back in her trainee days and right when she joined Juice, but what exactly did the people who called it from the start see in Eba back then?
    2AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:11
    She was pretty good at handling MC duties even from early on after joining, though.
    3AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:12
    At least visually, she's got to be the number one beauty of that generation.
    5AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:13
    Eba's the only one who ever gets a thread made about her.
    13AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:18
    With Danbara and Inoue being so strong, she doesn't really give off "central member" vibes.
    18AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:24
    Re: #13
    She won't graduate at 25, so she's blocking her juniors' chances to shine.
    Time to step aside already.
    14AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:20
    A second coming of the Ichii Sayaka-style rags-to-riches story.
    16AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:24
    Eba's real strength has got to be media appearances.
    17AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:24
    Her batch-mates were so underwhelming that it basically became "well, it's just Eba then."
    19AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:24
    A tier below "Rito Kame" (likely a nickname for another idol or group — exact reference unclear).
    20AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:25
    Vocal cover video views:

    Fukuda Marin: 1,061,404
    Kasai Yuina: 659,376
    Yokaze Runo: 537,629
    Yagi Shiori: 483,402
    Ebata Misaki: 398,980
    Arisawa Ichika: 244,543
    Irie Risa: 233,857
    21AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:25
    People were saying back then that whichever group landed Eba would become the dominant one.
    23AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:27
    It also helps that they've got the "Ebamifu" pairing (a fan-shipped duo nickname combining Eba and Mifu) working as a selling point.
    24AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:27
    Tabata Shintaro: "Eba-chan gets the best of both worlds — she pulls in the girls' votes while still pulling in the guys' votes too."
    25AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:30
    Kawashima's same-age peers at other groups — like Yokaze and Tsutsui — are the vocal centers of their groups, but Kawashima still isn't the main vocalist.
    26AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:31
    That's because there are people ahead of her in line.
    27AnonymousSep 16, 2026 23:38
    Having a young member as your core is basically another way of saying your group's depth is thin, though.
    34AnonymousSep 17, 2026 01:28
    Re: #1
    Star power.
    Go check out Tsunku's actual assessment notes on note (the blogging platform) —
    he had Eba figured out properly from the start.

    Background and Talking Points

    The vocal-cover-video view counts cited in the thread (Fukuda Marin topping 1 million versus roughly 400,000 for Ebata Misaki) suggest Ebata isn’t actually the group’s top draw in terms of pure numbers — even as her visual appeal and media presence have been rated highly and consistently since she joined. Posts claiming that scouts said “landing this girl means becoming a dominant group” serve as evidence that some people foresaw her later rise even back then. At the same time, pushback citing the strong presence of senior members like Danbara Yamato and Inoue Haruka argues she isn’t quite a “central member” yet — and at the root of the thread’s disagreement is the fact that fans don’t share a common yardstick (draw power, exposure, or star quality) for what “central member” even means.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Did anyone actually predict back when she joined that Ebata Misaki-chan would become this much of a central member of Juice=Juice?“

  • Idol Ebata Hisaki’s Bread Recipient Identified as FruitsZipper’s Matsumoto Karen

    A thread went up on 5ch’s “Hello Project” board over a video of Hello Project idol Ebata Hisaki handing bread to an unfamiliar woman. The woman in the clip wasn’t identified by the original poster, and the thread kicked off with a chorus of “who is that?” Before long, posters pointed out that the woman was Matsumoto Karen, the “pink” member of idol group FruitsZipper, with some adding she’s “a genuine Ebata Hisaki fan.” What started as a guessing game over her identity quickly turned into a discussion about fandom crossing agency lines.

    Who is that?

    Source: video.twimg.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:02
    Probably just a staff member who's always looking after her
    3AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:02
    Who is she, you ask?

    It's Matsukare from FruitsZipper (fan nickname for Matsumoto Karen)
    4AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:04
    FruitsZipper's pink member, the illustrious Matsumoto Karen

    A genuine Ebata Hisaki fan
    5AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:06
    Somebody's older sister?

    Background and Talking Points

    Hello Project and Stardust Promotion-affiliated FruitsZipper are entirely separate agencies with no shared lineage, but it’s not unusual for idols to be fans of each other or to cross paths, and this thread is really just another example of that. Posters describing Matsumoto Karen as “a genuine Ebata Hisaki fan” likely reflects the fact that it’s well known among fans that she regularly attends Ebata’s events. Also, as one early comment in the thread noted — “don’t post illegal clips when the paid stream is still for sale” — unauthorized reposting of paid livestream footage on social media is a recurring source of friction across the idol fan community in general, and it’s possible this particular video should have been watched through official channels rather than however it ended up online. One point worth clarifying for readers: Matsumoto Karen’s appearance here isn’t a “scandal” — it’s simply an episode of fans and idols mingling across group lines.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello Project) thread “Ebata Hisaki-chan gives bread to a mystery woman.”

  • Only 1 in 4 Workers Hit ¥6 Million a Year — For Women, It’s Fewer Than 1 in 10

    According to the “Fiscal 2024 Survey on Private Sector Salaries,” the average annual salary for salaried workers was ¥4.775 million — ¥5.867 million for men and ¥3.332 million for women. Only 1 in 4 salaried workers overall reach the ¥6 million mark, while for men it’s more than 1 in 3, and for women it’s fewer than 1 in 10 — a finding covered on 5ch’s News Express+ board. In the thread, opinions split over why the gender gap is so wide: some pointed to differences in working hours and job titles, while others questioned the underlying realities of women’s employment, sparking a wider debate over how to read the statistics.

    (Excerpt)

    According to the National Tax Agency’s “Fiscal 2024 Survey on Private Sector Salaries,” the average annual salary for salaried workers was ¥4.775 million, broken down by gender as ¥5.867 million for men and ¥3.332 million for women.

    There’s a gap between the statistics showing rising incomes and how little that increase is actually felt in people’s wallets. This article checks where the widely-cited milestone of “¥6 million a year” actually falls on the statistical curve, then walks through how much take-home pay really moves when gross pay goes up.

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

    21AnonymousSep 16, 2026 20:58
    If men's and women's wages are supposedly equal, a gap this big just shows how little women are actually working.
    35AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:01
    Re: #21
    They're not equal, lol
    26AnonymousSep 16, 2026 20:59
    So for men, ¥6 million is pretty much par for the course — if you're on the career track (sogoshoku), even a small-to-mid-size company gets you there easily.
    41AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:04
    Re: #26
    Tough at a tiny company, but that's roughly the average for a section chief (kacho) at a mid-size firm. At a big corporation you'd tack on another ¥2 million or more on top of that.
    46AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:05
    I'm a fixed-route bus driver, 5 years in, and I'm over ¥6.5 million.
    It's a nerve-wracking job, but out in rural Kanagawa nobody cares if you're running late.
    Just drive safe and take it slow, that's all it takes.
    And running behind schedule actually bumps up my pay too.
    There's hardly a job this easy and this stable.
    Work never dried up even during COVID, and since it's a big company, raises actually happen on schedule.
    49AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:07
    Re: #46
    Smells like bait, but that's a job that'll be first on the chopping block. Get a useful license or qualification while you still can.
    52AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:08
    Re: #49
    Well, it's a driver's job after all.
    97AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:41
    Re: #49
    I don't think you guys get it — proper self-driving infrastructure is still a long way off.
    It's not happening until the infrastructure is fully built out.
    If anything, technical intern trainees (foreign labor program) will replace you first.
    50AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:07
    40 years old, ¥12 million a year — will somebody marry me already.
    54AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:10
    Re: #50
    Try a matchmaking agency, you could probably find someone your own age.
    58AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:13
    Re: #50
    You're not hoping for someone in their 20s, are you?
    56AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:11
    That 1-in-4 group is clustered almost entirely at big corporations, so you probably don't see much of it in the areas where ordinary people actually live.
    62AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:15
    Re: #56
    I get what you're saying, but the countryside isn't exactly representative of everyone either.
    61AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:14
    ¥6 million is a pretty tough bar for an average job.
    For ordinary people the average is probably under ¥4.5 million.
    67AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:20
    Re: #61
    The working population also skews heavily toward older guys rather than young people.
    Even at small-to-mid-size companies, plenty of places pay around ¥6 million once you're an older employee.
    70AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:21
    Re: #61
    My kid's in their 20s and already over ¥6 million at a major company.
    More than me — big companies really are strong.
    72AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:23
    Re: #61
    I'm a college dropout from the Employment Ice Age generation and I'm at ¥8 million.
    My wife, same generation, graduated from a national university, is at ¥8.5 million.
    We've both been at our jobs over 25 years.
    Stick around long enough and you'll get there too.
    The real question is whether you can actually stay that long.
    A lot of people fall out along the way.
    65AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:18
    For women, being a civil servant is the best option.
    There aren't many jobs in the private sector where a woman can keep her pride intact while working all the way to retirement.
    68AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:21
    Re: #65
    Doctor, maybe? Get married, work outpatient duty just 2 or 3 days a week, and you'd still pull in several times what an average part-timer makes as pocket money.
    73AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:24
    My real annual income doesn't even hit ¥2 million.
    I'm useless, so I let my money do the working instead.
    82AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:29
    Re: #73
    The system that automatically factors investment income from tax-withheld special accounts (where no tax filing is required) into the calculation of health insurance premiums and co-pays is being fleshed out under the government's "social security for all generations" reform policy.
    This legal change is meant to close what had been a loophole and an unfair advantage — it will effectively make it impossible to pose as "low income" on paper in order to receive generous welfare benefits or premium waivers, and it's positioned as a major step toward correcting the generational gap and sense of unfairness felt by the working generation.

    Taxation on investment income is clearly coming, no way around it now.
    87AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:31
    You people really do love your fantasies, huh.
    Take a good look at reality, old men.
    105AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:53
    No, if you think about the falling birthrate, women are better off heading home before it gets too late and saving their energy for their kids, their husband, and having more kids, rather than working late.
    108AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:55
    Re: #105
    Working late is actually easier than dealing with your husband and kids, lol.
    No married person gets to say "I'm beat from work, guess it's beer and instant noodles tonight," lol.
    107AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:54
    You can't live a decent, human life without at least ¥10 million a year.
    109AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:58
    Re: #107
    Yeah, fair enough.
    Doesn't really feel "human" either way, but once the kids are grown and out and you're on your own, money does pile up pretty fast.
    110AnonymousSep 16, 2026 21:58
    It's because they're not doing jobs that actually earn money.
    Most women are in easy desk jobs — if you want to earn more, get out there and land clients yourself.
    112AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:00
    Re: #110
    Calling it a "job" is generous — it's just passing along contracts handed down from the government and pocketing the margin.
    113AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:01
    This all comes down to age, really.
    If you're in your 40s, you're normally well past ¥6 million, right?
    I'm comfortably past it too.

    If you're not past it, stop posting here and go work.
    118AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:15
    Re: #113
    At my company even high school grads and bottom-tier-university Ice Age hires clear that level.
    149AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:45
    You see people on 5ch claiming ¥8 million, ¥10-million-plus here and there — just how much of a high-earner hangout is this place?
    155AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:48
    Re: #149
    Isn't it the same as how a thread about Tokyo brings a swarm of Tokyo residents piling in to post? There are over 10 million Tokyoites, and over 10 million high earners too.
    171AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:59
    Re: #149

    According to census statistics, wasn't it something like 10% of the whole population earning ¥10 million or more a year (gross, not take-home)?
    That works out to about 14 million people.
    But here's the trick — that "¥10 million-plus" bucket also includes people making ¥30 million-plus, or even over ¥100 million.
    So the actual "wealthy" segment, out of a population of 140 million, is only a genuinely small slice — maybe just a few million people.
    (My personal guess: around 2 million.)
    And apparently this ratio holds true not just in Japan but in other countries too.
    159AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:51
    Men can basically only contribute to society through work.

    That's just the fact of it.

    Women give birth to children and raise them — that's a legitimate contribution to society too.

    In fact, it's something only women can do.

    It's a biological role.
    160AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:53
    Re: #159
    "Biological role" or whatever — there are tons of women out there who'd rather work than get some guy's dick stuck in them and pop out a baby.
    166AnonymousSep 16, 2026 22:56
    Re: #159
    > Women give birth to children and raise them — that's a legitimate contribution to society too.
    Sure, but that "legitimate contribution" comes with zero pay.
    So it's only natural that more people would rather go work at a company and actually get a paycheck.
    If child-rearing really is such a legitimate contribution to society, then the government should just pay people to do it —
    say, ¥100,000 a month per child.

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    The “Fiscal 2024 Survey on Private Sector Salaries” is an annual survey published by the National Tax Agency, and one notable feature is that it covers all salaried workers, including part-time and temporary staff, not just full-time employees. The low ¥3.332 million average for women isn’t just about a straightforward wage gap — it also reflects the higher proportion of women working short hours. Some posts in the thread assumed that “men’s and women’s wages are the same,” but equal pay for equal work and the gap in average annual income are actually separate metrics, and conflating them tends to derail the discussion. Meanwhile, the wave of 5ch posts claiming ¥8 million or ¥10 million-plus salaries isn’t a statistically representative sample — it reflects self-reporting bias, since salaried workers actually earning ¥10 million or more make up only around 10% of the total. That mismatch between gut feeling and the actual data stems in large part from this kind of skewed sample.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[¥6 Million a Year] Only 1 in 4 salaried workers reach it — but for men it’s over 1 in 3, and for women it’s fewer than 1 in 10.”