Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

A post to the Yomiuri Shimbun’s reader forum “Otekomachi” has sparked debate on 5ch’s Newsplus board: a woman wrote that she deliberately stands still on the right side of escalators to protest people who walk on that side. Cities like Nagoya and Saitama Prefecture have already passed ordinances banning walking on escalators, and escalators themselves are actually designed for two people to stand side by side — but “leaving one side open” has become an entrenched unwritten rule of etiquette over the years. On the thread, opinions clashed between those who say leaving a side open is “reasonable, out of consideration for people in a hurry” and those who argue that “walking itself is dangerous and violates the ordinances.” The discussion also touched on regional differences — in the Kansai region, including Osaka, it’s the opposite side that’s left open.

Otekomachi — Come to love every version of yourself

“Walking on the right side of the escalator is rude”: Woman who deliberately stands on the right sparks debate : The Yomiuri Shimbun

Otekomachi is the Yomiuri Shimbun’s reader-submission site, where countless opinions pour in every day. It’s a space for honest exchange, where users respond candidly to thread starters who share what’s on their mind. This time, we introduce a post from a woman fed up with the number of people who walk on the right side of escalators. She says that when she rides an escalator herself, she deliberately stands still on the right. How did other Otekomachi users react, and what do experts on public manners have to say?

Source: yomiuri.co.jp / Read the original article here

75AnonymousSep 2, 2026 12:42

Nagoya's the only place in Japan that deserves to be called a developed nation

89AnonymousSep 2, 2026 12:44

Re: #75
Saitama Prefecture has an ordinance for it too

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Newsplus) thread ““Walking on the right side of the escalator is rude”: Woman who deliberately stands on the right sparks debate.”

NHK’s “Close-up Gendai” ran a special on the “middle-class crisis,” reporting that the “minimum cost of living” for a single-person household to get by comes to roughly ¥3.4 million a year — about ¥280,000 a month — up around ¥500,000 over the past decade. The figure sparked wildly divergent reactions on 5ch, ranging from single posters who say they scrape by on just over ¥100,000 a month, to others who claim they spend nearly ¥800,000 a month even excluding housing. Alongside this, users also debated the broader economic backdrop shaping how people feel about money: the Nikkei average’s decline, a worsening job-openings-to-applicants ratio, and anxiety over NISA (Japan’s tax-free investment scheme).

The Middle-Class Crisis — Where Did the “Normal Life” Go?

As prices soar and the burden of taxes and social insurance premiums grows, the Japanese “normal life” is in crisis. One survey put the “minimum cost of living” needed for a single-person household to maintain a bare-minimum standard of living at ¥3.4 million a year — up roughly ¥500,000 over the past decade. It’s also become clear that some people are being forced to give up on life milestones like marriage and raising children. What’s more, that frustration is increasingly being directed at socially vulnerable people receiving public assistance. We dig into the reality of the deepening “middle-class crisis.”

Close-up Gendai

Source: web.nhk / Original article here

286AnonymousSep 2, 2026 12:34

There's no way you can live a normal life on ¥280,000.
I'm spending close to ¥800,000 a month excluding housing.

311AnonymousSep 2, 2026 12:41

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[NHK] A Normal Life Costs ¥280,000 a Month!? “I Just Can’t Seem to Save Money Anymore” — The Middle-Class Crisis: Where Did the “Normal Life” Go?.”