Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Long-Term Interest Rate Climbs to 3.015%, Highest Since 1996

    In the government bond market on the 2nd, the yield on the newly issued 10-year bond — the benchmark for long-term interest rates — rose to as high as 3.015% at one point. This is reportedly the highest level in roughly 30 years, since September 1996.

    On 5channel threads, opinions were divided over whether to buy individual (retail) government bonds during this rate-rise phase, alongside worries about the damage to borrowing-dependent industries such as small and mid-sized regional sash (window frame) manufacturers. Views also split over the cause of the rise — some pointed to overseas factors like climbing US Treasury yields and dollar-buying amid geopolitical tension, others to Japan’s own fiscal and monetary policy — and the discussion spread into everyday practical questions like whether to switch home mortgages to fixed rates.

    September 2, 2026, 10:55 AM, Kyodo News

    In the government bond market on the 2nd, the yield on the newly issued 10-year bond, the benchmark for long-term interest rates, rose further, hitting 3.015% at one point. According to Japan Bond Trading Co., this is the highest level since September 1996.

    Source: 47news.jp / Original article here

    7AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:05
    Buying government bonds right now could actually pay off pretty well
    86AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:23
    Re: #7
    Buying up what financial institutions are cutting their losses on? That's a pretty big gamble.
    102AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:27
    Re: #7
    But prices are rising even faster than that, so it's pointless anyway.
    108AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:28
    Re: #7
    Prices just keep dropping though, and higher-yield bonds keep coming out — so what's the point?
    11AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:05
    Genuine question for anyone who really knows this stuff —
    will rising rates mean less work for small regional sash (window frame) manufacturers? Will they go under?
    77AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:20
    Re: #11
    Already answered.
    82AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:22
    Re: #11
    They're definitely going under.
    39AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:13
    Well of course — US Treasury yields are rising too.
    47AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:14
    Re: #39
    That's because of wartime dollar-buying though??
    42AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:13
    Banks need to raise their savings account rates too.
    150AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:38
    Re: #42
    Put 10 million yen into the highest-yielding bond and you get 220,000 yen a year. So — good deal or not?
    83AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:22
    Lmao they're just dumping government bonds

    Guess that means dumping the yen too, huh
    89AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:24
    Re: #83
    Nope, backwards
    They're dumping long-term bonds in order to dump the yen
    It's all to raise the funds to buy dollars
    88AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:24
    Doesn't look like it's stopping at 3% — could it hit 4% or even 5%?


    The US is at 4.8% right now
    91AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:24
    It'd be a problem if Japan alone were rising, but
    this is a global rate hike.

    Same goes for inflation — reporting it like a purely domestic problem is just misleading
    97AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:27
    Re: #91
    This is happening because of the Takaichi administration's policies
    95AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:26
    Going forward, with pressure from the US too, rates are just going to keep climbing, huh.
    Probably smart to switch the mortgage to a fixed rate while you still can.
    100AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:27
    Re: #95
    Fixed rates are already insanely high though.
    109AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:29
    We need a bond-only NISA (tax-free investment account)
    plus an inheritance-tax exemption for holding government bonds a set number of years

    If they don't roll this out soon, it's going to get bad
    Because of years of deficit financing, Japan's in this abnormal state where bond yields sit way below the inflation rate — without a clear incentive to buy, almost no one's going to want government bonds
    114AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:31
    Re: #109
    Bonds you can't cash in — what is this, China?
    115AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:31
    Re: #109
    Limiting it to Japanese government bonds only sounds like it'd cause all kinds of problems
    If they're doing this, make it a new bracket covering bonds from around the world instead
    119AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:32
    Sure, everyone's free to spin whatever angle or theory they like, but
    makes you wonder — are you, in real life, actually in a position to benefit from any of this?
    If you're seriously cleaning up through investments, fine, you're winning
    123AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:34
    Re: #119
    Whether things stay as they are, consumption tax goes up, or pensions get scrapped, I don't gain anything either way — but it doesn't really trouble me either
    120AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:32
    So what do you even buy to profit from this?
    At this point buying it is basically just self-defense for your own livelihood
    126AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:34
    Re: #120
    Buy Japanese government bonds to prop them up
    129AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:35
    Re: #120
    In terms of actual defense, the simplest move is just not borrowing
    Savings rates go up too, but they won't keep pace with prices
    Foreign investment trusts are already priced for a weak yen — if that reverses, you're done
    In the end, not borrowing really is the answer
    131AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:35
    Dollar-yen at 300 and Japan wins big lol
    146AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:38
    Re: #131
    Japan's a resource-importing country, so a weak yen means hell — hyperinflation
    141AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:37
    Run fiscal policy this reckless and of course long-term rates are going to blow up —
    even a first-year econ major could tell you that
    156AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:39
    Re: #141
    Nah, even a high schooler could tell you that
    215AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:49
    Only option left is to con the financially clueless public into buying government bonds
    Say 'tax-free' and people will probably buy in, right?
    224AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:50
    Re: #215
    Oh right, didn't they say they're folding it into NISA lol
    260AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:55
    Re: #215
    Katayama Satsuki on X, 8/28: 'Working to make retail government bonds more attractive!'
    243AnonymousSep 2, 2026 11:53

    Looking back at Japan's economic history, 3% is a totally normal level —
    we're just back to where we were before the 'lost 30 years,' so be happy about it

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    The newly issued 10-year JGB yield topping 3% marks the highest level in roughly 30 years, since September 1996. Because long-term rates feed directly into fixed mortgage rates and corporate borrowing costs, the thread reflected a clear split in interests: rising rates are a tailwind for “bond buyers” through higher interest income, while for borrowers — small businesses and homebuyers — they land as a heavier burden. The cause wasn’t seen as one-sided either; some pointed to overseas factors like rising US Treasury yields and dollar-buying amid geopolitical tension, while others cited domestic factors like the government’s fiscal management and the normalization of monetary policy, with both views coexisting rather than one excluding the other. It’s also easy to oversimplify “higher rates = a win” — but without netting out inflation, you can’t actually measure the real-world gain or loss.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5channel (News Express+) thread “[Breaking] Long-term rates rise further, 3.015%.”

  • Reo Hatate Moves from Celtic to Championship Side Burnley — 5ch Reacts: ‘Just Copying Ao Tanaka’

    Japan international midfielder Reo Hatate (28) has completed a permanent transfer from Celtic to English Championship side Burnley on deadline day, September 1, signing a three-year contract. Hatate commented, “This is a great move for me.” On 5ch’s Geisports Sokuho+ board, users traded opinions on everything from how Hidemasa Morita and Daizen Maeda have followed a similar transfer path after Ao Tanaka blazed the trail, to the gap in league level between the Scottish Premiership and the English Championship, to where a club like Burnley really stands.

    Soccer King

    9/2

    Burnley announced on September 1 that they have signed Japan international midfielder Reo Hatate from Celtic on a permanent transfer.

    Source: soccer-king.jp / Original article here

    4AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:59
    Just copying Ao Tanaka, huh
    5AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:59
    Re: #4
    Hatate, Morita, Maeda — they're all guys close to Ao Tanaka, and they're clearly heavily influenced by him, copying his transfer moves.
    6AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:01
    Re: #5
    Morita even went so far as to switch to the same agent as Tanaka just to try to force through a move to Leeds.
    9AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:02
    Re: #6
    Back when Maeda and Morita were trying to engineer a move to Leeds, they used to comment on Tanaka's Instagram all the time.

    And it's pretty telling that they've barely posted there since the Leeds deal fell through.
    12AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:03
    Re: #9
    They were probably putting on a 'we're best buds' show because they figured someone at Leeds would be watching lol
    10AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:03
    Moving up from a league that's basically English 4th-tier level (Scotland) to the English 2nd tier is going to be rough — Furuhashi couldn't hack it there either.
    35AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:12
    Re: #10
    The English Championship ranks around 6th in the world, right up there with the big five leagues. Scotland's top flight, for reference, is somewhere around 39th.

    That's why Furuhashi couldn't produce at all and barely scored a goal — even though he was running riot as top scorer in Scotland.
    16AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:05
    Burnley, huh…
    West Ham would've been better.
    West Ham picked up several guys who shone for Leeds back in their Championship days, so they look set to get promoted.
    21AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:06
    Re: #16
    If West Ham get back to the Premier League, they seem like they'd actually stay there. Burnley, even if they go up, look like they'll just come straight back down again.
    27AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:09
    I was so excited wondering where everyone would end up… but now that it's all over, it's nothing but step-downs or guys getting buried on the bench…
    34AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:12
    Re: #27
    Most of the guys who moved actually stepped up, didn't they?
    55AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:24
    Re: #34
    Oh really? Glad to hear that's the general take then — I was picturing them landing somewhere better.
    71AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:33
    Re: #34
    Everyone except Zion is a bit meh.
    28AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:09
    If he'd gone to Bundesliga 2 or the Championship five years ago and picked up a couple years of experience there, he might've been playing in a big-five league by age 25, three years ago.

    Instead, here he is moving to the Championship at 28. At this age, unless the club gets promoted back to the Premier League, he's probably going to finish his career having never played in a big-five league.
    46AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:18
    Re: #28
    Five years ago, visa rules meant you couldn't go straight from Japan to England. Going via another country was the only way to eventually reach England.

    Now the rules have changed so players can go directly from Japan, so today's young players are lucky.
    29AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:09
    His dad was really good defensively (´・ω・`)
    37AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:14
    Re: #29
    Wasn't he a baseball player?
    36AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:13
    Still, it's wild how hard it is in football to move from Scotland to next-door England.
    40AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:16
    Re: #36
    The gap in league level is just too big. Even when a Japanese player racks up goals like crazy and dominates, scouts barely show any interest.
    39AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:15
    If it was the English 2nd tier, he could've gone straight there from the J.League.
    50AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:19
    Re: #39
    Back when Hatate moved to Celtic, visa restrictions meant you couldn't go straight from Japan to England — you had to go via another country first to build up work permit points.

    Now the rules have changed so you can go directly, so today's young players are lucky.
    42AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:16
    So the Scottish league ranks below England's 2nd tier?
    45AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:17
    Re: #42
    The Championship ranks above leagues like the Netherlands or Belgium, after all.
    79AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:43
    Re: #42
    I'd say Scotland (mocking nickname: 'Suttoko') ranks below the J.League.
    101AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:58
    Re: #42
    England's 2nd tier ranks 6th in the world, Scotland's top flight ranks around 39th, and the Dutch top flight ranks around 17th.
    47AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:18
    Re: #45
    People say that a lot, but the ones who actually get transfers are the guys who shone in Belgium or the Netherlands.
    61AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:27
    Re: #47
    It's just financially stronger — at the end of the day it's still a 2nd-tier league, so the level's a bit lacking. It's normal for almost the entire squad to get overhauled once a club gets promoted to the Premier League.
    48AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:19
    Don't underestimate Hatate.
    94AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:55
    Re: #48
    Hatate's rock 'n' roll.
    73AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:35
    I really thought the day would come when Hatate became the backbone of the Japan national team (lit. 'scallop's adductor muscle,' forum wordplay on 大黒柱, 'the pillar/mainstay')…
    87AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:51
    Re: #73
    Instead he got turned into a sacrificial guinea pig (人柱, playing off the same 'pillar' pun) for Scottish football 😢
    75AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:35
    Oh, the club Vincent Kompany used to manage. They probably won't get promoted easily, but there's no doubt it's a good club. I mean, a while back they used to be pretty much a top-flight regular, right?
    80AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:44
    Re: #75
    Burnley have basically been a yo-yo club lately: 2021-22 Premier League (18th), 2022-23 Championship (1st), 2023-24 Premier League (19th), 2024-25 Championship (2nd), 2025-26 Premier League (19th).
    78AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:41
    https://x.com/BurnleyOfficial/status/2094914672801542248

    I laughed out loud for real.
    81AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:46
    Re: #78
    What is this lol
    Who even said that about him
    90AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:53
    Re: #78
    Burnley's Hatate video is hilarious lmaooooo
    93AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:55
    West Ham
    Birmingham
    Burnley

    Sounds like he picked Burnley out of these three. Personally I wanted him to go to West Ham, but maybe he avoided them because of Engels, who plays the same position?
    99AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:58
    Re: #93
    At West Ham he'd be a guaranteed sub. Birmingham would've been the easiest place to nail down a starting spot, but they have no shot at promotion.

    Background and Key Talking Points

    The Scottish Premiership, where Reo Hatate had been playing, is generally ranked in the 30s worldwide and isn’t considered a high-level league. The English Championship, on the other hand, is said to rival the Dutch or Belgian top flights in financial power and attendance, putting it just below the “big five” leagues. Kyogo Furuhashi, who left Celtic for England before Hatate, failed to replicate his scoring touch in the Championship, and that precedent fueled a mix of worry and hope in the thread about Hatate “stepping up in class.”

    It’s also a known fact that Hatate, Hidemasa Morita, and Daizen Maeda all switched agents around the same time in an attempt to follow the same path to the Premier League that Ao Tanaka had already taken. The ability to get a visa straight from Japan to England is a relatively recent rule change in the post-Brexit era; back when Hatate moved to Celtic, that direct route didn’t exist yet. Burnley have become known in recent years as a “yo-yo club,” bouncing between the Premier League and the Championship, and whether this move ends up being a stepping stone back toward the top flight for Hatate will depend on how much playing time he gets going forward.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “Reo Hatate makes a shock move to Championship side Burnley on deadline day! “This is a great move for me”… signs three-year deal.”

  • Kimura Takuya reveals his ‘oshi-gyu’ (favorite beef bowl pick) in new Yoshinoya ad — 5ch: ‘Wasn’t Sukiya first…?’

    It’s been revealed that actor Kimura Takuya will appear in a new Yoshinoya commercial airing from September 3. The ad spotlights each customer’s own “oshi-gyu” (favorite beef bowl topping), and Kimura himself revealed he picked the mentai-takana mayo bowl (spicy cod roe and pickled mustard greens mayonnaise) as his pick, saying “a beef bowl with mentaiko and takana together…” On 5ch, the thread buzzed with questions about why Kimura — someone who doesn’t exactly scream “fast-food commercial” — keeps getting cast by chains like Yoshinoya and McDonald’s, pointers that Sukiya already sells a similar item, and nostalgic chatter about how he used to eat at Yoshinoya a lot back in his SMAP days.

    Kimura Takuya reveals his “oshi-gyu” — “A beef bowl with mentaiko and takana together…” — stars in new Yoshinoya commercial

    Actor Kimura Takuya (53) will appear in a new commercial for beef bowl chain Yoshinoya Co., Ltd., airing from the 3rd.

    Since the ad focuses on each customer’s favorite beef bowl, or “oshi-gyu,” when asked about his own pick,

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

    5AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:17
    He's really committing to that 'mukae-jita' lean-in bite (tilting your head/mouth toward the food instead of raising it to your mouth — considered bad manners on camera)
    but is that really okay?
    Guess his star power is enough to make it fly
    11AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:18
    Reply to Re: #5:
    Didn't he ban that after people called him out for it?
    6AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:17
    A choi-waru oji (a stylish, slightly rebellious middle-aged guy) who doesn't do the lean-in bite… that's a rare breed
    8AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:17
    Why cast someone who doesn't even eat this stuff for the commercial?
    28AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:28
    Reply to Re: #8:
    Isn't that basically every food commercial?
    Same goes for cosmetics ads
    52AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:36
    Reply to Re: #8:
    Yeah, pretty much all of them are like that
    10AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:18
    Kimu never used to do this kind of thing back in his group days
    He could just stand behind the other four members looking sulky and cynical and people still ate it up
    14AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:20
    Kimutaku feels like the last person you'd associate with fast food, yet somehow he keeps getting cast for McDonald's, Yoshinoya, and the like
    Maybe there's just something weirdly funny about seeing Kimutaku holding a burger
    43AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:33
    Reply to Re: #14:
    Kimu actually comes off pretty down-to-earth — his off-duty clothes look kind of goofy too
    Doesn't give off a 'dines at fancy restaurants' vibe at all
    15AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:21
    Isn't the mentai-takana mayo bowl
    basically a Sukiya ripoff…?
    32AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:30
    Reply to Re: #15:
    I thought so too, but it's not a straight copy
    Sukiya: takana + mentai-mayo (combined)
    Yoshinoya: takana + mentaiko + mayo (separate)
    Yoshinoya's actually sounds tastier
    Sukiya should switch to this format too
    18AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:23
    If we're talking 'definitely doesn't actually eat this,' Ishihara Satomi's Sukiya ads always felt way more off to me
    20AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:26
    As always there's a ton of people having a knee-jerk reaction just because it's Kimutaku
    If a mere commercial sets you off like this, life must be rough
    21AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:26
    Credit where it's due — Kimutaku can pull off everything from slick luxury-brand ads to down-home commercials like this
    22AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:27
    He was already eating beef bowls in Judge Eyes (the video game he starred in), so this is nothing new
    23AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:27
    Hey, foodie old man (a 5ch nickname poking fun at food-obsessed middle-aged guys), quit looking over here lol
    25AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:28
    I get the takana, but does mentaiko actually go with it?
    Feels like you're just paying extra for the same kick you'd get from shichimi (Japanese seven-spice)
    29AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:29
    Reply to Re: #25:
    It's a perfect match, honestly delicious
    talking about Sukiya's mentai-takana mayo version here
    33AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:30
    It's basically a miracle he's still got such thick hair at his age
    39AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:31
    Reply to Re: #33:
    Going bald in your 50s is actually the rarer case
    that's a ridiculous thing to marvel at
    63AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:41
    Reply to Re: #33:
    These days there's minoxidil & finasteride, so no worries there
    48AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:36
    I don't think there's a more wasted expense than advertising fees — is it basically protection money?
    Going the Amway (multi-level marketing) route might honestly be more upfront in a way
    54AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:38
    Reply to Re: #48:
    Wait, is it actually true that luxury brands spend way more on advertising?
    65AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:42
    I honestly wonder how much ad impact a commercial of Kimutaku eating a beef bowl even has — what demographic is this even targeting?
    69AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:46
    Reply to Re: #65:
    I think the ad impact is actually pretty significant
    78AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:49
    Reply to Re: #65:
    Probably aimed at parents with kids
    The core of Kimutaku's fanbase is in their 40s-50s after all
    73AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:48
    Doesn't look like a guy who'd ever eat this stuff on a normal day
    87AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:53
    Reply to Re: #73:
    Isn't he just eating whatever Kudo Shizuka (his wife) makes?
    76AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:49
    Kimutaku's face looks thinner lately with deeper wrinkles, it's a bit worrying
    Hope it's nothing serious
    81AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:51
    Haven't been to Yoshigyu (Yoshinoya) in ages
    These days you don't tell the staff your order directly anymore, right?
    84AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:52
    Reply to Re: #81:
    The fridge case at the counter with the all-you-can-eat pickles is gone now too

    Background and key points of this discussion

    This commercial campaign spotlights each customer’s own “oshi-gyu,” with Kimura’s pick landing on the mentai-takana mayo bowl. In the thread, comments questioning whether the actor actually eats beef bowls in real life stood out, but that’s a standard reaction that follows just about any celebrity-fronted food commercial — it isn’t unique to Kimura. There were also pointers that Sukiya already sells a similar item using mentaiko, takana, and mayonnaise, though the exact combination and ratio of ingredients differs between the two chains, so it’s a stretch to call it a straight copy. Kimura has repeatedly been cast in commercials for down-to-earth chains like McDonald’s in the past, and it appears the appeal of casting him across both high-end brands and mass-market products is part of what fueled this round of discussion.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Kimura Takuya to appear in new Yoshinoya commercial! Reveals his oshi-gyu is mentai-takana mayo — “A beef bowl with mentaiko and takana together…”.”

  • Tetsuro Degawa, 62, Reflects as ‘Charging Journey’ Nears 10th Anniversary Next Year — Vows to Be a Reaction Comedian for Life

    With TV Tokyo’s “May We Charge Your Battery?” (Degawa Tetsuro no Juden Sasete Moraemasenka) set to mark its 10th anniversary next year, Tetsuro Degawa (62) said in an interview that he wants to keep doing the show “until they tell me I’m fired.” He also spoke about the reaction-comedy skills he’s honed since the show became a regular series in 2017, saying he feels he “has to pass it on,” and touched on memories of Ryuhei Ueshima of the comedy trio Dacho Club. On 5ch forums, users debated the traffic jams caused by the slow-moving moped and film-crew convoy, whether it’s still appropriate for him to ride a motorbike past 60, and the staging of roadside crowds along the route.

    Tetsuro Degawa, 62, Declares He’ll Be a Reaction Comedian for Life “Even as an Old Man” — TV Tokyo’s “Charging Journey” Marks 10th Anniversary Next Year, “I’m Overwhelmed” — Also Recalls Memories of Dacho Club’s Ryuhei Ueshima

    TV personality Tetsuro Degawa’s (62) comedic journey continues. His signature TV Tokyo program “May We Charge Your Battery?” (Saturdays, 6:30 p.m.) has become a long-running hit set to celebrate its 10th anniversary next year. “Honestly, I never dreamed it would last this long,” he said, reflecting, while vowing, “I want to keep going until they tell me I’m fired.” He also spoke passionately about passing on the reaction comedy he honed on shows like “Owarai Ultra Quiz” and the “hot water bath” gag, saying, “I really need to pass this on.”

    Dressed in the overalls familiar from the show, he radiated his trademark upbeat energy. “Charging Journey” became a regular series in 2017. He reportedly went into some shoots muttering his catchphrase “This is bad, this is bad” (yabai yo, yabai yo), but the show overcame its struggles and continues to air in a prime evening slot.

    Source: daily.co.jp / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:10
    Re: #1
    Is it really okay to laugh at someone whose words won't come out because of aftereffects from a stroke?
    4AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:10
    The traffic jams and rubbernecking crowds are a massive nuisance — just stop already.
    40AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:50
    Re: #4
    I get that it can't be helped, but Degawa and the guest's mopeds plus the minivan carrying the film crew crawling along at low speed must be a huge pain for the cars stuck behind them lol
    5AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:10
    No, once his judgment starts slipping with age, broadcasting him riding a motorbike is going to be a tough sell. He should show some restraint himself.
    7AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:12
    Did he have a grandchild?
    45AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:54
    Re: #7
    Degawa doesn't have any kids.
    10AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:16
    TV these days wants a geezer past 60 more than some young guy.
    13AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:18
    This moped can hold two batteries but they only ever put in one.

    It was fun in the early days,

    but now… it's just done.
    19AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:22
    Re: #13
    A show like this is probably doomed once he gets so famous he's unconditionally welcomed everywhere he goes.
    16AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:19
    Wait, he's already 62? Celebrities really do look young.
    18AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:22
    "Even as an old man" — he's already an old man now, isn't he? His body's already falling apart at his age.
    20AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:24
    Feels like it's been running forever, but it's only been 10 years?
    21AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:25
    "Until he's an old man" — at 62 he's already an old man to everyone around him.
    23AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:28
    Let's hope he doesn't end up like Himura or Date. (fellow TV personalities whose health struggles were widely reported)
    25AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:29
    Haven't watched it in 4-5 years — are big-name guests still coming on?
    26AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:30
    He acts like a comedian, but he wasn't originally one, right!?
    27AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:31
    Sometimes you can't tell what he's saying without the subtitles.
    28AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:35
    He's gonna wipe out on the bike someday and that'll be the end of the show.
    31AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:39
    He used to have rock-bottom likability ratings,
    but times really do change.
    32AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:40
    It's a show where the crew's car trails behind at a steady 30 km/h, blocking the road and causing a jam for everyone behind.
    These days that could get called "reverse road rage" (i.e., obstructive driving that provokes the cars stuck behind).
    33AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:43
    Is he going around telling people "you should just go to bed already," the way Shinsuke used to?
    37AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:48
    Re: #33
    "Wow, that surprised me!" (Degawa's classic catchphrase)
    35AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:46
    "Reaction comedian" is just a term he uses to justify himself —
    at the end of the day it's just bullying.
    36AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:47
    Every episode, tons of locals show up waving outside the diner where Degawa's eating or along the roadside where the moped passes by,
    and I can't help thinking, "ah, the staff probably went door-to-door ringing every house in the neighborhood to round these people up."
    I actually like the show and watch it sometimes,
    but I always think they don't need to go that far.
    39AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:49
    His spirit may be willing, but his body keeps declining every year,
    so maybe it's time to give up the moped before he takes a bad spill and gets seriously hurt.
    Switch from two wheels to an EV car journey instead.
    44AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:54
    Re: #39
    Back in the day "Tetsuwan DASH" did something similar, and that also caused traffic jams with the cars behind looking incredibly annoyed lol (a long-running TOKIO variety segment)
    61AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:16
    Where did the gap between him and Katsumata come from?
    69AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:30
    Re: #61
    "Gokigenyou" ended. (a long-running TV Asahi variety show that got cancelled)

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    “May We Charge Your Battery?” became a regular series in 2017 and will mark its 10th anniversary on air next year. Tetsuro Degawa first made his name with reaction comedy bits like the “boiling hot bath” gag, and it’s notable that he touched on passing down that craft in this interview. Ryuhei Ueshima, who passed away suddenly in May 2022, was a member of the comedy trio Dacho Club and, as a reaction comedian of the same generation, had appeared alongside Degawa for years — his reminiscence about Ueshima appears to stem from that history. Debate on the forum centered mainly on the show’s production choices: commenters pointed to the traffic jams caused by the slow-moving moped and film-crew convoy, questioned whether it’s still appropriate for Degawa to ride a motorbike given his age, and expressed discomfort with the seemingly “staged” mobilization of local residents along the route. At the same time, many said they’ve enjoyed the show for years, so opinion wasn’t simply split for or against.

    *This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Tetsuro Degawa, 62, Declares He’ll Be a Reaction Comedian for Life “Even as an Old Man” — “Charging Journey” Marks 10th Anniversary Next Year, “I’m Overwhelmed,” Also Recalls Memories of Ueshima.”

  • Fired From His Corporate Job, He Became a YouTuber — Still Only Making ¥130,000 a Month in Year 6, and 5ch Says ‘You’re Actually Doing Great’

    In a thread titled “My Life Now, After Getting Fired From My Full-Time Job at 38 and Becoming a YouTuber,” posted on 5ch’s Newsspeed VIP board, the original poster shared an update on his situation. Six years after being fired from his full-time job, he’s still working as a YouTuber, earning around ¥130,000 a month — an amount that hasn’t grown or shrunk, and still falls short of his old take-home pay as a full-time employee. While some commenters offered optimistic takes like “won’t it grow if you keep at it?” and others asked about his subscriber count and watch time, the poster revealed that he has kept job hunting without success, sparking a debate over the gap between people who managed to land full-time jobs as new college graduates and those who didn’t.

    1AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:23
    My monthly earnings are around ¥130,000, but it's just short of what I used to take home as a full-time employee, and it's bugging me.
    2AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:24
    Wouldn't it keep growing if you stick with it?
    3AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:25
    Re: #2
    Even after doing this for about 6 years already?
    24AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:34
    Once you hit your late 40s, it seems like it'd be rough trying to get hired at this point.
    25AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:35
    Re: #24
    I've been job hunting this whole time, you know.
    Can't help it if I keep getting rejected.
    28AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:40
    I'm just a regular mid-career hire who dropped out of college, and I take home ¥300,000.
    29AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:43
    Re: #28
    Well yeah, if you work some job-like thing that wrecks your body and shortens your lifespan, of course you'd make that much.
    30AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:44
    Do you actually tell them you're a YouTuber at interviews?
    What kind of reaction do you get?
    36AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:45
    Re: #30
    Just a kind of "oh, I see" reaction.
    32AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:44
    What do you even do on YouTube to earn that much?
    I want to make it a side hustle.
    39AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:46
    Re: #32
    No way.
    That'd just mean less money for me.
    33AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:44
    I'll like and subscribe and everything, so just tell me.
    41AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:46
    Re: #33
    It's pointless unless you actually keep watching every single time.
    37AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:45
    Making ¥130,000 a month is honestly impressive — have some confidence!
    44AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:47
    Re: #37
    Having confidence doesn't exactly boost my income though.
    I'd like to get back to around ¥160,000 take-home, same as when I was full-time.
    40AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:46
    I mean, if you're still under 40 you should be totally fine switching careers, right? After that it gets rough though.
    47AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:48
    Re: #40
    If anything, I was already job hunting back when I was still full-time, and nothing came of it.
    45AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:48
    If you're pushing 40 without any management experience, job hunting looks tough, unless you're at a level where you can thrive as a specialist on the front lines.
    49AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:49
    Re: #45
    Well, he says he keeps getting rejected, so I guess that's just how it is.
    52AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:50
    Re: #45
    Yeah, I guess that's about right.
    In the end, it seems like it only works out for people who graduated college, landed a full-time job as a new grad, and have been coasting through an easy, smooth-sailing life ever since.
    48AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:48
    For all the YouTubers out there saying they can't make money,
    where do you think they're going wrong?
    55AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:52
    Re: #48
    Well, I'm literally that broke YouTuber, so…
    51AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:49
    If you're doing what you love and still making that much, that's plenty.
    58AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:53
    Re: #51
    Nah, plenty of regular college grads are doing jobs they love AND earning average salary on top of it.
    53AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:51
    Re: #46
    Is that so?
    I mean, there are YouTube channels I've been watching for years now.
    64AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:55
    Re: #53
    But then again, there are also channels people stop watching.
    56AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:52
    That's impressive.
    What's your subscriber count and total annual watch time?
    61AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:54
    Re: #56
    10,000 subscribers. No idea on total views — maybe around 2 million?
    65AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:55
    Aren't you being too picky about jobs?
    I'm 38 and driving a taxi in Tokyo, of all things.
    I need to hurry up, move back to my parents' place, and switch careers.
    71AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:58
    Re: #65
    Well, that's your own fault for choosing not to study and ending up with a low level of education, right?
    It's not like you wanted to properly finish college and get hired as a new grad but got forced into truancy and a low education by bullying, like I did.
    76AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:01
    Re: #71
    Must be nice, having an excuse like that.
    118AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:27
    Re: #71
    Right now it's more like working away from home for extra income.
    I'm actually a college grad with management experience.
    I know it's rock bottom, but it's strange that it still pays better than a company out in the countryside.
    82AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:06
    That's impressive.
    Tell me about your work routine.
    How many hours a day do you work? What's the breakdown between filming and editing?
    How many days a week do you work?
    Do you have friends?
    90AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:10
    Re: #82
    I actually work more than I did as a full-time employee.
    Editing, research — and on top of that my PC is garbage, so it takes forever just to turn things into a video.
    84AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:07
    Also, do you exercise?
    For someone self-employed, losing your stamina is basically a death sentence.
    93AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:12
    Re: #84
    Nope, not exercising at all — not even a little bit.
    100AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:15
    Staying at exactly ¥130,000 a month for 6 years straight, with no increase or decrease — how do you even manage that?
    104AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:18
    Re: #100
    It's just roughly around that amount — it's not like it's exact.
    106AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:18
    Re: #104
    Show us like a year's worth of your monthly earnings.
    109AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:20
    Re: #106
    Screenshotting every single channel, uploading them, and pasting them all here sounds like such a pain.
    122AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:30
    Re: #106
    Yeah, guess I can't do it after all.

    Background and Discussion Points

    A YouTuber’s earnings can’t be judged by subscriber count alone — they vary widely depending on the video’s genre, ad rates, and how watch time builds up over time. In this thread, the figure cited was around 10,000 subscribers, a kind of middle-tier level: enough to meet monetization requirements, but not necessarily enough to fully cover living expenses. The poster said he’s kept job hunting ever since his full-time days without landing anything, and it’s often pointed out across the labor market as a whole that the older workers get, the narrower their chances of switching into an unfamiliar field become. The back half of the thread turned into a clash over the divide between people who became full-time employees as new college graduates and those who didn’t — but it’s worth keeping in mind that such gaps involve more than individual effort alone; factors tied to timing, like Japan’s “employment ice age,” also play a role, making this hard to reduce to simple self-responsibility.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Newsspeed VIP) thread “My Life Now, After Getting Fired From My Full-Time Job at 38 and Becoming a YouTuber.”

  • Narumi Takahashi ‘Can Speak Up to 7 Languages’ — Corrects Online Misinformation, 5ch Reacts

    Former figure skater and TV personality Narumi Takahashi (34) appeared on TV Tokyo’s “Please Let Me Correct That Information” and called for corrections to information about her circulating online. The show’s premise has guests correct “misinformation” about themselves, and Takahashi explained her language skills, saying she “can speak up to 7 languages.” On 5ch threads, reactions were mixed: some genuinely praised her language ability, others were split on liking or disliking her quirky, dreamy-eccentric persona (a type known in Japan as “fushigi-chan”) on variety shows, and still others praised her expertise as a figure skating commentator.

    Narumi Takahashi calls for “correction” of information about her circulating online: “I can actually speak up to 7 languages…”

    Former figure skater and TV personality Narumi Takahashi (34) appeared on TV Tokyo’s late-night show “Please Let Me Correct That Information,” airing on the 31st, and called for a “correction” of information about her circulating online.

    The show’s format has guests personally correct “misinformation” circulating about them in the world.

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

    4AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:20
    Kazu Language is just too insane, makes her look unremarkable by comparison (Kazu Language = a YouTuber famous for extreme multilingualism)
    8AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:23
    With that many languages down, traveling abroad should be a breeze
    11AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:29
    Just speaking English and Chinese is already impressive —
    barely anyone in showbiz can do that
    21AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:39
    Re: #11
    Agnes Chan (Hong Kong-born singer/TV personality famous in Japan for her multilingualism)
    13AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:29
    Sad that a gifted woman who excelled academically and was an Olympic hopeful makes more money playing a 'space cadet' TV personality
    23AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:40
    Re: #13
    She's clearly from an elite family,
    and she herself is a bigwig at the JOC (Japan Olympic Committee).
    Her coming down to earth as a 'quirky girl' character
    is basically the gods amusing themselves.
    34AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:48
    Re: #13
    Well, if she's earning a living on the side, good for her
    She can't do ice shows since she has no pairs partner
    and she's kind of an awkward fit for coaching too.
    59AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:16
    Re: #13
    It's a common thing — being too smart tips over into 'crazy'
    But people like that are rarely bad people, so honestly I kind of like her.
    14AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:32
    The reason her Japanese is sometimes a little off is
    it's getting mixed up with the other 7 languages
    15AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:33
    Takahashi's actually a skilled talker (in Japanese, of course)
    there aren't many in showbiz better than her at it
    16AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:34
    She's basically living proof that just knowing languages doesn't get you that far
    17AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:37
    A collab with Kazu Language would probably blow up
    19AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:38
    Work's probably fun for her, but she should hurry up and get married and have kids
    62AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:20
    Re: #19
    Didn't she come out as nonbinary?
    20AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:39
    No matter how you slice it

    isn't she just

    a handful
    22AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:40
    Re: #18
    People split into those who enjoy the 'novelty act' and those who can't stand watching it
    that's just a matter of taste
    She's probably playing it up too, since it's what's expected of her and it pays.
    37AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:49
    Re: #22
    Kind of like Kayo Noro? (comedian/tarento known for a similarly eccentric persona)
    25AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:42
    Re: #23
    Someone's personal circumstances are nobody else's business
    She's being treated like an oddball — what's 'godly' about that?
    26AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:43
    It's unfair how entertaining she is when all she's doing is asking for a correction
    28AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:44
    Impressive how she shifts her commentary tone between NHK Trophy, cable broadcasts, and regular terrestrial TV
    for the Olympics she went full flashy commentary mode
    29AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:45
    I've only got a measly 4 'languages' — Kansai dialect and standard Japanese, each in polite and casual form
    30AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:46
    Being carefree and innocent is a hair's breadth from being weird
    Takahashi's just barely on the 'carefree and innocent' side, so she's fine.
    33AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:47
    Re: #30
    Being weird is fine though
    soccer's Maruyama is totally in that category too, but he's entertaining
    55AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:11
    Re: #33
    I think that's half an act for him
    Sounds like he's also put in more effort than most to hone his talking skills.
    74AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:35
    Re: #33
    That's probably how he makes steady money doing it that way
    he's choosing substance over reputation
    in that sense you could call it calculated
    They say playing the uncool card pays better than trying to look cool.
    31AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:46
    Funny at first, but there are so many like her now that it's getting old
    TV's just going to use her up and toss her aside.
    36AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:48
    Re: #31
    She can make a living off figure skating commentary alone, so I don't think variety TV really matters to her
    35AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:48
    No surprise, given she's from elite prep school Shibuya Makuhari
    Though the fact her university was Keio SFC is a bit of a letdown, lolwww
    38AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:52
    Use it or lose it. Ain't that the truth.
    39AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:53
    She should just do a 7-language course on NHK's E-Tele
    41AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:55
    Being fluent in English and Chinese alone means she'll never struggle to make a living
    43AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:56
    Re: #41
    This
    It's becoming the standard playbook for wealthy families now — send the kid to study in Shanghai, then New York.
    60AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:19
    Re: #43
    Less 'wealthy' and more 'business owner,' maybe?
    64AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:22
    Re: #60
    Could be that too

    Background and Talking Points

    Narumi Takahashi went from elite prep school Shibuya Makuhari to Keio University’s SFC campus, and during her competitive career she aimed to represent Japan in pairs figure skating. Since retiring, she has balanced figure skating commentary with variety show appearances, and thread reactions notably split along two lines: praise for her expertise as a commentator, and mixed opinions on her variety-show persona. Since the show itself was built around her personally correcting “misinformation,” the thread didn’t dig into the specifics of exactly which languages she speaks or to what level, or what precisely was inaccurate. Instead, discussion centered less on the truth of her language claims and more on speculation about her standing as a TV personality and what’s next for her career.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Skating] Narumi Takahashi calls for “correction” of information about her circulating online: “I can actually speak up to 7 languages…”.”

  • Tokyoites Earn ¥4 Million a Year Yet Still Pay Six-Figure Rent — “Nagoya’s Way Better Value,” Say Critics

    A thread about Tokyo rent versus income, posted on the “Live Anything” board (Nandemo Jikkyo G), blew up. It kicked off with an image comparing average rent for 1K apartments in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka, and quickly spiraled into inter-city bickering: “Nagoya pays about the same as Tokyo but rent is half — way better value” versus “yeah, but the manners and public order there are terrible.” Commenters also clashed over whether the widely cited ¥4 million annual income figure was a mean or a median, trading rebuttals sourced from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare statistics. The thread also touched on low disposable income, real examples of cut-rate apartments in central Tokyo, and whether the crime-rate rankings being cited were even accurate.

    1AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:16
    lol (lit. "grass" — 5ch slang for laughing)
    2AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:16
    Average rent for 1K apartments
    Tokyo

    Osaka

    Nagoya

    Fukuoka
    7AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:17
    Re: #2
    Fukuoka's way too high for being in the middle of nowhere
    11AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:18
    Re: #2
    Didn't realize Osaka salaries were this low
    4AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:17
    Nagoya's value is insane
    Same pay as Tokyo but half the rent
    17AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:20
    Re: #4
    But the city's a hellscape — Sakae is literally the only thing there
    8AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:17
    And it's even more brutal in dollar terms
    At ¥160 to the dollar, ¥4 million a year is only $2,500 a month… wait, $25,000 a year

    Back when ¥100 to the dollar was normal, that same $25,000 would've only been ¥2.5 million 😭
    31AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:23
    Re: #8
    Why would a regular salaryman even think in dollars
    Still, living in Tokyo is about as bad as it gets
    13AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:19
    Nagoya's value is way too good
    16AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:20
    Re: #13
    Nagoya's manners are so bad you can't really call it good value
    21AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:21
    Re: #16
    Tokyo's manners are honestly worse
    20AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:21
    Nagoya's just cheap — the performance side is garbage
    23AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:21
    Re: #20
    It's a big city where you can live in a spacious, clean home, earn good pay, and find work — that's plenty of performance
    25AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:22
    Making ¥4 million in Tokyo is just too much of a loser move
    35AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:23
    Re: #25
    It's the median, so Tokyo is a city with nearly 10 million of those "losers"
    26AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:22
    If you're going to live in Nagoya, you might as well live in Sendai or Sapporo
    30AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:22
    Re: #26
    Sendai and Sapporo have low pay and no jobs
    Nagoya has plenty of jobs and good pay
    28AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:22
    Nagoya's only selling point is being cheap. The public order and manners are so bad I wouldn't want to live there
    32AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:23
    Re: #28
    Crime rate rankings
    1st: Tokyo
    2nd: Osaka
    3rd: Kanagawa

    6th: Aichi (Nagoya's prefecture)
    87AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:39
    Re: #32
    https://www.alsok.co.jp/person/recommend/dangerous-ranking2024/
    The police don't publish per-capita stats anymore, but if you actually calculate it, has Tokyo really overtaken Osaka as the overwhelming worst?
    I guess five years is enough time for that to happen
    97AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:43
    Re: #32
    Even calculating from the official 2025 stats, Osaka's still #1 — what ranking is this even from?
    42AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:24
    Also, the area near central Nagoya is cheap because it's unpopular
    And it's unpopular because it's a pain to live in
    56AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:27
    Re: #42
    Of course it is
    It's just that Tokyoites who happily live downtown or on reclaimed landfill are the weird ones
    55AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:27
    Tokyo salaries seem decent, but disposable income looks really low
    60AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:28
    Re: #55
    Yeah, that's actually true

    It's fighting for dead last in disposable income nationwide
    64AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:30
    Re: #55
    Though for families raising kids, the subsidies are pretty generous
    Still, having kids pushes the rent you need even higher
    59AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:28
    Re: #35
    If you look at men only, the national median easily clears ¥5 million, and I'd guess it's around ¥6 million for Tokyo alone
    No point arguing with numbers that lump in part-time housewives
    62AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:29
    Re: #59
    This is full-time employees only, by the way
    69AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:31
    Re: #62
    If Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya all come in below the national stats that include part-timers, something's off
    Pensioners are probably mixed into that data too
    70AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:32
    Re: #62
    The latest Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare median for full-time employees is ¥3.7 million
    You're mixing that up with the average
    The average is around ¥5 million
    94AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:42
    Isn't Tokyo inflating so much that low-wage jobs won't be sustainable anymore?
    There's probably a limit to how many workers you can pull in from outside the city too
    98AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:43
    Re: #94
    That's exactly why they're bringing in tens of thousands of foreign technical intern trainees
    96AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:43
    The latest Reiwa-era floor plan, Tokyo edition!
    Only ¥100,000 a month! Such a deal!

    102AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:44
    Re: #96
    Looks like it's for "convict-tier" guys (a joke term for men who'll live in rooms as spartan as a prison cell)
    104AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:45
    Re: #96
    After all that, a shared toilet is still a dealbreaker?
    109AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:46
    [Photos] Behold Tokyoites Lining Up Around the Block for Gindako's ¥88 Deal (Only 88 Up for Grabs) lol










    Standing in line for over an hour just to save ¥500-600 seems like a terrible use of your hourly wage, no?
    114AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:47
    Re: #109
    Meanwhile
    Osakans: "We love Gindako!" ❤
    110AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:46
    Wait, Tokyo actually has the highest average income of anywhere
    Where's this ¥4 million figure even coming from?
    113AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:47
    Re: #110
    Plenty of Tokyoites make under ¥4 million too, you know
    115AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:48
    Re: #110
    ¥4 million is the median
    It reflects reality better than the average does

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    What sparked the debate in the thread was how to interpret the figure “¥4 million a year.” According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s Basic Survey on Wage Structure, the median annual income for full-time employees sits around ¥3.7 million, while the average climbs into the ¥5 million range. The median reflects the reality of the “person in the middle,” whereas the average tends to get pulled upward by high earners — so the same data set can leave very different impressions depending on which figure you look at. There’s no question Tokyo’s rents are among the highest in the country, but its low disposable income comes down to the heavy burden of rent, cost of living, and social insurance premiums — a high salary alone doesn’t guarantee breathing room. The thread also lit up with comparisons to Nagoya and Osaka, but judgments about “manners” and “public order” are largely based on personal impressions and should be read separately from official crime statistics.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (“Live Anything G”) board thread “[Sad News] Tokyoite Only Makes ¥4 Million a Year, Yet Rent Alone Eats at Least ¥100,000“.

  • Singer Kohmi Hirose Sparks 5ch Buzz Over Suspicions She Never Actually Showed Up to Juice=Juice’s Release Event

    Singer Kohmi Hirose’s post about Juice=Juice’s release event in Ikebukuro sparked suspicion on 5ch’s Hello! Project board that she may not actually have been there in person. Some pointed out the story had already been picked up by web news outlets, fueling speculation that she simply jumped on the bandwagon after seeing the buzz on X (formerly Twitter). Thread posters piled up circumstantial evidence — “if she’d really been there, she’d have greeted the members backstage or mentioned it on her blog” — but with no clear explanation from Hirose herself, the truth remains unconfirmed.

    2AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:32
    Days in the group as of 09/02/2026

    4,127 days — Akari Uemura
    3,355 days — Ruru Danbara (since 6/26/2017)
    3,194 days — Tomoko Kanazawa
    2,909 days — Sayuki Takagi
    2,845 days — Karin Miyamoto
    2,637 days — Yume Kudo / Ria Matsunaga (since 6/14/2019)
    2,345 days — Reon Inoue (since 4/1/2020)
    2,303 days — Yuka Miyazaki
    1,883 days — Ichika Arisawa / Risa Irie / Hisaki Ebata (since 7/7/2021)
    1,526 days — Sakura Ishiyama / Sakari Endo (since 6/29/2022)
    1,447 days — Manaka Inaba
    1,198 days — Mifu Kawashima (since 5/23/2023)
    *,623 days — Nanami Yanagawa
    *,436 days — Nial Hayashi (since 6/23/2025)
    *,130 days — Aina Otsuka
    3AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:33
    Okay but if that's the case, who was doing the backup vocals that day?
    4AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:41
    Speaking of postponements, there's this too:
    "3600 Seconds (1/15, Yokohama Arena)" → postponed and rolled into the 13th anniversary concert
    "13th Anniversary Concert (5/16, Makuhari Messe)" → postponed to fall
    Dates/venue still TBD ← we're here now

    With this many postponements and cancellations, there's no way this shambles of a management team is handling ticket transfers and refunds smoothly lol
    5AnonymousSep 2, 2026 07:52
    Because Kohmi-chan's voice is on the actual track.
    7AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:00
    So she really wasn't there after all, huh.
    Wait, but if she was standing near whoever shot that video, she'd have had to be standing there well before the event even started — and if Kohmi Hirose had really been standing around that whole time, surely even the wota (fans) would've noticed and it'd be a much bigger story.
    I was in the free standing area too, for what it's worth.
    8AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:02
    I can't trust anyone anymore at this point.
    9AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:10
    Hey "Offshore Company" — don't slack off on the astroturfing now.
    11AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:18
    This is what a jaded celebrity looks like.
    13AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:20
    I wonder how the person who posted "wait, is that Kohmi Hirose!?" on X is feeling right now.
    14AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:36
    Yeah, if she'd genuinely been there, she'd have said hi to the members backstage and written about it on her blog.
    The fact that it's just an "I spotted her on X" situation kind of says it all.
    15AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:49
    The Juice members' storytelling game is weak.
    Stuff like this just doesn't get any buzz or eyeballs.
    They don't need to force laughs, but you'd think they could at least come prepared with a decent little blooper story.
    16AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:51
    It'd help if Arisawa were the one dropping the wild stories, but this time they probably built the segment around pushing Kudo, so that made it tough.
    18AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:00
    This lady's off in Hawaii or wherever — no way she's flying back to Japan for something as minor as a release event.
    19AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:04
    Wasn't "Ookami" (the Hello! Project fan forum) also hyping it up at the time, like "Kohmi Hirose showed up!" and riding the wave too?
    57AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:47
    So who does that voice that carries all the way to the back belong to then, lol
    58AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:49
    So then whose voice was that, huh?

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    Juice=Juice is an idol group under Hello! Project, and the thread behind this article centers on the group’s release event in Ikebukuro. After singer Kohmi Hirose posted about the event, speculation spread on X that she hadn’t actually been there in person, with replies noting the story had already been picked up by web news outlets. Opinions in the thread split over whether she’d genuinely been mistaken for someone else or was simply jumping on the bandwagon — attendees offered circumstantial evidence like “if she were really there, she’d have greeted members backstage or mentioned it on her blog,” but no definitive statement from Hirose herself has surfaced. It’s worth noting for readers that the claims on 5ch are speculation based on circumstantial evidence alone, not an official comment from Hirose — an easy point to misread.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “[Sad News] Kohmi Hirose didn’t actually go to Juice=Juice’s Ikebukuro release event — “Saw it blowing up on X and thought, ‘wouldn’t it be fun to jump in here…’”“

  • “Minna de Ooyasan” Real Estate Fund, Which Raised ¥200 Billion, Has License Revoked — 5ch: “Not a Single Yen of Investors’ Money Is Left”

    Two operating companies behind “Minna de Ooyasan” (“Everyone’s Landlord”), which had been soliciting investment for development land around Narita Airport and other sites, have had their business licenses revoked by the Osaka and Tokyo prefectural governments. The amount raised from investors exceeds ¥200 billion, and the landlord business will now come to an end. According to reporting by the Yomiuri Shimbun, investors are demanding their money back, and there is also criticism that the government’s response was too slow. On 5ch, opinions were split: some argued investing is always at one’s own risk, while others took issue with the fact that the scheme was regulated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism rather than the Financial Services Agency, leaving oversight looser than for securities.

    9/2 (Wed) 6:49 AM

    Yomiuri Shimbun

    On the 1st, Osaka Prefecture and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued administrative orders revoking the business licenses of two group companies — responsible for fund management and sales — under “Kyosei Bank” (Tokyo), the operator of “Minna de Ooyasan,” a real estate investment product that solicited funds for development land around Narita Airport and other sites. The “Ooyasan” (“Landlord”) business, which raised more than ¥200 billion from investors, will now be shut down. Investors have voiced anger, saying things like “I want my money back” and “The action is reasonable, but the government’s response came far too late.”

    Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Read the original article here

    2AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:08
    Investing is on you — that's just how it works lol
    4AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:08
    So what was that whole Middle East crisis even about

    41 Anonymous Donburako 2026/03/20 (Fri) 05:35:08.12 ID:Az+IKYP60
    Re: #2
    If 70% of the raw material for window sashes disappears,
    then sash makers' work drops 70% too, right

    43 Anonymous Donburako 2026/03/20 (Fri) 05:42:48.27 ID:Az+IKYP60
    Re: #42
    If raw materials drop 70%, production drops 70% too, so the work drops 70%,
    and staff get cut 70% as well

    51 Anonymous Donburako 2026/03/20 (Fri) 05:55:14.23 ID:zlyhQQA/0
    Re: #46
    Because we've never been hit by this before

    So, mind if I save this?
    Because I'm hoping you're not lying

    A 70% drop means if you get 100 orders a month, that falls to just 30-something.
    That's easy enough to check later, so I'll go ahead and save this properly, okay?

    52 Anonymous Donburako 2026/03/20 (Fri) 05:58:58.36 ID:Az+IKYP60
    Re: #51
    Sure, go ahead
    51AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:26
    The investment funds raised were ¥200 billion, so how does that turn into a ¥288.1 billion excess of liabilities over assets?
    There's no bank borrowing here, right? If they could've borrowed from a bank, they wouldn't have needed to borrow from investors at high interest in the first place.
    Is there really ¥88.1 billion of tax debt on top of that?
    58AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:28
    Re: #51
    They spent it on dividend payouts.
    The rest went to running costs like employee salaries.
    68AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:30
    Re: #51
    They just slapped a ridiculously inflated valuation on cheap land, and it's just been corrected back to a fair price
    There's not a single yen of the investment money left
    Only the bald guy (likely a jab at the company's founder/exec) knows where the money went
    12AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:13
    There's no such thing as a principal-guaranteed investment, come on.
    278AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:09
    Re: #12
    The ones who got fooled are the ones at fault
    As if making money could ever be that easy
    19AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:15
    I don't think blaming the government is the right take here
    That's just blame-shifting from people who don't want to admit it's their own responsibility
    22AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:16
    Re: #19
    The main contractor can't pay anymore
    So all that's left is to twist up some excuse, pin it on someone else, and squeeze money out of them that way
    That's basically what's happening
    36AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:20
    This one felt sketchy so I passed on it.
    Their sales pitch was way too aggressive.
    So instead I went with parking-lot funds, CREAL, and Gokou.
    — An old fund geezer with almost 50 years in the real estate industry
    41AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:22
    https://narita-gateway.com/news/1645/
    They were posting photos of construction going smoothly just yesterday — why did it come to this…
    52AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:26
    Re: #41
    I bet the investors just end up splitting this leveled-off land proportionally to their stakes lol
    57AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:27
    If the government can't even manage or monitor this stuff, what's the licensing system even for lol

    Doesn't a license basically work as the government's seal of approval?
    63AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:29
    Re: #57
    If a listed company goes under, is that the Tokyo Stock Exchange's fault?
    90AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:35
    Sure, the government's partly to blame, but
    you were all smiling while you were pocketing those high dividends, weren't you
    91AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:35
    Re: #90
    What's wrong with that?
    151AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:47
    Re: #91
    Investment products under the Financial Services Agency are locked down tight with regulation,
    but real estate falls under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and real estate investment slips through the cracks.
    If you're going to market something as an investment, there ought to be requirements like minimum capital ratios and regular audits — but apparently there aren't any
    179AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:51
    Re: #151
    Exactly this
    That's why fraud schemes keep clustering around real estate investment
    94AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:36
    Re: #63
    You clearly don't know much about this
    Companies go through pretty strict audits when they list
    111AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:38
    Re: #94
    There was a case not long ago where a company cooked its books to meet listing standards, and nobody really took responsibility for that, did they
    130AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:40
    Re: #94
    Even so, if a company still goes under, isn't that a sign the Tokyo Stock Exchange's screening was too lax?
    163AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:48
    Apparently people were already saying it looked sketchy back when the TV commercials were airing

    Why do people fall for this stuff
    174AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:50
    Re: #163
    TV commercials are packed with big-name, top-tier companies, so even a worthless stone starts looking like a gem — that's how people get fooled
    202AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:56
    Re: #163
    Wasn't it something like "Eat what you like, buy what you want…"?
    I remember watching it thinking, wow, they're good with words —
    but with a ¥1 million minimum unit earning 7% a year, there's no way you could live like that.
    Maybe if you'd put in something like ¥100 million, you could have
    190AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:53
    Depending on the location, and barring some sudden crash in land prices, this looks like the kind of business that could turn a decent profit even from an amateur's perspective — so for it to collapse like this,
    it's probably because they promised reckless dividend rates just to pull in customers, ended up in a Ponzi-style cash-flow scramble, and were maybe doomed to collapse from the start
    213AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:57
    Re: #190
    I mean, they just kept saying "we're developing it, we're developing it" lol
    They just brought in a bit of heavy machinery to make it look like development was happening lol
    If you're an investor you'd better be furious about what's actually going on lol
    Land alone doesn't generate profit, does it? lol
    234AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:00
    Re: #213
    For Narita, the landlord company itself said from the start it was just land leveling, with no buildings involved
    https://www.minnadeooyasan.com/_assets/images/fund-list_img_narita08.png
    253AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:04
    Re: #234
    There's no point if nothing gets built on top of the land, right lol
    Then just wait until it's built lol
    Instead of filing lawsuits and all that lol
    235AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:00
    With schemes like this, the first dividend payment usually does get paid properly, right
    So couldn't you just collect it once and then cancel to come out ahead?
    243AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:02
    Re: #235
    There are definitely people who try to play it that way
    And a fair number of them get greedy, fail to get out in time, and end up ruining themselves
    247AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:03
    Re: #235
    If you cancel, you get hit with a 3% penalty fee
    Investors didn't want to pay that, and ended up losing everything instead lol
    249AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:03
    Re: #235
    You might turn a profit, but then your name ends up circulating on lists in scam circles
    258AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:04
    Glad I stuck with a studio apartment investment instead
    260AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:05
    Re: #258
    lol
    I assume that's a joke, but still lol
    262AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:05
    Re: #258
    (・∀・;) what a swamp lol ("swamp" = slang for a hopeless money pit)
    263AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:05
    Ponzi scheme.
    277AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:08
    You'd think a 7% annual return would've been the tipoff lol
    283AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:11
    Re: #277
    If you're managing the real estate yourself,
    getting a return around that level is already doing well.
    The moment you're paying for a flashy office and hiring salespeople,
    there's no profit left to speak of
    296AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:15
    Re: #277
    These days there are actually quite a few real estate crowdfunding deals with yields over 10%.
    Take a look at their financial statements and it's laughable —
    their equity ratio is razor thin, and current liabilities can run several times current assets.
    I can't understand how anyone invests in something like that

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    “Minna de Ooyasan” was a real estate investment product tied to development land around Narita Airport and other sites, built around issuing investment securities. Real estate crowdfunding in Japan operates not under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act but under the framework of the Real Estate Specified Joint Enterprise Act, overseen by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism — a framework generally seen as having lighter disclosure and audit requirements than securities investment. On the thread, some argued this jurisdictional gap may have contributed to the delay in administrative action, while others maintained that since the product never guaranteed principal, investors bore the responsibility themselves — opinion was split. The thread also buzzed over figures showing total investment of over ¥200 billion against a reported ¥288.1 billion excess of liabilities, but since this comes from forum posts rather than an official asset assessment, it should be treated as unconfirmed pending a formal investigation.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[“Minna de Ooyasan”] Raised Over ¥200 Billion… Business License Revoked, Investors Furious: “The Government’s Response Came Far Too Late”.”

  • Cygames Takes Legal Action Over Copyright-Infringing ‘Strip’ Mods for Uma Musume — 5ch: ‘Can’t Help It, It’s Always Online’

    News from Spanish-language outlets that Cygames issued a formal takedown request — citing copyright infringement — against the distributor of a mod that strips the clothes off characters in the PC version of “Uma Musume Pretty Derby” sparked discussion on 5ch’s hardware/industry (gaming) board. Since there’s long been a culture of quietly tolerating offline mods, thread opinions split over whether this move signals a crackdown on texture mods in general or draws the line specifically at nudity and sexual content. The discussion also turned to how much real teeth a Japanese publisher’s warning actually has against an overseas distributor — a broader question about how international copyright enforcement plays out in practice.

    1AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:07
    Translated from Spanish
    CYGAMES Goes After an Uma Musume Mod
    Cygames has issued a formal copyright infringement request to take down a mod for the PC version of the game 'Uma Musume Pretty Derby' that strips the clothing off the main characters.
    6AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:10
    Mods only get a pass when they're offline.
    Pull this in an always-online mobile game and
    of course the company won't stay quiet.
    60AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:19
    Re: #6
    Visual mods don't get reflected on the server, so that's irrelevant.
    If a game sells cosmetic skins, think of it as interfering with their business — that's a no-go even offline.
    7AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:10
    If a foreigner outside Japan's jurisdiction does it, isn't there just nothing they can do about it?
    13AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:16
    Even if it's just a game, stripping minors can't be okay.
    15AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:18
    Re: #13
    It's on them for releasing it on PC.
    This was completely predictable.
    23AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:32
    Only Japanese people get scared by a warning like this.
    It's no threat at all to foreigners outside Japan's legal reach.
    25AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:34
    Re: #23
    Bragging about being lawless, lol.
    28AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:38
    Isn't this off the mark?
    They only said strip mods are bad — they never said every texture-swap mod is banned.
    103AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:11
    Re: #28
    It must have crossed a line they couldn't tolerate.
    If it were an outfit similar to Shadowverse or Priconne, they might've let it slide.
    31AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:45
    If they're only cracking down on strip mods specifically, then by that logic, plain texture mods are being tacitly allowed.
    33AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:48
    Re: #31
    Scary that someone would actually think this way for real.
    39AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:51
    Re: #31
    Peeling a store's giveaway sticker off a 'Bread Festival' entry campaign and taking it is already theft, you know. (a reference to Yamazaki's 'Pan Matsuri' bread-sticker promotion)
    83AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:46
    Re: #31
    Uma Musume has said from the very start that fan works are okay but porn is not.
    41AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:51
    Everyone gets red-faced over 'cute girls,' 'minors,' 'sexy outfits' —
    yet there's no organization telling modders to hold back on their leering with mods.
    Strange.
    43AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:53
    Re: #41
    It's just that the market is still niche.
    Once stuff like this goes mainstream, the regulations will come down hard.
    42AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:52
    Huh?
    Usually the defenders come swarming in, but today nobody's showing up at all.
    Why, why??????
    46AnonymousSep 2, 2026 08:55
    Re: #42
    Maybe it's still before their work hours end?

    Also, sometimes that 'swarm' is really just one guy cycling through IDs. (5ch assigns each poster a new ID daily, so switching devices/IPs can fake a crowd)
    53AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:12
    To begin with, the whole idea of turning everything into a cute-girl personification
    definitely carries at least some sexual intent,
    no question about it.
    I wonder how the horse owners feel about that.

    Oh, and yeah, you're right about the copyright stuff.
    85AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:50
    Re: #53
    They properly get permission from the horse owners, so they understand that side of it.
    That's why some owners refuse.
    Though most owners agree, since retired horses cost money to keep.
    62AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:22
    The moment they made a game like this, respect went out the window.
    Guess it goes both ways.
    63AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:25
    Re: #62
    A lot of owners don't approve of using their horse's real name.
    Uma Musume was never a 'proper' game to begin with.
    64AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:27
    Re: #63
    What do you mean?
    Refusing approval has nothing to do with whether the game is 'proper.'
    They just don't like their horse being turned into a girl and consumed by otaku.
    68AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:30
    Re: #63
    That's exactly why they run the service carefully — getting owner permission and making sure not to cross the line.
    69AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:31
    It was obvious this would happen if they released it on PC — releasing it there was the dumb move.
    73AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:34
    Re: #69
    So your argument is that the criminal isn't at fault?
    78AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:39
    Re: #75
    Depends on the publisher.
    Overseas there are publishers that cooperate with modders,
    and talented modders sometimes get scouted
    and end up working on actual game development.
    82AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:46
    People who use these mods think the same way as train-spotting obsessives (torikko — notorious for entitled, rule-breaking behavior).
    Same mentality as cheaters.
    88AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:56
    Re: #82
    Yeah, this is it exactly.
    Don't expect decent behavior, it's pointless.
    The only real fix is not releasing it on PC — if you do, just accept what comes.
    90AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:59
    Huh?
    Illegal just because they sued?
    Not even close.

    Whether something's illegal is decided by a court,
    not by Cygames or Nintendo.
    102AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:11
    Re: #90
    What this person's saying is correct.
    This person can be trusted.
    Amazing~
    I really admire them~
    91AnonymousSep 2, 2026 09:59
    Overseas mods are like doujin culture in Japan —
    there's no way it's going away.
    That part's fine, but the fact that the publisher can't control it shows such a huge gap in mindset that it's off-putting.
    Well, lately even Japan's doujin scene has people who see other people's work as nothing but a cash grab.
    93AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:00
    Re: #91
    Starting with that guy from the Blue Archive shikishi board incident (a signed fan-art board that got resold, sparking backlash).
    98AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:07
    For fighting games like Street Fighter that have full-nude strip mods, can you actually use those in online matches?
    104AnonymousSep 2, 2026 10:14
    Re: #98
    What's actually transmitted online is just a few kilobytes of position and flag data — the rendering uses whatever's installed on that player's own PC.

    Strip mods just swap out the rendering data, so it has nothing to do with what's happening on the other end of the connection.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    What Cygames actually took issue with this time was the “strip mod” that removes clothing from characters in the PC version of Uma Musume — not a blanket ban on all texture modifications. As pointed out in the thread, fan-made derivative works are an area Uma Musume’s operators have officially tolerated, but sexual content has clearly been off-limits from the start. The reality is closer to this being a response to a mod judged to have crossed that line. Uma Musume is also modeled on real racehorses, and turning them into characters is premised on getting permission from each horse’s owner. A modification like a strip mod risks undermining the very basis of that permission — which may be a bigger reason for the operator’s concern than copyright infringement alone. Another point that’s easy to misread is the claim that “a warning to overseas users beyond Japan’s legal reach is meaningless.” Under the Berne Convention, copyright is mutually protected among member countries, but this is a framework in which each country’s legal system recognizes the others’ copyrights — actually enforcing that right still requires filing suit in the courts of the country in question. Having international law in place doesn’t mean it carries force instantly, and opinions in the thread were split on this very point.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Gaming)) thread “[Bad News] Uma Musume Mod Hit With Legal Action Over Copyright Infringement — Guess Texture Edits Really Are Illegal After All.”