Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Rumiko Koyanagi Stunned by Messi’s Retirement from Argentina Squad — 5ch: “Thanks for Playing This Long”

    Singer Rumiko Koyanagi (74) updated her Instagram on September 1, writing “I can’t stop feeling sad” about Argentina national team star Lionel Messi’s (39) announcement that he is retiring from international duty, sharing her feelings alongside a photo of the two of them together. Messi had revealed on social media on August 31 that he planned to step away from the national team after this summer’s North/Central American World Cup. Reactions on 5ch were split: some offered words of appreciation for Messi, who led the national team for so many years, while others were puzzled by the intensity of Koyanagi’s “I can’t process this” reaction, and some pointed out she may be confusing his “international retirement” with retiring from football altogether.

    Rumiko Koyanagi Stunned by Messi’s International Retirement: “I Can’t Process This” — Shares Her Sadness with a Photo Together

    Singer and actress Rumiko Koyanagi (74) updated her Instagram on the 1st, revealing her feelings with the words “I can’t stop feeling sad” after Argentina national team forward Lionel Messi (39, based in Miami) confirmed his retirement from international football.

    On August 31, Messi wrote on his own Instagram, “I am retiring from the Argentina national team. This decision has been heartbreaking, but I believe now is the time,” making clear his intention to step down from international duty following this summer’s World Cup in North and Central America.

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

    3AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:38
    Argentina without Messi is just a bunch of thugs now
    4AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:38
    Honestly, thank you for sticking with the national team this long
    6AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:38
    I'm worried the shock might actually do her in
    7AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:39
    It's just retiring from the "national team," right?
    Is it really that big a deal? (´・ω・`)
    9AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:39
    I mean, everyone already figured the last World Cup was going to be his last anyway
    11AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:41
    So what's he gonna do after retiring from the national team?
    13AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:42
    Cristiano Ronaldo actually looks way more like Kenya Osumi anyway (a Japanese actor/TV personality)
    15AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:44
    It's not like this was so sudden she couldn't process it — everyone saw it coming.


    It's not like he suddenly died in an accident or something, so acting like that isn't really called for
    17AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:45
    She's probably mixing it up with retiring from football altogether lol
    18AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:45
    To Rumiko he probably feels like a grandson
    20AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:46
    Re: #18
    He's not really grandson age lol
    19AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:46
    Ah, it's the "soccer harassment lady," huh lol (known for her over-the-top soccer commentary)
    22AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:47
    Well, you'd better have been ready for this
    Honestly, it would've been cleanest if he'd ended it one World Cup earlier
    23AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:49
    Come on, cut her some slack, she's an old lady lol
    26AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:53
    You should've made peace with it right after the final ended lol
    28AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:54
    Álvarez is fine, isn't he — even if not this time, he'll end up at Barça eventually
    29AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:55
    Just root for Haaland from now on
    30AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:56
    Messi does kind of have a similar vibe to Kenya Osumi, doesn't he
    35AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:04
    This lady doesn't even really like soccer that much, does she
    She just likes Messi
    36AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:04
    Write "来る夢" (a dream that comes) and "来る人" (a person who comes)…
    and read it as "Limelight" (a classic pun-name for Japanese bars/snack clubs — the kanji are pronounced "raimuraito")
    52AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:28
    Re: #36
    Yeah, you see that as a shop name for countryside cafes and hostess bars all the time
    38AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:05
    Anyway, drink some Joa and calm down (a popular Japanese fruit yogurt drink)
    39AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:05
    He was such an undisputed ace that even Maradona, back when he was manager, said "I've got Messi."
    Apparently coaches from other countries rally their players by shouting "Did you come here to take pictures with Messi?!" — that's the level of legend he is in football.
    No wonder Rumiko is heartbroken.
    41AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:10
    He's retiring from the national team without ever beating Ronaldo's cap count or goal record
    I get how Rumiko feels
    47AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:21
    Re: #41
    The next one is CR7's last shot at winning the World Cup with Portugal
    50AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:24
    Re: #41
    Honestly that feels more like it's because Portugal's squad just isn't that strong
    42AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:10
    I mean, that's a perfectly normal age to retire at
    What, is he supposed to be King Kazu or something
    45AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:19
    Re: #42
    He's 38, right?
    Seems like he could still keep going
    43AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:13
    Embarrassing himself at his last World Cup — what a lame way to go out
    44AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:15
    Graduated top of her class from the Takarazuka Music School

    The "New Three Girls"
    Rumiko Koyanagi, Saori Minami, Mari Amachi


    Impressive that she's still around and doing well
    46AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:21
    I keep wondering about Messi's youngest son wearing a Japan national team jersey
    Did his son ask for one himself?
    Or did he get it from Iniesta?
    49AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:22
    Guess this means a dark age for Argentina now…
    The players on the team must be way more shocked than she is
    51AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:26
    Messi's surprisingly warm and friendly
    You can really tell she's a huge fan
    56AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:39
    Re: #47
    He's hinted he'll retire from playing altogether after this season
    79AnonymousSep 1, 2026 20:48
    Re: #56
    Wait, he's giving up on the home-soil tournament?
    For real…?
    58AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:52
    He probably thinks Japanese fans are annoying
    Always asking "when are you retiring" or "tell us where to get Messi merch" or whatever
    62AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:56
    Re: #58
    Apparently he got spooked watching Ronaldo get made to do the towel-spin thing

    Background and Key Points of Discussion

    Messi kept playing for the national team even after leading Argentina to victory at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, and has now announced his international retirement following this summer’s North/Central American World Cup. Since many had already expected “this time really will be the last” back at the previous tournament, the thread’s reaction leaned more toward calm acknowledgment — “we saw this coming” — than genuine shock. One key point of debate was that Messi’s announcement applies only to his international career, not to retiring from club football altogether, and several comments appeared to mix up the two. The timing also overlaps with Cristiano Ronaldo hinting at retirement after this season, meaning two longtime rivals are reaching milestones in their international careers around the same time. The thread doesn’t get into how Rumiko Koyanagi and Messi came to know each other, and the available material doesn’t make that clear either.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Express+) thread “[Soccer/Entertainment] Rumiko Koyanagi Stunned by Messi’s International Retirement: “I Can’t Process This” — Shares Her Sadness with a Photo Together with Messi.”

  • Convenience Store Giants Cut Onigiri Prices — 5ch Says ‘Drop It to ¥100 Already’

    Starting on the 22nd, FamilyMart will cut prices on four “direct-wrapped” (nori pre-wrapped) onigiri rice ball products by ¥11, while Lawson plans to lower prices on its mainstay hand-rolled onigiri by a flat ¥10 starting the 29th. 7-Eleven is also cutting prices on two products, bringing the total to six items nationwide — or 20 if regional-limited items are included. On 5ch, the news sparked debate, mixing complaints that the price cuts are too small given how much rice prices have fallen with suspicion over the fact that all three major chains cut prices around the same time.

    Starting on the 22nd, FamilyMart will cut the price of four “direct-wrapped” onigiri products — those with the nori pre-wrapped around the rice — by ¥11.

    >>In the convenience store industry, Lawson has also announced plans to cut prices on its mainstay hand-rolled onigiri by a flat ¥10 starting the 29th.

    The cuts cover six nationally sold items, rising to 20 when regional-limited products are included.

    Source: x.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:15
    Too little too late, idiots.

    Bet they panicked once people started ditching onigiri altogether.
    7AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:16
    There's no rational reason for these to cost ¥200 apiece when rice itself has gotten cheaper.
    8AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:16
    They need to cut way harder for it to actually make an impact.
    Though I guess even this much is a stretch for them.
    9AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:16
    Sato Foods needs to drop the price on its packaged rice too (Sato no Gohan, a microwaveable rice brand).
    Rice is getting cheaper but that stuff just keeps getting pricier.
    61AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:46
    Re: #9
    Just buy the Iris Ohyama brand instead.
    10AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:17
    FamilyMart's using Ohtani in their onigiri ads, but I guess you need to be as rich as Ohtani to actually afford one.
    11AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:17
    7-Eleven, only two products lol. They're clearly doing this kicking and screaming.
    12AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:17
    How low is rice gonna go?
    Blended rice is already under ¥2000 for 5kg — is it safe to buy yet?
    53AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:41
    Re: #12
    Wait till it hits ¥1000 for 5kg.
    16AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:18
    This is all our FamilyMart's got?
    And only the ones with nori pre-attached get cheaper?
    Something's off if falling rice prices aren't even the trigger for this.
    19AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:19
    At the end of the day, it's consumers who set the price.
    64AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:47
    Re: #19
    Just flat-out refuse to buy if they raise prices again.
    That's what actually works.
    20AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:19
    At Sundry (a discount supermarket chain), onigiri go for ¥69.
    21AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:19
    Lawson's only knocking off ¥10, so I've got zero hope for this.
    22AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:20
    Packaging costs have shot up because of the situation in the Middle East, so prices aren't going back to where they were anyway.
    27AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:24
    Re: #22
    Actually the big bags of potato chips got cheaper too, depending on the flavor.
    58AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:44
    Re: #22
    Bread hasn't gone up nearly as much as onigiri, so packaging can't be the main factor.
    24AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:21
    I mean, charging almost ¥200 for one onigiri is just insulting
    when you can get a whole loaf of bread for ¥150.
    25AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:21
    If it's too expensive, just don't buy it.
    Make them feel it.
    29AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:25
    This reeks of a cartel — the timing's way too suspicious.
    30AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:25
    Drop it to ¥100 a piece already.
    32AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:26
    Re: #30
    Seriously, exactly this.
    34AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:28
    They probably jacked up prices so much that sales tanked.
    35AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:28
    And yet rice itself isn't even selling and there's a huge surplus sitting around.
    36AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:30
    I thought onigiri prices were proof of inflation, but thinking about it, it was just the rice shortage driving it up.
    Is this even real inflation?
    39AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:32
    Re: #36
    Opportunistic price hikes riding the wave — same as what happened with chocolate and ice cream.
    38AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:31
    Lately even if you go full 'I'm being frugal, tee-hee' small-eater office-lady mode buying lunch at the convenience store, it still comes out to around ¥1600 — it's scary.
    48AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:38
    Rice prices are falling, but companies like these probably buy rice on annual contracts,
    so they might still be locked into the old, higher rate.
    57AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:44
    Re: #48
    No way companies actually honor contracts like that.
    They'll happily demand a discount below the contract price the moment it gets cheaper.
    55AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:42
    So they all cut prices together like they coordinated it?
    59AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:45
    Re: #55
    Ice cream makers already got caught colluding on price hikes, so of course other companies are doing the same.
    70AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:49
    Re: #61 Is it actually good now?
    I tried it a while back and it wasn't great.
    71AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:51
    Re: #70
    It doesn't have that weird smell it used to have anymore.
    93AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:16
    Their main customer base these days is foreign tourists, so it's no skin off their back.
    Kind of depressing, honestly.
    95AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:19
    Re: #93
    That'll kill them the second another pandemic hits.
    Have they already forgotten?
    94AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:17
    Once people move away from something, they rarely come back.
    99AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:22
    Re: #94
    Rice itself is a perfect example of that.
    100AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:24
    My local supermarket is still selling them for ¥78, which makes me think they should just scrap the nationwide flat pricing.
    Sure, foot traffic differs, but the rent gap between a ground-floor store in central Tokyo and a roadside store out in the countryside is way more than 10x.
    A flat price that still turns a profit in central Tokyo just isn't sustainable under those conditions.
    104AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:32
    Re: #100
    Damn, the armchair strategist comes through.

    Background and Key Points of Debate

    Convenience store onigiri prices had been raised repeatedly since 2024 amid Japan’s rice shortage, but by the second half of 2025 wholesale rice prices had turned downward, and people began pointing out the growing gap with retail prices. This time around, both FamilyMart and Lawson are only cutting prices by around ¥10–11, which is small compared to how far rice prices have dropped — and that gap is the core of the frustration on the thread. There are broadly two points of contention: first, disappointment that the cuts are so modest, and second, suspicion over the fact that the major chains cut prices within such a short window of each other. The latter likely stems from a 2025 case in which the Japan Fair Trade Commission scrutinized price-fixing arrangements among some food manufacturers — a precedent that makes people quick to suspect collusion whenever price hikes or cuts line up in timing. That said, no evidence of any actual agreement among these three companies has surfaced, and the cuts could just as easily reflect each company’s own efforts around ingredient and packaging costs — a distinction that’s easy to lose sight of.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Good News] Convenience Store Onigiri: Three Major Chains Announce Price Cuts.”

  • Kewpie hikes prices on 224 products by up to 25%—450g mayonnaise jumps to ¥611

    On September 1, Kewpie announced it will raise prices on 224 household products—including mayonnaise, dressings, and pasta sauces—by 3 to 25%, effective with November shipments. The hikes stem from soaring cooking oil prices as well as rising packaging costs driven by worsening conditions in the Middle East. The company’s flagship Kewpie Mayonnaise (450g) will go from a suggested retail price of ¥559 (tax included) to ¥611. This marks the first mayonnaise price increase in a year, following the last one in September 2025. On 5channel, posters voiced both brand loyalty (“I’ll only buy Kewpie no matter how expensive it gets”) and suspicion toward opportunistic price hikes and manufacturers’ explanations, with the discussion spilling over into dining-out costs and eating habits more broadly.

    Kewpie announced on the 1st that it will raise prices by roughly 3-25% on a total of 224 household products—including its mainstay “Kewpie Mayonnaise,” dressings, and pasta sauces—starting with November shipments. The move reflects soaring prices for cooking oil and other ingredients, along with rising packaging costs driven by worsening conditions in the Middle East.

    Kewpie Mayonnaise (450 grams) will rise from a suggested retail price of ¥559 (tax included) to ¥611. This is the first mayonnaise price revision since September 2025. A total of 601 commercial-use seasonings, salads, and other products will also see price hikes of roughly 2-38%. The company commented, “We have pursued rationalization and cost-cutting, but it has become extremely difficult to absorb rising costs through corporate effort alone.”

    Yomiuri Shimbun, September 1, 2026, 18:45

    Source: yomiuri.co.jp / Original article here

    40AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:37
    I only ever buy Kewpie mayo anyway, so I'll keep buying it even if it's pricier.
    44AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:38
    Re: #40
    Nobody actually thinks that. Who cares.
    They're taking consumers for granted—this'll end up just like the rice fiasco.
    45AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:38
    I've never actually seen mayo priced that high in stores—what even is this 'list price'?
    60AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:40
    Re: #45
    You get it cheap because sales reps are out there busting their asses.
    Your company has sales guys too, right?
    They're the reason you have a job at all.
    Buy the guy a drink sometime.
    53AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:39
    Wasn't the 450g bottle just ¥199 not that long ago?
    241AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:58
    Re: #53
    Lol, you don't understand the difference between list price and sale price.
    54AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:39
    Is this gonna be like 'Can you poor folks keep up? lol' and they just keep hiking prices forever?
    68AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:42
    Re: #54
    Honestly, thinking prices would go down while the US is off fighting wars is the weird take here.
    Of course prices are shooting up like crazy.
    If you guys, who supposedly care the most about the news, don't even get that much, what are you even doing on a news board?
    71AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:42
    Re: #54
    That game of chicken is kind of hilarious 😁
    61AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:40
    It's basically 'safety in numbers'—everyone hikes prices together so no one looks bad.
    Sure there are various factors, but do they really need to keep raising prices this much?
    64AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:40
    Re: #61
    They're hiking now to get ahead of next year's 1-point consumption tax increase.
    94AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:45
    I just got back from a trip to the UK, and even a modest meal easily runs you about ¥10,000 per person.
    101AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:45
    Re: #94
    Eating out is expensive in developed countries in general.
    111AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:47
    Re: #94
    Seems like Japan alone has fallen behind the global economy. With interest rates rising now, maybe we'll finally catch up to world standards.
    108AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:46
    Wait, dressings too?
    I only ever buy Kewpie dressing as well…
    119AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:48
    Re: #108
    Dressing is basically just added salt, you don't really need it.
    Once you get used to the natural flavor of vegetables, you stop wanting it.
    129AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:49
    Re: #108
    It's "Kewpie." (5ch loves correcting the exact katakana spelling of the brand name.)
    118AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:47
    Just import it then. Supermarkets don't need to stock this stuff.
    125AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:48
    Re: #119
    You're supposed to eat vegetables together with oil.
    Turns out it wasn't "veggies first," it was "oil first."
    130AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:49
    Re: #125
    What do you mean "supposed to"? Is there a law about it or something?
    143AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:50
    Re: #130
    Actually, when researchers reviewed the data behind the long-recommended "veggies first" approach (eating vegetables before other food), it turned out the vegetables in those studies had been dressed with olive oil and the like.
    That means it's highly likely the real active ingredient was the "oil," not the vegetables themselves.
    Eating vegetables and oil together first is apparently the most effective approach.
    151AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:51
    Re: #143
    Whether it's effective and whether you're obligated to do it are two different things. It's a personal choice.
    163AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:52
    Re: #143
    Also not widely known: "veggies first" only works if you eat them 30 minutes before the meal.
    138AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:49
    Re: #101
    To begin with, other countries impose strict restrictions on the restaurant industry, including caps on the number of stores per area.
    Only businesses that actually win the competition survive.
    Naturally wages end up higher—or rather, that's the whole point, and pretty much every country built it into law from the moment it was founded.
    The only ones that didn't are Japan and South Korea.
    That's why the restaurant industry here is cheap, dirty, and grueling, and nobody wants to work in it.
    It's not that other countries are expensive—it's that Japan and Korea are the crazy ones.
    146AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:51
    Re: #138
    I remember eating out in Thailand being dirt cheap, though.
    154AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:51
    Re: #146
    Is Thailand even a developed country?
    160AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:52
    Tried the dirt-cheap mayo from Gyomu Super (a discount supermarket chain) and it was so bad I threw it out.
    Hate to admit it, but I can't eat anything but Kewpie.
    175AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:53
    Re: #160
    Say what you want, but Kewpie's flavor really is untouchable compared to other brands.
    188AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:54
    Re: #160
    It's "Kewpie." (5ch loves correcting the exact katakana spelling of the brand name.)
    167AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:52
    Re: #154
    The post you're replying to just said "other countries" in general, though.
    185AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:53
    Mayo's mayo, just buy the store-brand (private label) version.
    190AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:54
    Re: #185
    Those have been steadily going up in price too, you know.
    199AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:54
    Re: #185
    My tongue's been enslaved by Kewpie—couldn't accept anything else.

    Background and key points of this discussion

    This marks a second price hike for Kewpie in a short span of time—mayonnaise already saw a similar revision in September 2025, so this is a repeat increase in under a year. Comments in the thread like “I used to get it for ¥199” point to a common mix-up between the suggested retail price (list price) and discounted sale prices, meaning there’s a gap between real shelf prices and the announced ¥559/¥611 figures. Rising packaging costs tied to petroleum derivatives, driven by Middle East tensions, are a factor cited across the food industry in recent years, not something unique to Kewpie. Reactions in the thread show both loyalty to the brand (“I won’t buy anything but Kewpie no matter the price”) and skepticism toward opportunistic hikes and manufacturers’ justifications existing side by side, rather than splitting into a simple for-or-against debate.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5channel (Breaking News+) thread “Kewpie to raise prices on 224 core products by 3-25%… 450g mayonnaise goes from ¥559 to ¥611 (tax included).”

  • 20-Something on Welfare Claims ‘¥160,000 a Month’ — 5ch Fires Back: ‘There’s No Disability Supplement’

    In 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo G forum, an anonymous user in their 20s living on welfare started a thread titled “Ask me anything” and answered questions from other posters. The original poster explained that they hold a certificate for a developmental disorder and receive about ¥160,000 a month, but disagreement broke out over that figure and whether a “disability supplement” even exists, with replies like “there’s no such supplement” and “there’s no way you’d get ¥160,000” clashing with the poster’s account. The conversation also branched into topics like renting an apartment, getting student loan repayments waived, and views on dating and marriage, making for a candid exchange.

    1AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:29
    I'll answer while I have my evening drink
    5AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:30
    Do you still have hair?
    8AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:33
    Re: #5
    Full head of hair, I'm still in my 20s
    11AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:34
    Re: #8
    Post a pic
    If you can't, you're confirmed bald
    12AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:35
    Re: #8
    No way you'd be bald in your late 20s lol
    7AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:30
    How much do you get a month?
    10AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:34
    Re: #7
    With the disability supplement, it comes to about ¥160,000
    13AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:38
    As for how I ended up on welfare — I got hooked on PC games back in college, and had insomnia and other symptoms that made a developmental disorder seem likely.
    I somehow managed to graduate, but I've got student loans and my family isn't especially well-off. Working a job wasn't realistic, so I figured I'd get the disability certificate and go on welfare instead.
    16AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:39
    Re: #13
    You can get welfare even with student loans?
    14AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:38
    Re: #10
    There's no such thing as a supplement on welfare
    I'm on welfare as an actual disabled person, so I'd know
    15AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:38
    Re: #14
    Nice lie
    There's totally a disability supplement lol
    17AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:39
    Re: #15
    Confirmed liar
    Welfare only tops your income up to the minimum cost of living, so there's no way you'd get ¥160,000
    If you're getting a disability pension, your welfare payment just gets reduced by that amount
    19AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:40
    Re: #15
    The disability supplement is more like ¥15,000
    18AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:40
    Re: #16
    You can get it — in fact, being on welfare is even listed by some institutions as one valid reason for a loan repayment deferral
    Though in my case, I got a repayment exemption due to mental illness
    22AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:41
    How severe do you need to be to get a disability certificate?
    27AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:44
    Re: #22
    Anyone can get Grade 3 (the mildest tier)
    23AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:42
    I've never worked either
    I got an inheritance and live off investing
    24AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:42
    Re: #19
    Yeah
    There's an income deduction built in too
    36AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:46
    How'd you manage to rent an apartment?
    53AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:47
    Re: #36
    There are landlords that accept welfare recipients, so it's doable
    43AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:46
    I'm in my 20s too, and my welfare got approved last week. The ward office and caseworker were surprisingly nice about it — no gatekeeping, my application just sailed through. You've got student loans too, so I feel a connection with you.
    51AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:47
    Re: #43
    Doesn't the social stigma bother you?
    59AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:49
    Re: #43
    Go for the loan repayment exemption
    47AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:47
    What's fun about being on welfare in your 20s?
    62AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:49
    Re: #47
    I get to do whatever I want, as much as I want
    52AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:47
    What do you even live for?
    73AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:52
    Re: #52
    I sleep 10 hours a day, binge games, read, work out, sometimes get laser hair removal — basically improve myself while running my social media, and every now and then dip into dating or take a trip abroad
    79AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:54
    Re: #73
    Whoa, sounds pretty fun actually
    105AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:59
    Re: #73
    Do you tell women you're on welfare?
    57AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:48
    Re: #27
    You'd need to go see a doctor first, right
    66AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:51
    Re: #57
    Just go do that much at least
    76AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:52
    Re: #71
    Once you've had one consultation, you become eligible to apply for the certificate six months later
    77AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:53
    Re: #76
    Huh, thanks ("sangatsu" — 5ch slang for thanks)
    106AnonymousSep 1, 2026 20:01
    Re: #105
    I just tell them straight up
    Nobody cares
    107AnonymousSep 1, 2026 20:02
    Re: #106
    Doesn't that turn women off?
    109AnonymousSep 1, 2026 20:04
    Women care about a guy's social status and income, don't they?
    110AnonymousSep 1, 2026 20:04
    Re: #109
    What era are you living in lol
    118AnonymousSep 1, 2026 20:08
    Re: #110
    If she's thinking about sending kids to college, she'd probably care though
    121AnonymousSep 1, 2026 20:09
    Re: #118
    Plenty of women these days say they don't even want kids

    Background and Key Points on This Topic

    Japan’s welfare system does in fact include a “disability supplement,” which adds to the minimum cost-of-living benefit based on the recipient’s physical, intellectual, or mental disability grade and the cost-of-living tier of their region. One reply in the thread flatly claimed “no such supplement exists,” but this likely overlooks differences in individual disability grades and municipal administration — the original poster’s explanation is actually closer to how the system officially works. Separately, scholarship loans from the Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) do have provisions for repayment exemption due to mental illness and other conditions, as well as repayment deferral while receiving welfare, so the poster’s claim of having their loan repayment exempted is plausible if they met the conditions. That said, both the qualifying criteria and the amounts involved vary by individual circumstance, so the figures in this thread shouldn’t be generalized. A common misconception among readers is treating welfare as a flat, uniform amount — in reality, the benefit varies significantly based on household composition, region, and disability grade.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “I’m on welfare, ask me anything.”

  • Why Is the PS5 Losing Steam? 5ch Says It’s Become a ‘New-Releases-Only Market’

    A thread titled “Doesn’t PlayStation feel seriously washed up? What’s causing this?” popped up on 5ch’s Hardware/Industry (Geha) board, drawing a flood of replies about PlayStation’s fading momentum. The thread cited global hardware sales figures for July 2026 — PS5 at 784,000 units, Switch 2 at 707,000, and Xbox Series X|S at 115,000 — sparking discussion over how close the race has become. Looking at Amazon’s bestseller rankings, posters noted that PS5 software slots are dominated entirely by new releases with no older titles in sight, prompting claims of a “closed market where nothing sells unless it’s brand new.” As for the cause, opinions were all over the map — the discontinuation of physical (package) versions, insufficient anti-scalping measures at launch, and a management strategy overly focused on Western markets were all floated — with no consensus reached.

    1AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:41
    Seriously, is anyone even still playing this thing?
    3AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:42
    Not even 1 out of 617 units has sold, huh.
    11AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:44
    Re: #3
    Guess PS5 takes the sales win this week then.
    64AnonymousSep 1, 2026 16:12
    Re: #3
    Which store?
    5AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:42
    There's no bright vision for the future, so the bad news just keeps coming.
    7AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:43
    Physical copies aren't selling, hardware sales are stuck in four digits, and the download charts are just free-to-play titles at the top — it's genuinely over.
    8AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:43
    Back in the PS4 days everyone around me had one, so I think the real problem was PS5 not having anti-scalping measures at launch. Feels like that's when a lot of PS users jumped ship to PC.
    9AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:43
    On top of that, pulling out of physical releases means it's disappearing from stores too — there's genuinely no future here.
    12AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:44
    I mean, it's basically because they shifted their focus to the West.
    13AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:45
    Well, the president straight-up said it's fine if it doesn't sell — never seen a company like that lol
    14AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:45
    Isn't it because whenever people talk about PlayStation, someone always starts going "but Nintendo—"? PlayStation fanboys only ever talk about Nintendo too.
    15AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:47
    A president who says they don't even need to sell the console anymore — that's unheard of.
    17AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:48
    This one truly has no future.
    23AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:51
    Re: #1
    Beat the Switch 2!
    July worldwide hardware sales:
    PS5: 784,000 units
    NS2: 707,000 units
    XBS: 115,000 units
    24AnonymousSep 1, 2026 14:53
    Both new releases and the back catalog feel completely washed up — no wonder people are saying it should just pull out.
    34AnonymousSep 1, 2026 15:09
    Because the "China Station 5" (a snide nickname implying the PS5 is really built for the Chinese market) never resonated with Japanese gamers.
    35AnonymousSep 1, 2026 15:12
    Re: #34
    Designed by Americans, actually bought by Chinese consumers — so where does that leave Japanese fans?
    36AnonymousSep 1, 2026 15:16
    They're just making a watered-down PC and churning out garbage games, of course it's finished. The moment Elden Ring's Steam version was bragging about 80% of sales and 10 million copies, the writing was already on the wall.
    41AnonymousSep 1, 2026 15:28
    It was already over back at the PS3 stage — wasn't it just being kept on life support through fake marketing ("stema"/stealth marketing) the whole time?
    42AnonymousSep 1, 2026 15:30
    Re: #41
    The PS3 and PSP just blew through all the money PS1 and PS2 earned, so it nets out to zero. All that's left is the "PlayStation" brand name.
    46AnonymousSep 1, 2026 15:33
    Valve: "The Steam Machine outperforms 70% of all gaming PCs"
    https://www.resetera.com/threads/1560352/

    Performance ranking: PS5 Pro > standard PS5 > Steam Machine
    Nearly 80% of PC users are running specs below a PS5

    That's the reality.
    Gamers are choosing the PS5 — where they can actually play GTA6 — over poorly optimized PCs plagued by online cheaters.
    67AnonymousSep 1, 2026 16:15
    The whole world's about to go wild for GTA6, and isn't this just the story of bottom-tier losers who can't even join the party?

    Once you take blame-shifting far enough, I guess you stop being able to question whether your own brain is the problem.
    69AnonymousSep 1, 2026 16:17
    Re: #67
    The result of jumping on Sony's digital-only bandwagon: backlash over no-disc editions, leaks on top of that, a gay character reveal, and a CERO-censored, cut-down version.

    At the very least, anyone playing GTA on a Japanese PS5 is just getting stuck with an unfinished product.
    71AnonymousSep 1, 2026 16:23
    Re: #67
    Then it'll easily hit a million domestically too, right?
    Surely you're not going to do the embarrassing thing where the rest of the world is partying but domestically it's just endless "it's totally selling well" copium, manufacturing one last shred of hope by going "well there's still XX coming" like always? 😁
    76AnonymousSep 1, 2026 16:38
    You can tell just from how even a worldwide Hollywood smash hit like Spider-Man didn't really pop off big here — GTA was never that huge a deal in Japan to begin with. If anything, think about how many of those "parties" you're talking about happened on Nintendo hardware over the past 20 years. There were tons of social-phenomenon-level, million-selling titles, right? And you're the one who missed out on every single one of those parties. I know it hurts, but that's reality. Time to accept it.
    96AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:03
    Re: #76
    They could've at least run a commercial or two tying it in with Spider-Man.
    Same thing happened with Microsoft's Forza Horizon 6 — they've got zero marketing sense.
    85AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:06
    Let me list the PS5 titles currently in Amazon's rankings:
    ・Onimusha
    ・GTA6
    ・Trails to Azure (Sora no Kiseki 2nd Chapter)
    ・Wolverine
    ・Ace Combat 8
    ・FF Resonance

    Now, what do all of these have in common? That's right — every single one is an "upcoming new release." Not a single already-released game made the list, even ones that came out quite recently. This is about as clear a proof as you'll get that it's "a closed market where nothing sells except new releases, because no new customers are coming in."
    86AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:18
    Re: #85
    What's actually impressive is that the console keeps selling a decent number every week, yet there's not a single go-to game people pick up alongside it. Then again, maybe it's just scalpers buying them.
    87AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:27
    Re: #86
    Well, most of them are going toward military-diverted mining use, so barely any are actually selling as game consoles — that's why there's such an abnormal gap with software sales.
    95AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:00
    *Rankings are based on our own criteria, including market cap, etc.

    "Our own criteria" — the moment subjectivity enters the picture, it's got zero credibility lol
    98AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:06
    Re: #95
    By that logic, if GAFA (Google/Amazon/Facebook/Apple) put out even a single mini-game, it'd rocket straight to the top of the rankings.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The figure raised in the thread — that PS5 edged out Switch 2 by a slim margin in July’s worldwide sales — reflects the fact that competition with Nintendo’s new Switch 2 hardware is now in full swing. On the other hand, the claim of a “closed market where only new releases sell,” based on Amazon’s rankings, needs to be taken with a grain of salt: that ranking is a snapshot at a given moment based on Amazon’s own proprietary criteria, not a statistic representing actual units sold. Some posters in the thread raised this same doubt. As for the underlying cause, multiple explanations were floated side by side — pricing strategy, a management focus tilted toward Western markets, the scaling back of physical (package) releases, and insufficient anti-scalping measures at the PS5’s launch — but no single explanation won out, and opinions remained split. There were also observations that a gap exists between the official sales figures and the sense of things on the ground in stores and the market, suggesting that this discussion is ultimately rooted in a mismatch between published data and consumers’ everyday impressions.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry [Geha]) thread “Doesn’t PlayStation feel seriously washed up? What’s causing this?.”

  • Eiko Kano’s YouTube Channel Hits 3 Million Subscribers, 5ch Says: ‘He’s More Talented at YouTube Than Comedy’

    The subscriber count for Eiko Kano’s YouTube channel “EIKO!GO!!” surpassed 3 million on August 31. Commemorative videos were shown on the big screens in Shinjuku and Sendai, and Kano himself remarked during a livestream that day, “Three million… I’ve gained a lot of friends.” On the 5ch Geinou Sports Express+ (entertainment/sports news) thread, discussion focused less on the milestone itself and more on debating “who’s the strongest among comedian-YouTubers,” with names like Egashira 2:50, Kajisac, and Hiroyuki Miyasako (Acchan) coming up one after another. Commenters also pointed to the earnings behind game-commentary videos and Kano’s likable personality as key drivers of his popularity.

    “Three Million… I’ve Gained a Lot of Friends” — Eiko Kano’s YouTube Channel Hits 3 Million Subscribers, Commemorative Videos Shown on Big Screens in Shinjuku and Sendai

    The official YouTube channel “EIKO!GO!!” of comedian Eiko Kano surpassed 3 million subscribers on August 31.

    During a livestream held the same day, Kano commented, “Three million… I’ve gained a lot of friends.” While thanking fans for their support, he said, “In a good way, I want to keep going without changing anything.”

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

    2AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:25
    So who's actually the king of comedian-YouTubers?
    9AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:27
    Re: #2
    I'd say Kano.
    Egashira's barely a comedian anymore at this point.
    He's a former-comedian-turned-YouTuber.
    14AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:30
    Re: #2
    Acchan's cool.
    79AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:16
    Re: #2
    Kajisac's good too, but his view counts are pretty much dead now.
    6AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:26
    Never watched a single video of his.
    12AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:29
    Re: #6
    The Resident Evil episodes were hilarious, watched them over and over.
    11AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:29
    I watch him when it's not gaming content.
    His livestreams are too rambling and long, can't sit through those.
    15AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:30
    This guy used to casually make discriminatory remarks without even understanding statistical discrimination.
    17AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:30
    Sandwichman, Eiko Kano, Panther Ogata —
    comedians from Miyagi are funny idiots, but the good ones have their heads screwed on straight.
    19AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:31
    He came out with that one-hit-wonder vibe but has way outgrown it. His guardian spirit must be strong. Shrine power, lol (Kano is famous for his claims of seeing ghosts/spirits).
    21AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:33
    Re: #14
    Pretty sure I saw an article on Geinou Sports about Acchan's view counts crashing.
    22AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:33
    Whoa, 10 million yen from a single stream?
    If he does 30 of those a year that's 300 million yen.

    That's insane.
    He could live off YouTube alone at this point.
    48AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:50
    Re: #22
    If that's what a 3-million-subscriber channel makes, how much are the ones with 100+ million subscribers pulling in?
    23AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:34
    I heard Hiroyuki makes 60 million yen from Super Chats alone, and he's #1 in France.
    24AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:35
    Maybe game developers should be taking a cut from this guy.
    Developers don't see a single yen while the guy just playing the game rakes in 10 million? That's messed up.
    30AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:36
    Re: #24
    That's on the game companies. He's often doing it as requested promotion.
    That logic's all over the place, lol.
    35AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:38
    I manage YouTube channels for work so I know — hitting even 1 million subscribers, let alone 3 million, is normally impossible.
    He's probably more talented at YouTube than at comedy. Guys with that unintentional charm, like Egashira, tend to do well on YouTube.
    36AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:39
    "Don't just swing the axe on your own!" was a shocking moment,
    but he got too polished a while back and it stopped being funny, so I don't watch anymore.
    80AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:17
    Re: #36
    The full-voiced Doki Doki Literature Club bit had me cracking up.
    37AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:39
    A Capcom web show, the Dragon Quest XII announcement web show,
    a Poke a Pokemon commercial —
    he's been recognized by Capcom, Square Enix, and Nintendo.
    Is there anyone else who breaks out this big past age 40?
    38AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:39
    Before he moved to his current room, he was a god-tier streamer — I watched him constantly during the pandemic.
    Same thing happened with popular Niconico streamers back in the day: once the sponsored-content smell gets strong, the content noticeably gets worse too.
    39AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:40
    Had to laugh that Makoto Kawamoto got two-timed by this guy.
    She was practically a charismatic icon for a brief moment,
    but it turned out she wasn't all that.
    40AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:41
    Kano seems like he's putting on airs but really isn't — that's what makes him likable.
    41AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:42
    Watching him, you get why he's popular with women.
    He never awkwardly tries to look cool,
    he's got real showman spirit and he's thoughtful too —
    of course he's popular.
    42AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:44
    Bottom line, he's kind to himself and to others — the Reiwa-era Junichi Ishida (a veteran actor famous for his laid-back ladies'-man image).
    43AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:45
    The Shorts of him chatting with ChatGPT cracked me up.
    72AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:54
    Back when he debuted I thought he'd vanish in seconds…
    London Hearts really did a lot for him (a long-running variety show).
    81AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:17
    Re: #72
    I watched London Hearts a lot back then so I remember this well — when Kano first showed up he had that host-club playboy character, so he came off as kind of insufferable and got hit pretty hard by the other comedians.
    But gradually people started realizing Eiko-chan was just naturally airheaded, and Fujimon was the first to catch on and protect him.
    While the other comedians were being harsh on him, Fujimon would do bits like holding Eiko-chan's hand as a joke.
    That's when people started thinking "oh, this kid's just naturally like that," and on 5TA his unexpected talents came out and he became a beloved character.
    I'm not a fan of Fujimon, but he was the first one to protect Kano when people mistook him for a sleazy playboy and attacked him for it.
    Fujimon looks out for Nadal too.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    A YouTube subscriber count is a metric specific to an individual channel, not an industry-wide benchmark like TV ratings. A figure of 3 million puts him among the top tier of individual Japanese YouTubers, but it’s worth noting that the earnings figures cited in the thread, like “10 million yen per stream,” aren’t public data — they’re speculation from 5ch users, and differ from actual ad rates or Super Chat totals. There was also a comment suggesting that game-commentary earnings don’t get returned to game developers, but in most cases, publishers officially license such commentary as a form of advertising and promotion rather than it being unauthorized use. The circumstances behind Kano’s past hiatus are something he has commented on publicly himself, and are treated here as a separate topic from this news story’s main subject: his subscriber milestone.

    *This article was compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou Sports Express+) thread “[Entertainment] Eiko Kano’s YouTube Channel Hits 3 Million Subscribers, Commemorative Videos Shown on Big Screens in Shinjuku and Sendai.”

  • Akari Uemura: “I Want to Keep Doing Expressive Work — And I’d Like to Try Acting Too”

    Former Juice=Juice member Akari Uemura, asked on a YouTube show what she wants to do going forward, said she wants to “keep doing work that lets her express herself” and “find something to really dig into,” also touching on the idea of trying her hand at acting. In response, Hello! Project’s board on 5ch lit up with a ranking comparing her post-graduation workload to that of other OGs, along with debate over whether a 28-year-old newcomer could hold her own in an industry full of peers with a decade of experience. Meanwhile, since she already has regular TV and radio gigs, there was also a gap in perception with the “isn’t she just bored” take.

    1AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:58
    tps://youtu.be/jYa4iKmyuTA?t=826
    (In response to "What do you want to do going forward?")
    I think I'd like to keep doing work where I get to express myself. I feel like I gave everything I had as a member of Juice=Juice, so there's a real sense of pride in that. If I'm going to build a new foundation next, I want to find something I can really dig deep into — because people who dig deep into something are just cool.
    2AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:03
    Guess she'll end up like Yamagishi?
    58AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:06
    Re: #2
    Could you stop talking about Rikoriko like that? (nickname referenced in the thread, likely for the idol just mentioned)
    6AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:05
    She's great as an assistant on MBS Radio, so
    I think she should just keep doing radio,
    paired up with those middle-aged-guy hosts on the morning and midday shows
    7AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:07
    And she hasn't even done a single stage play since graduating
    12AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:10
    Was it more like a vacation for her, personally?
    15AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:12
    Re: #12
    She's got a regular TV show and radio shows going, that's plenty of work already
    13AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:12
    She's about to turn 28 and NOW she wants to try acting?
    40AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:37
    Re: #13
    Horiemon: "Even I could do it."
    16AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:13
    Re: #1
    Post-graduation workload ranking

    Kasahara
    Kudo
    Tamura
    Sayashi
    Makino
    Iikubo
    Miyamoto
    Wada
    Ikuta
    Fukumura
    Takeuchi
    Morito
    Inaba
    Yamagishi
    Ogata
    Hamaura
    Sasaki
    Kitagawa
    Uemura ← this one
    Miyazaki
    Sato
    Katsuta
    Koseki
    Murota
    Kogata
    Fukuda Hana
    Ishida
    Hirose
    Niinuma
    Kaga
    Kishimoto
    Yamazaki Yume
    Ichioka
    Nakanishi
    Takagi
    Asakura
    Kamikokuryo
    Shimakura
    Aikawa
    Takase
    Suzuki, Fujii, Nomura, Tashiro, Yagi,
    17AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:13
    Is she prepared to start out playing bit parts?
    21AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:16
    Re: #17
    Ms. Ishida…
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HNLXKTRaYAA4iAQ.jpg:orig#.jpg
    23AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:17
    Re: #21
    It actually suits her, no?
    18AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:14
    Because she gets to live off Juice=Juice's leftovers — get it, since it's "Juice"?
    19AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:14
    Actresses her age are all seasoned pros with over a decade of experience,
    so showing up as a 28-year-old rookie in that world is just too much of a stretch
    25AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:19
    Re: #19
    Hello! Project grads get cast in stage productions even without prior experience
    20AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:15
    She doesn't have the presence to carry a lead role like Miyamoto does, so it'll probably be tough
    22AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:17
    It comes down to whether she's got the range to take on roles like Ishida does
    24AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:17
    Was she ever really that passionate about "expressing herself," though?
    26AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:19
    Anyway, how close is she even with Konatsu?
    27AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:21
    Wonder if a drama role will come her way through Kato Konatsu's connections
    29AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:21
    Can she swallow her pride the way Ishida did?
    31AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:25
    Gravure modeling counts as "expressive work" too, you know
    33AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:28
    No idea what Sasaki and Uemura are actually trying to do
    their fanbases keep shrinking too
    34AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:29
    She should've just gone straight into stage acting back then
    36AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:31
    Maybe she should take a workshop together with Inaba
    37AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:33
    Oh right, she was in a TikTok drama, wasn't she
    38AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:34
    Suddenly announcing she wants to act —
    bet that annoyed Kato Konatsu a bit
    42AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:37
    Sasaki's main job these days apparently:
    attending every single event up until Akiyama graduates

    That's about it 😂
    44AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:39
    Heard she even went to Shakunetsu (a scorching-hot outdoor event) too
    going to every single show — how much free time does she have
    if that's the case just go back to ANGERME already
    47AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:41
    Re: #44
    No thanks 😝
    46AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:39
    Heard Rikako's finally about to get serious
    48AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:44
    Judging by how the talk went she didn't deny it, but she probably won't actually act
    seems perfectly happy with her easygoing life of Burando, radio, and the occasional fan-service gig
    49AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:45
    Apparently this is the year Sasaki really goes all out
    51AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:49
    Is she stubbornly avoiding M-Spe because she's set on becoming an actress?
    59AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:10
    What has she even been doing since graduating…
    60AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:11
    Re: #59
    She's got one regular TV show and two regular radio shows, though?

    Background and points of debate

    Within Hello! Project, many members who graduate go on to become actresses, talents, or voice actors, so fans tend to pay close attention to “how much work someone keeps landing after graduating.” The workload ranking posted in the thread reflects that culture. Opinions split mainly over how realistic it is to break into acting at 28 with little experience, given that actresses of the same age typically have over a decade of experience — though others pointed out that Hello! Project graduates tend to land stage work fairly easily even without a track record. It’s also worth noting that Uemura herself already holds regular TV and radio spots, so the impression that she’s “done nothing since graduating” doesn’t match reality. Her interest in acting is, for now, only something she’s said in an interview — no concrete role or project has actually been announced.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Akari Uemura: “I Want to Keep Doing Expressive Work — And I’d Like to Try Acting Too”.”

  • Morning Musume。’26 Reveals Fall Tour Merch — Face-Photo T-Shirts Spark Debate

    Merchandise for Morning Musume。’26’s fall concert tour, “Chou Heartful 11,” has been unveiled, drawing a wave of reactions on a 5ch live-discussion thread. The T-shirts drew the most attention — their design puts members’ face photos front and center instead of their assigned member colors, prompting sharp comments like “I can’t even wear this to the convenience store” and “that’s unhinged” (あたおか, slang for “crazy in the head”), while others pushed back, arguing “if the color area’s this small anyway, having a photo on it is actually the better call.” Posters also compared notes on the penlights, towels, and photobook specs, plus the mail-order launch set for the 5th and the timing of stock sellouts — making for a lively mix of design critique and purchase planning.

    1AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:32
    Morning Musume。'26 Concert Tour Fall "Chou Heartful 11" — Merch Revealed!
    4AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:37
    Were the penlights always this expensive?
    5AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:37
    Seriously, quit using photos for the T-shirt designs
    7AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:38
    Please stop slapping graduated members' colors onto the penlights
    8AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:38
    Manaki-chan's blue really is a brighter blue than royal blue after all
    10AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:39
    Selfie stickers are becoming the standard merch item now, huh
    14AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:44
    Putting photos on the T-shirt is just unhinged lol
    15AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:46
    Can't even wear this shirt to the convenience store lol
    17AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:46
    There was one for Ikuta's graduation concert too —
    a T-shirt with member visuals front and center.
    It was a bit pricey.
    19AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:47
    The visual photobook had disappeared, but looks like it's back as a mini version
    21AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:48
    Honestly if it's just a logo I don't feel like buying it —
    I'm not gonna wear it anywhere but the concert anyway
    22AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:48
    So the DVD's just backstage footage from the spring tour?
    Guess I'll just get the penlight then
    24AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:49
    On a white shirt, with this little color area it's basically pointless anyway, so having the photo on it might actually be the better call
    25AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:49
    The towel's got that design aimed at female fans too
    26AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:50
    Was the tour logo already shown before?
    31AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:52
    Re: #26
    Think this might be the first time I've seen it
    29AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:51
    If they were gonna phone it in, wasn't there something better than a face photo?
    30AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:52
    They could've just put names on the color tees and called it a day
    33AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:53
    If they wanted a heart theme, they should've gone all out like this
    34AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:53
    OGs get color tees but we don't…

    Would you rather have "koi-pink" (a named pink shade used in past merch) over something like an oversized black silhouette?
    Either way I'll be the one drawing it — do you like that old-school design style, or should I try something with a cooler touch~?
    I've already got the non-T-shirt merch planned out, so look forward to it 🥰🥰
    35AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:53
    It's literally just a photo slapped onto a plain white tee lol
    37AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:58
    Planning to buy a penlight for the first time in a while — wonder if they'll still have any left before the day-2 evening show
    38AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:59
    It's your beloved oshi tee
    Aren't you happy?
    …Well?
    39AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:59
    Kinda want to skip the penlight this time — another "19" model penlight, huh
    40AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:00
    If I order the penlight today, think it'll arrive by the 22nd this month?
    42AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:00
    Re: #40
    How do you even place an order?
    41AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:00
    A lot of people are probably buying penlights this time, so they might sell out before the matinee
    43AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:01
    Mail order starts on the 5th at 1:30 PM
    44AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:02
    New members just joined, so I bet a lot of people will be buying penlights
    45AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:02
    Oh really. So if I order the penlight on the 5th, think it'll arrive by the 22nd?
    52AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:04
    Re: #45
    Once mail order opens, the estimated shipping date shows up when you place your order
    47AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:02
    Saturday's forecast has a rain icon now
    Expected high of 24°C, so it'll apparently feel a bit chilly

    Perfect temperature for us though
    48AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:03
    If it's the 22nd I think you'll make it in time
    as long as nothing goes wrong
    49AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:03
    The solo towel design feels kinda phoned-in, doesn't it?
    53AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:04
    If they're planning to keep selling merch throughout the tour, they should stock enough that it doesn't sell out this early
    I get the agency doesn't want to be stuck holding inventory, but still
    54AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:05
    Lately more and more tour merch just stays sold out once it's gone, so watch out
    58AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:07
    Re: #54
    Couldn't get a ticket for day one, so I figured I'd just head over early on day two — but that's a scary thought now
    56AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:06
    Order aside, you could always just make do with the 2023 glow stick instead
    57AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:07
    Penlights will probably sell out at the venue
    59AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:08
    Mei-chan's blue merch is gonna sell out fast

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Idol concert merchandise conventionally reflects each member’s assigned “member color” in the color scheme of penlights, towels, and T-shirts, and fans have a culture of closely comparing the shade and placement of those colors down to the smallest detail. The T-shirt that became a hot topic this time minimizes the area devoted to member colors and instead features a large photo of the member’s face, drawing negative reactions such as “I can’t wear this anywhere but the concert” and “this looks phoned-in,” alongside a counterargument that “if the color area’s going to be this small anyway, having a photo on it is actually the better option.” This brings to the surface a design trade-off merchandise producers face — creating a unified look through limited color use versus appealing through individual member photos — and it’s less a matter of one being objectively right than a question of personal taste. The thread also shared plenty of practical information useful to buyers, such as the mail-order start time and expected shipping schedules, showing that alongside the design debate there was strong real-world interest in simply “will it arrive in time.”

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Morning Musume。’26 Concert Tour Fall “Chou Heartful 11” — Merch Revealed!.”

  • Blind Woman Regains Sight After World’s First Macular Self-Transplant, Success in Italy

    A story out of Italy about a woman who was completely blind regaining her sight after a macular autograft (self-transplant) surgery went viral on 5ch’s Science News+ board. In what’s being called the world’s first case of its kind, the woman was reportedly able to see her son and her guide dog. While the thread was full of praise for how dramatic the surgery was, posters also pointed out that it only applies to an extremely narrow set of patients, and raised the question of whether there’s a difference in visual processing ability between people blind from birth and those who lost their sight later in life — turning it into more than just a simple feel-good story.

    Fresh Shocking News From Overseas

    Blind Woman Regains Sight! World’s First Macular Self-Transplant Succeeds in Italy, She “Meets” Her Son and Guide Dog

    Published: 2026/08/29 06:00　Updated: 2026/08/29 06:00

    Source: nikkan-gendai.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousAug 29, 2026 19:47
    That's Nobel Prize material right there!
    3AnonymousAug 29, 2026 19:49
    The conditions for the transplant are way too strict.
    4AnonymousAug 29, 2026 19:56
    But hold on! Now there's a future where she and Joe break up! (seems to be a pop-culture joke reference, exact source unclear)
    5AnonymousAug 29, 2026 19:59
    Someone blind from birth probably wouldn't work even under the same conditions.
    I wonder if there's a chance if you paired it with some kind of brain-function recovery treatment?
    6AnonymousAug 29, 2026 19:59
    Amazing, but in terms of actual visual acuity this might only come out to something like 0.1 (Japan's vision scale — roughly 20/200 Snellen).
    13AnonymousAug 29, 2026 21:14
    Re: #6
    If it's not aligned just right, the visual field usually ends up distorted.
    14AnonymousAug 29, 2026 21:36
    Re: #6
    My vision's like 0.0-something too, but with correction I've got zero problems.
    7AnonymousAug 29, 2026 20:01
    I wonder if this couldn't be done with iPS cells or stem cells instead (likely meant 幹細胞 'stem cells' — a common typo for 肝細胞 'liver cells') — that way you wouldn't need to harvest tissue, right?
    8AnonymousAug 29, 2026 20:26
    The patient's an extremely rare case, but if it's a world first, at least there's some knowledge gained from it.
    9AnonymousAug 29, 2026 20:26
    Don't tell me this is just AI-written fiction?
    10AnonymousAug 29, 2026 20:57
    So did the transplant only restore sight in the right eye?
    11AnonymousAug 29, 2026 21:11
    Don't just say 'etc.' — tell us exactly what all got transplanted!
    12AnonymousAug 29, 2026 21:13
    Wait, is this actually the world's first successful retina transplant?
    15AnonymousAug 29, 2026 21:56
    Feels like a one-shot, all-or-nothing kind of procedure.
    16AnonymousAug 29, 2026 22:09
    If even one point of it fails, it could end up blinding both eyes.
    21AnonymousAug 30, 2026 02:38
    Re: #16
    Right?! That's exactly what makes it so amazing.
    23AnonymousAug 30, 2026 04:42
    Re: #16
    She was already blind in both eyes to begin with.
    17AnonymousAug 29, 2026 22:11
    This is like an 'Ultra-D' level surgical technique (a play on 'Ultra-C,' Japanese slang for an extremely difficult feat)
    It's not like the Batista procedure (the famously difficult heart surgery from the novel/drama 'Team Batista') — no average surgeon could pull this off.
    18AnonymousAug 29, 2026 22:15
    On par with Black Jack (the genius surgeon from the manga of the same name).
    19AnonymousAug 29, 2026 23:28
    Ahh, so they made one whole thing out of two ('nikoichi' — Japanese slang for combining two into one)
    The conditions are unusual, but it's amazing.
    20AnonymousAug 30, 2026 02:37
    Amaziiing! Well, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, so —
    looking forward to more progress!
    22AnonymousAug 30, 2026 03:11
    I think it was England — I read a story once about a blind person who regained their sight and afterward couldn't tell men from women apart.
    He told his wife, 'That one must be a woman, she's got long hair,' and got corrected: 'Nope, wrong.'
    26AnonymousAug 30, 2026 05:32
    What a great doctor…
    27AnonymousAug 30, 2026 05:39
    I wonder if this doctor's got a girl with halting speech tagging along with him? (a nod to Pinoko, Black Jack's assistant, who talks in a stilted way)
    28AnonymousAug 30, 2026 06:23
    Reminds me of the death of Shuu of the Nanto Hakuro Fist (a blind character from 'Fist of the North Star').
    29AnonymousAug 30, 2026 11:07
    I guess since there was no real hope of recovery anyway, there was probably a 'nothing to lose' mindset behind even attempting it — but I'm curious how the doctor actually explained the odds to the patient beforehand.
    30AnonymousAug 30, 2026 14:57
    What about for age-related macular degeneration?
    31AnonymousAug 30, 2026 18:13
    The problem is there's hardly any patients this could even apply to.
    32AnonymousAug 30, 2026 18:17
    Guess the guide dog's off duty now?
    33AnonymousAug 30, 2026 18:35
    It will definitely regenerate and your eyes will be cured.
    34AnonymousAug 30, 2026 18:47
    For a second I misread that as 'her son's guide dog.'
    35AnonymousAug 30, 2026 19:05
    So the guide dog's been relieved of duty, huh.
    36AnonymousAug 30, 2026 23:59
    When it said she 'met' her son, I figured she was seeing his face for the very first time ever —
    but she's 67, and if she only lost her sight a few years ago, that probably wasn't the case.
    38AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:46
    Oh, so it's not congenital blindness.

    There was apparently one extremely rare case of someone recovering from congenital total blindness —
    their eyes could see, but their brain couldn't process the visual information,
    so being able to see was essentially useless.
    39AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:50
    You know how in manga there's that scene where a character born blind gets their sight back and is overjoyed seeing the scenery or their family's faces for the first time? That's actually kind of unrealistic, huh.
    40AnonymousAug 31, 2026 00:58
    Re: #39
    'Oh! It's a miracle!'
    'A miracle has happened!'
    41AnonymousAug 31, 2026 01:02
    Kind of like 'Clara stood up!' (the famous scene from Heidi, Girl of the Alps, where the paralyzed girl Clara suddenly walks).
    43AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:41
    Re: #41
    Clara's case is touching because all she does is stand up
    but if a blind person suddenly regains sight, all they get is a chaotic flood of unfamiliar noise-like visual information that just leaves them confused.
    42AnonymousAug 31, 2026 09:10
    I once came across some horror story (a novel or something) — a man lost his sight in an accident and sank into despair,
    and some woman devotedly cared for him. Eventually they got married.
    Later the man had surgery to restore his sight, and it worked.
    But when he went home to share the good news,
    it turned out his wife was actually some horrifying-looking monster.
    44AnonymousAug 31, 2026 16:42
    Side note: congenital total blindness

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    Macular autografting itself is a technique that’s been studied as a treatment for conditions like age-related macular degeneration, but this case is considered a world first in that it restored sight starting from a state of total blindness. As posters repeatedly pointed out, this surgery only works when the problem lies in the macula itself — it wouldn’t help with blindness caused by the optic nerve or the brain’s visual cortex. There’s also a well-known phenomenon where, even if the physical structure of the eyes were repaired in someone blind from birth, the brain hasn’t accumulated the experience needed to process visual information, leaving them in a state of “seeing but not perceiving.” This suggests the recovery may only have been possible because the woman lost her sight later in life rather than being born blind. The article doesn’t go into the cause of her blindness or exactly how much vision was restored, and the thread filled in that gap with speculation and comparisons to fictional stories.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Science News+) thread “Blind Woman Regains Sight! World’s First Macular Self-Transplant Succeeds in Italy, She “Meets” Her Son and Guide Dog.”

  • Expo Construction Scandal: ¥31.32 Million Unpaid — Subcontractor Says ‘I Haven’t Gotten a Single Yen’

    Regarding construction work on the Osaka-Kansai Expo, it has been reported that a subcontractor is alleging they “haven’t received a single yen of the ¥31.32 million in construction costs.” According to the report, several million yen worth of air conditioning equipment was prepared before construction even began, without a contract or deposit arrangement having been finalized, and the main contractor reportedly landed a separate ¥63 billion no-bid contract for another major project around the same time. On 5ch threads, opinions were split over the subcontractor’s decision to start work without a contract, and over the response of the governor, who reportedly appealed directly to subcontractors for their cooperation.

    Published 9/1 (Tue) 11:00

    Joseijishin

    Regarding the Osaka-Kansai Expo, which opened in April 2025, the flow of construction funds is once again under scrutiny. In construction tied to the “Grand Roof Ring,” the Expo’s signature structure, an employee who served as on-site manager for Takenaka Corporation was arrested on suspicion of having a subcontractor pad their construction cost invoices.

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

    8AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:37
    This is the one Yoshimura's completely ignoring.
    51AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:53
    Re: #1 Re: #8
    Governor Yoshimura is the pride of Osaka


    https://i.imgur.com/kfWUKUw.jpe
    20AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:41
    Don't start construction without a signed contract and without the promised deposit actually being paid.
    52AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:53
    Re: #20
    Isn't this just a case of getting scammed by bad actors? Doesn't seem like it has anything to do with Ishin (the ruling Osaka political party).

    It's not like Ishin gave it their official blessing or anything, right?
    61AnonymousSep 1, 2026 17:55
    Re: #52
    Once they've served their purpose, they get tossed aside.
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GvGX8WjaAAEJTWi.jpg
    69AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:00
    A story you hear all the time:
    Main contractor rep: "If you make the deadline, we'll pay you — just get it done, whatever it takes."
    ↓
    Main contractor rep: "Sure, you can say 'whatever it takes,' but there are limits, and we'll be reviewing the extra costs thoroughly." (dead serious face)
    ↓
    Main contractor rep: "We've reviewed the extra costs — none of them are approved."
    112AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:25
    Re: #69
    Properly speaking, the higher up the chain you are — first-tier, second-tier contractors — the more you should be drawing up blueprints and detailed equipment specs before signing the contract. I also think the Japanese business custom of billing extra costs after the fact is a bad one.

    This isn't work you can skip CAD drawings for. If it's a tough order, the price should go up front.

    That said, the deeper you go into the multi-layered subcontracting chain, I honestly don't know if there's a point where it's just unavoidable in practice.
    133AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:37
    Re: #69
    The work should absolutely be finished on time — but you can't run this with a salaryman mindset. Wouldn't it make more sense to fix the price for completion upfront, and raise it in advance whenever new contract terms come up?
    79AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:04
    Mr. A was told, "The contract and deposit will be arranged by the start date," and went ahead and prepared about 11 units of air conditioning equipment worth roughly ¥1 million each.

    This right here — all I can say is, don't prepare the goods.
    Who on earth makes a several-million-yen deal on a verbal explanation alone, with no contract signed?

    At any decent company, without purchase-approval evidence (a purchase order stamped by the ordering company, plus that company's credit-check paperwork), approval wouldn't come through and payment couldn't be processed. If you absolutely need payment guaranteed, that's what a deposit is for.

    Using "but it's the Expo" as an excuse doesn't fly, and it's not like Yoshimura ever said "take the order even if it means bypassing the proper contract process."
    86AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:07
    Re: #79
    Yoshimura said at the press conference he'd "respond with the victims in mind," and yet he hasn't even reached out to them.
    89AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:08
    Re: #86
    "Can't stand with them if they don't come to me — I have no intention of going to them."
    131AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:36
    Re: #86
    He probably thinks that one comment alone counted as more than enough "standing with them."
    97AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:15
    Re: #8
    Not trying to defend Yoshimura here, but come on, sort this out yourself.
    106AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:20
    Re: #97
    The governor personally asked small and medium-sized construction firms for help too, and this is how he repays the ones who, out of decency, cooperated to make the Expo a success.

    110AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:23
    Re: #1
    Sucks up to the powerful, completely ignores the weak.
    113AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:28
    The reason so many pavilions made opening day is because subcontractors like these pushed themselves to the limit…
    125AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:33
    Re: #113
    Subcontractors do it partly to build a name for themselves and make money too. Both sides are driven by greed.
    129AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:35
    Re: #113
    If a subcontractor misses a deadline, they stop getting work in the future — and in the worst case their whole pipeline of work gets cut off and they could go under.
    130AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:36
    Wait, the court case hasn't even concluded yet?

    Hold on — they haven't even filed a lawsuit? (lol)
    136AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:37
    Re: #130
    The moment they file a lawsuit, that company's finished, guaranteed. They're a small player who survives on scraps of work passed down to them — sue, and they'll never get work again.
    149AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:45
    Re: #136
    But if that's how it works, there'd be no companies left standing to build the casino either.
    165AnonymousSep 1, 2026 18:59
    Bottom line, they were the fool here. Go chase the money down even if it means going overseas.
    169AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:01
    Re: #165
    They couldn't back out because Governor Yoshimura personally asked them at the briefing session — out of fear that refusing would mean never landing another Osaka public works contract.
    185AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:08
    Re: #169
    Was this fourth-tier subcontractor actually asked directly, though?
    174AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:02
    Re: #169
    They're fourth-tier precisely because they couldn't land the main contract, no?
    194AnonymousSep 1, 2026 19:11
    Re: #174
    It was Yoshimura and Yokoyama who asked that subcontractor for cooperation.
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GzxrBSXbAAAIRQp.jpg

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    In construction tied to the Expo’s Grand Roof Ring, an on-site manager for Takenaka Corporation has already been arrested on suspicion of having a subcontractor pad their invoices, so this isn’t the first time trouble over construction costs has surfaced. The unpaid amount alleged here is a separate case, but it shares a common thread: the subcontractor moved forward with construction without confirming a contract or deposit arrangement — a pattern shaped by the multi-layered subcontracting structure in which weaker, lower-tier firms often get pressured into difficult positions. On the thread, opinions split between those pointing to the subcontractor’s own responsibility for starting work without a signed contract, and those raising concerns about the governor personally appealing for cooperation. That said, many facts remain unclear at the time of reporting — including the specific circumstances behind the non-payment, any explanation from the main contractor, and whether legal action has been taken — so definitive conclusions should be avoided.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Osaka-Kansai Expo Construction: ¥31.32 Million Unpaid] Subcontractor Alleges ‘I Haven’t Received a Single Yen’… Main Contractor Secures a Separate ¥63 Billion No-Bid Contract for Its Next Major Project.”