Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

There’s a theory that China chose the derogatory characters “邪” (evil) and “卑” (lowly) in “Yamatai” and “Himiko” to look down on Japan — but a new theory has been introduced arguing these characters were simply picked to transcribe the sounds phonetically.

On 5ch, however, pushback came fast: “If it were just about matching the sound, simple characters even a child could write would have been enough,” and “The fact that they went out of their way to pick a character meaning ‘lowly’ says it all about ancient China’s nastiness.” The discussion expanded into Sinocentrism and the derogatory names given to peripheral peoples like the Emishi and the Nanban (“southern barbarians”).

Have you ever wondered, on hearing “Yamatai” or “Himiko,” why characters with such negative meanings as “邪” (evil) and “卑” (lowly) were used? Among history buffs, it’s often said that China looked down on Japan and deliberately chose these characters. But when you examine the characters used for phonetic transcription using the ancient Chinese pronunciation dictionary Guangyun as a clue, a surprising fact emerges: “邪” and “卑” were likely chosen not to insult Japan, but simply to represent sounds. So what exactly does this mean? *This article is an excerpt, edited from the section written by Ikuya Tanaka in “Big Questions About Kanji: The World of Words You Use Every Day but Don’t Really Know,” edited by the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation (Magazine House).

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Names like “Yamatai” and “Himiko,” which rendered Japanese proper nouns of the time in Chinese characters, deliberately used characters with negative meanings such as “邪” (evil) and “卑” (lowly). This is because of Sinocentrism (the worldview that China is the center of the world and barbarians live on its periphery) — which is why characters with such negative meanings were used.

Source: diamond.jp / Original article here

56AnonymousAug 23, 2026 00:21

"King of Na, [Vassal] of Wa, [Under] Han" (漢委奴国王)



There's a theory that "委" — the character "倭" with the "person" radical dropped — was used to mark the Wa as something less than human.

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “[History] Did China Look Down on Yamatai and Himiko? The Surprising Reason Behind the Choice of “邪” and “卑”.”

It’s been reported that Hyogo Prefectural Police Academy has shifted away from its old style of screaming instruction, moving instead toward a more “supportive” approach that includes exchange diaries between cadets and instructors — sparking discussion on 5ch’s Newsflash+ board.

The thread saw a clash between worried voices asking “can cadets coddled like this really hold their own against violent criminals and yakuza?” and defenders arguing “strict training and power harassment are two different things” and “harassment isn’t education” — with the discussion spiraling out into debates about Gen Z and comparisons with policing overseas.

Until just a few years ago, instructors’ angry shouts echoed through the halls of Japan’s police academies. But this is now the “compliance era.” At Hyogo Prefectural Police Academy, which shifted to a more “supportive” style of instruction last year, instructors have been struggling with how to convey the harsh realities of the job without crossing the line into harassment. On graduation day, what were the instructors’ final words to their students?

■ “You’re the only one who can’t do it!” — Has the once shout-filled police academy really changed that much!?

On July 31, Hyogo Prefectural Police Academy held its graduation ceremony. The graduates will now head into the field, carrying the heavy responsibility of protecting the peace of their communities.

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

200AnonymousAug 23, 2026 01:34

Check out the intensity of Osaka Prefectural Police raiding a yakuza office!

*This article is composed as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Newsflash+) thread “[Reiwa Era] Instructors Struggle at ‘No Power Harassment’ Police Academy — A Shift Away from the Old ‘Shouting,’ Plus Exchange Diaries — ‘Speak Up Loud and Give It Your All! Fight!’”.

On the morning of August 22, a foreign man was attacked and injured by a bear near the “Kankodai” observation deck on the shore of Lake Towada. On 5ch’s News Speed+ board, alongside messages wishing the injured man well, there were notable comments worrying about the risk of rabies from a bear bite, and warnings like “Don’t underestimate Japanese bears.”

August 22, 2026, 19:18

This morning, a foreign man was attacked by a bear near an observation deck on the shore of Lake Towada.

According to the city and fire department, a 119 emergency call reporting that “a foreign man has been attacked by a bear” came in at around 10:30 this morning near the Kankodai observation deck on the shore of Lake Towada.

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

175AnonymousAug 22, 2026 23:40

Go Bears! (nod to "Ganbare! Bears," the Japanese title of The Bad News Bears)

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Aomori] “Bear Bear!” Foreign man bitten and injured by bear near Lake Towada observation deck.”