Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Fans Lament Akiyama Mao’s Graduation: ‘No Costume Resales, No Final Single’

    As Hello! Project idol Akiyama Mao’s graduation draws near, a fan’s post on X (formerly Twitter) sparked discussion after pointing out that “individual sales of her past costumes were never a given” and “there was no final single or graduation special.” Akiyama was reportedly an original member of Dance Gakuen (Dance Academy) yet never got a feature segment, and when the post was reposted to 5ch’s Hello! Project board, it sparked debate over the gap in treatment compared to other graduating members. Opinions split between “just be grateful she’s even getting a solo graduation at Budokan” and “even so, her treatment has been thin,” with no consensus reached.

    Kuwacho

    @kuwacho_lab

    Individual sales of her past costumes were never a given, huh.

    Source: x.com / Original post here

    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:41
    Just be grateful she's even getting a solo graduation at Budokan.
    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:42
    She was dead last in rankings forever — did she suddenly get popular once her graduation was announced?
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:43
    She's getting this much special treatment and people are still complaining?
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:43
    But if she ends up in M-Line (a Hello! Project alumnae stage unit), I'm not following her.
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:43
    Sanikko and Chau-chau and the others have gotten some perks too, you know.
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:43
    She's gotten to do tons of events, you know — she even got a photobook out of it.
    14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:44
    Didn't Kishimoto also miss out on a final single and individual costume sales? Though that was because she took leave on her own.
    15AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:44
    For Akiyama, she's actually gotten quite a lot prepared for her, hasn't she?
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:46
    Just be grateful she's even getting to graduate at Budokan.
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:48
    It's based on major-debut timing — the original members only go up through Sanikko.
    33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:48
    The irony is that the one defending this is a Fukumura (Fukumura Mizuki) fan.
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:49
    It all comes down to whether you're in the old guys at the agency's good graces. Even after her scandal, Ogata still got the cushy treatment afterward.
    48AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:53
    Also, I'm not even an Akiyama fan, but is Dance Gakuen not doing a public recording this year? In a normal year, tickets would already be announced and on sale by now. Guess it's getting pushed to November or later because of the Beyooooonds stage play?
    57AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:55
    Re: #48
    Because Juice=Juice is busy.
    59AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:56
    At least they could make an MV for 'Aiunen On' too.
    60AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:57
    Re: #59
    They already boosted 'Mappira Datteba' with ads, and gave 'Dantotsu de Aishite' the same level of push — and yet the group's so unpopular now there's a huge gap between them, so there's no need for another MV. Tsubaki Factory's been cranking out way too many MVs lately anyway, hogging all the budget.
    62AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:00
    It's because their manager is good that they can pull in the budget.
    66AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:02
    Re: #62
    Who do you think is actually earning that budget in the first place?
    67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:04
    Re: #66
    Hello! Project as a whole, obviously.
    71AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:04
    Re: #67
    There's no way Tsubaki Factory is the one earning it — it all gets wiped out by the yearly Budokan shows anyway.
    87AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:14
    Huh? Nothing at all planned for Dance Gakuen? Isn't it still a bit early for that?
    98AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:20
    Re: #87
    There's just no public recording — I think they'll still do a graduation special episode. Wasn't the recording usually around mid-October anyway?
    110AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:27
    Seems like there's only one Akiyama fan around, so even this thread's not picking up steam.
    113AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:29
    Re: #110
    Nobody in this thread knows anything.

    Background and Points of Debate

    In Hello! Project, graduating members often get individual sales of their past costumes, a final single, and a graduation special on their flagship show, but none of this is guaranteed by any formal system — it varies member to member depending on popularity, which group they belong to, and recording schedules. The thread split into two camps: one holding that “just being allowed a solo graduation concert at Budokan is already more than enough,” and the other arguing that “compared to peers and graduating members from other groups, the treatment is clearly thinner.” Neither side is speaking from confirmed knowledge of the agency’s actual intentions — it’s simply a difference in how fans perceive things. One point readers could easily misread is that whether a member gets individual costume sales or a final single isn’t determined by popularity alone; external factors like a group’s activity schedule and recording timing play a role too, so the thread’s definitive-sounding claims shouldn’t be taken as established fact.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Akiyama Mao fans lament: ‘No individual past costumes, no final single, no graduation special. She was an original Dance Gakuen member but never even got a feature segment. Something’s off…’“

  • Nurse Secretly Films Patients, Posts Mocking Short Videos — Chiba Nishi General Hospital Apologizes

    It has come to light that a nurse at Chiba Nishi General Hospital in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, secretly filmed hospitalized patients and posted edited short videos to social media. The clips carried mocking captions like “way too fat, way too smelly” and “grandma-taaan,” ridiculing the patients. The hospital has issued an apology, and the nurse in question has been suspended from duty. Following the news, discussion on 5ch spread beyond criticism of the confidentiality and privacy violations to cover whether the punishment was appropriate, broader views on the nursing profession, and the media literacy of the social-media generation.

    Nurse secretly films patients, posts short video; Chiba Nishi General Hospital apologizes — caption read “way too fat, way too smelly”

    10/8 (Thu) 19:25 JST

    Sponichi Annex

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

    14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:43
    That's grounds for firing, surely.
    23AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:44
    Re: #14
    She's a "precious nurse," so it'll probably just be a slap on the wrist.
    67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:53
    Re: #14
    It won't just be firing — there'll be damages to pay too.
    94AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:00
    Re: #14
    Personality like that doesn't change.
    Even if she gets a warning, she'll just change her approach, wait a bit, and do it again.
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:44
    Back when I was a student I had a part-time job delivering bedsheets, and the nurses I saw backstage had serious attitude problems.
    35AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:48
    Didn't some other Chiba hospital have a scandal before too? Hope it's not the same one.
    47AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:50
    Re: #35
    Chiba University Hospital, maybe? I followed that story for a while but forget how it turned out.
    153AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:17
    Re: #35
    Wasn't that the one with something in the IV drip? Different hospital, I think.
    69AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:54
    I bet the one who filmed and posted it is sitting there going "huh? did I do something wrong?" with a totally blank look on her face.
    That's the scary part.
    76AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:55
    Re: #69
    Filming inside a hospital is basically banned anyway.
    72AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:54
    Just checked X — it's not really a close-up on any specific patient, but still, pretty tasteless.
    78AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:56
    Re: #72
    This is bad, lol.
    84AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:57
    Hiring Gen Z, raised on short-form video and social media, is a risk.
    You should be hiring people around 45-50 who lived through the early internet and actually have solid net literacy.
    88AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:59
    Re: #84
    That's the generation that gets sued for online harassment the most, though.
    92AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:59
    I'm currently hospitalized myself, and honestly I have nothing but respect for nurses.
    They handle all the garbage demands from selfish patients with a smile.
    Let them vent about it in private, that much I can forgive.
    Posting it online is a different story though.
    95AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:00
    Re: #92
    That's exactly the "different story" we're talking about right now.
    93AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:00
    https://video.twimg.com/amplify_video/2108079522390364160/vid/avc1/720×988/t0OMCnm7wvXw_qlK.mp4?tag=29

    This is rough, lol.
    102AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:02
    Re: #93
    Not a shred of taste in that video.
    Probably just not very bright.
    109AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:03
    Re: #93
    Not a shred of guilt either, lol.
    Is she okay? lol
    138AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:12
    Re: #93
    I know how hard nurses work, so I want to let some grumbling or small mistakes slide.
    I'd even say double their pay.

    But honestly, I'd still rather have a sincere, cheerful, skilled foreign nurse than one like this.
    100AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:01
    Nurses and caregivers work night shifts rotating with day shifts, so their sleep gets wrecked — probably what messes with their heads.
    117AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:05
    Still, this is probably nurses' honest true feelings though.
    120AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:06
    Re: #117
    And? That's all there is to say.
    If everyone lived purely on their "honest feelings," society would collapse — everyone has those.
    228AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:35
    Re: #117
    There really are people out there who genuinely think "it's just the truth" or "just being honest" is some kind of get-out-of-jail-free card.
    118AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:06
    I know this hospital — family of mine has been treated there, inpatient and outpatient. Most of the staff do their jobs properly, and quite a few doctors and nurses are skilled and kind. But it's also true that a handful of the doctors and nurses are just awful people.
    176AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:22
    Re: #118
    Maybe that proportion has been growing.
    121AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:06
    This needs consolation money for the patient and proper damages for tarnishing the hospital's reputation, on top of firing her.
    170AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:20
    Re: #121
    Yeah, it's about the damages to the hospital's reputation and trust.
    Honestly, she could never pay that back even with a lifetime of atonement.
    123AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:07
    So basically not guilty for now — "we'll be more careful next time," huh.
    152AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    Re: #123
    The nurse in question is currently suspended from duty, lol.
    That ship has sailed, lol.

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    The apology stems from a nurse secretly filming hospitalized patients while on duty and posting the footage to social media with mocking captions; as of the report, the nurse involved has been suspended from duty. On the thread, the main points of debate were how severe the disciplinary action should be and whether damages would be paid, while opinions were split on whether the video actually zoomed in close enough to identify individual patients. Some posts also conflated this case with a past scandal at a different medical institution in Chiba Prefecture — readers should note that this is a separate, unrelated incident. While some voiced sympathy given the harsh working conditions nurses face, criticism of the act of secretly filming and posting it online made up the bulk of the thread’s sentiment.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Matsudo] Nurse secretly films patients, posts short video; Chiba Nishi General Hospital apologizes — caption read “way too fat, way too smelly,” “grandma-taaan”.”

  • Meiji Discontinues “Super Cup Matcha” Ice Cream — 5ch: “Because China Found Out About Tea”

    It has emerged that Meiji’s popular ice cream “Essel Super Cup Matcha 200ml” quietly ended production earlier this year. On social media, a wave of regret followed, with comments like “No way” and “That’s sad.” Since the article never spelled out a specific reason for the discontinuation, the 5ch thread filled up with posts tying it to rising overseas demand for matcha, climbing tea-leaf prices, and the rise of Chinese-made matcha. The discussion spread into suggestions for replacement flavors and comparisons with rival companies’ ice creams, eventually touching on deeper structural issues in the tea industry.

    Delivered 10/8 (Thu) 15:45

    Otonanswer

    It has come to light that Meiji (headquartered in Chuo Ward, Tokyo) ended production this year of its popular ice cream “Meiji Essel Super Cup Matcha 200ml” (hereafter, Super Cup Matcha). On social media, a flood of distressed reactions followed, including “No way!”, “I knew something was off when I stopped seeing it at the supermarket…”, “I love it so much, this is shocking,” and “Of all the matcha ice creams, Super Cup was my favorite, so this is sad.”

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

    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:35
    Because China found out about tea.
    83AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:54
    Re: #6
    Matcha's been heavily "remodeled" at this point, so it's basically a different thing from Chinese tea — but the custom of tea-drinking, and the cultivar that's the ancestor of today's Japanese tea, were actually brought over from Song-dynasty China.

    Well, maybe it's best not to tell foreigners about too many of Japan's good things.
    106AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:00
    Re: #83
    China's already growing matcha. The pricier Japanese stuff might stop selling.
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:35
    Big companies really only know how to discontinue things, huh.
    97AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:58
    Re: #11
    They added too many variations, and now cutting the lineup in half is the only way the production division can stay afloat.
    A while back, unpaid overtime was the norm for factory workers, and slamming partner companies with impossible orders was business as usual.

    Now there's a serious labor shortage, overtime pay has to actually be paid (unpaid overtime's banned), and partner companies are bold enough to raise their participation fees.

    They're getting squeezed by planning quotas and budgets set half a century ago.

    On top of that, inflation just keeps climbing.

    At this point you just have to accept that cheap, small-batch production across tons of different items was the abnormal thing all along.
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:36
    This conversation feels so disjointed, it's bugging me.
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:40
    Re: #13
    It's like a flawless, 100-point textbook answer with no room to poke holes in.
    Just zero warmth to it.
    25AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:39
    They actually did the collab.
    Bring it back already.
    Not that I'll eat it, though.



    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:40
    Here we go again — sell Japanese food overseas and Japanese people end up with nothing left to eat, that pattern again?
    38AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:41
    Re: #34
    Tuna, eel, scallops, etc.
    Seriously, what a foolish nation.
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:43
    Matcha products might disappear in Japan entirely.
    It'll all go overseas.
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:44
    Re: #44
    Every hillside on the Pacific side turns into a tea field, and boom — monoculture economy incoming.
    63AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:48
    New release — now made with Chinese matcha!
    70AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:50
    Re: #63
    China spotted Japan's matcha boom and is now selling it worldwide at a fraction of the Japanese price.
    112AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:01
    Re: #70
    That's got nothing to do with the domestic Japanese market though.
    73AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:50
    Maybe ditch matcha and go with weed-flavor or something…
    76AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:51
    Re: #73
    That'd just make it the go-to flavor for Saitama residents. (a running joke that Saitama is nothing but empty fields and weeds)
    77AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:51
    Don't go blaming other people.
    81AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:53
    Super Cup is ice cream for poor people who can't afford Häagen-Dazs.
    169AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:17
    Re: #81
    That's not true.
    Even wealthy people eat this.
    It's just genuinely tasty.
    88AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:56
    I only ever pick Häagen-Dazs so I don't care either way.
    Super Cup's got way too much volume and nowhere near enough richness.
    94AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:57
    Re: #88
    Quit acting like such a connoisseur!
    103AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:59
    Matcha's best drunk as tea — it doesn't suit sweets.
    109AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:00
    Re: #103
    Cheap stuff is fine for confectionery use, but apparently the good, pricey stuff meant for drinking is getting bought up wholesale — the hardcore tea-ceremony crowd was lamenting it.
    104AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:59
    So now they'll use this mysterious thing called "Chinese-made Uji matcha"?
    123AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:03
    Re: #104
    Uji matcha has always had low production volume — the old common knowledge was that Nishio matcha got slapped with the "Uji" label for confectionery use without much basis.

    These days it's mostly Chinese-made matcha, and if you're unlucky, even the factory itself is in China.
    118AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:02
    I've only ever seen Super Cup in vanilla.
    Did they even have a tea flavor?
    Is there a chocolate one too?
    132AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:05
    Re: #118
    Yeah, there's a chocolate one.
    127AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:04
    Instead of matcha, how about mugwort — the "queen of herbs" — flavor, or tatami-rush flavor?
    153AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:11
    Re: #127
    Bought a sasa-dango (bamboo-leaf rice dumpling) ice cream — well, soft serve — at a roadside rest stop in Ojiya, Niigata…
    It genuinely tasted like real sasa-dango.
    146AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:09
    Feels like mugwort could actually be a solid contender, though.
    154AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:12
    Re: #146
    The farmers are aging out with no successors.
    Even Kagoshima's purple sweet potato only saw a wave of new products once seed potatoes got exported to China or Taiwan for mass production.
    Japanese-grown produce could end up completely wiped out if things go badly.
    162AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    That powdered green tea they serve at conveyor-belt sushi places — that'd work fine.
    For the not-particularly-high-grade matcha used in ice cream, that could probably substitute, no?
    175AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:20
    Re: #162
    If you powder sencha instead, the bitterness gets way stronger though.
    165AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    Super Cup's not tasty, don't need it.
    Bokujo Shibori and MOW are all I need.
    180AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:21
    Re: #165
    Got curious so I checked the official sites — looks like neither of those has a matcha flavor anymore either.
    171AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:19
    China's started growing matcha, so it'll probably make a comeback eventually — with imported matcha.
    181AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:21
    Re: #171
    Japanese trading companies are already buying up a ton of it, so Chinese-made matcha circulating domestically is bound to increase.
    173AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:19
    Seriously, stop recklessly selling things essential to Japanese daily life, like tea, overseas just to turn a profit.
    182AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:22
    Re: #173
    That's backwards. Back in the Meiji era, tea was expensive and ordinary people barely drank it — most of it went to America. Production ramped up because it sold well there, and only after the tea boom faded in America did ordinary Japanese people start drinking it.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    In recent years, rising overseas demand has driven up prices for Japanese tea, including matcha, and it’s said that even confectionery-grade matcha has become harder to secure. In the thread, posts showing real familiarity with industry circumstances stood out — things like the expansion of matcha production in China, and the backstory of how Nishio-produced matcha, intended for confectionery use, ended up being sold under the “Uji matcha” name as a matter of convenience. That said, the quoted portion of the article never explicitly states an official reason for the discontinuation, so the price increases and raw-material shortages remain speculation on the 5ch side. It’s also worth flagging, as a reader, that the thread sometimes blurred the line between the high-grade matcha used in tea ceremonies and the lower-grade matcha used in confectionery — the two have always differed in quality and price, and lumping them together under one “matcha shortage” narrative glosses over that distinction.

    ※This article excerpts and summarizes the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Ice Cream] “Super Cup Matcha” Discontinued, Fans Say “Sad,” “Shocked”… It’s Popular, So Why? We Asked Meiji and Found the “Real Reason”.”

  • Is the Oct. 16 Announcement the “Final”? 5ch: “You’ll Find Out Whether You Like It or Not Next Week”

    On 5ch’s Love Live! board, a thread heated up over what the official announcement scheduled for October 16 might contain. In the past, before the “Final Live” announcements for μ’s and Aqours, ticket and venue information reportedly leaked out of China ahead of time — and since no comparably solid leak has surfaced this time, some posters argued “this probably isn’t the Final.” Others shot back mockingly, “You’ll find out next week whether you like it or not, so stop desperately denying it.” Rumors also circulated that next spring’s TV programming slot had apparently been secured at 5 minutes longer than usual, fueling a tangle of speculation.

    1AnonymousOct 8, 2026 10:37
    Anyone here?
    3AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:10
    Lately the cast lineup gets revealed right after the "Miryoku Discover" (charm-discovery segment) airs.
    So from 9pm tonight:
    If it's everyone → Final Live
    If Hinaki's in it → Live or movie
    If it's the other 3 → Movie

    That's a safe bet.
    4AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:16
    If it's the Final, it'd obviously be pre-recorded anyway — so why follow the usual pattern for "Miryoku Discover" but not for this?
    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:30
    Re: #4
    There's no rule saying it has to be pre-recorded just because it's the Final.
    There's only one precedent (Aqours) — what "pattern" are you even talking about, idiot?
    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:28
    So then it's not the Final, right? (lol)
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:33
    Wasn't μ's pre-recorded too?
    And wasn't it leaked before the announcement precisely because it was pre-recorded?
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:34
    The first announcement of the latest live's schedule and venue was just posted on X (Twitter) — that's how sloppily they handled what's supposed to be a major announcement.
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:34
    Yeah, exactly — literally everything, down to the content, got leaked early.
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:38
    The first announcement for the latest live (the 8th) was made at the movie's stage-greeting event, not on X, though? (the original text reads "eigasaki," likely referring to that event)
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:39
    If it's the Final, remember μ's also had its live schedule scooped by Chinese fans two weeks before the official announcement.
    This time, the only thing coming out of China is some mysterious "Nijiyon 3" rumor.
    14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:40
    Lol, desperately hunting for reasons it's not the Final.
    You'll find out next week whether you like it or not, so if you really didn't care you'd just act normal.

    Seems like you're actually sweating it, just like the thread title says.
    15AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:45
    That's just people speculating that Love Live secured a 25+5 minute slot on MX (TOKYO MX) next spring instead of a plain 25 minutes, and guessing it means Hasunosora + Nijigasaki — so it's still not confirmed to be Nijigasaki.
    Could be "Chii-buchou" for all we know (said completely deadpan, as a joke).
    20AnonymousOct 8, 2026 12:05
    Re: #15
    Hasunosora's is in January, though.
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 11:52
    If it's 5 minutes, the Nijigasaki guess does seem plausible.
    If they were doing something for the "Ikizu Live" they'd probably have announced it at the 2nd (show).
    17AnonymousOct 8, 2026 12:00
    Even the guys denying it probably think the Final is coming deep down.
    They just don't want to admit it.
    42AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:00
    Liella! ("Hoshi") — whose own theme song CD, something that should sell on autopilot, only moved 2,409 copies, whose live shows run half-empty, who has to rope in senior units just to draw a crowd, and whose Blu-rays keep missing 10k in sales again and again — is clearly the one that's actually been cancelled, since they can't even get a movie made.
    45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:11
    Re: #42
    Forgetting it's the only one that got a 3rd season and still screaming "but the movie!" — that's basically a sickness at this point (lol).
    43AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:05
    No matter how many times it's explained, some people just don't get what "cancelled" actually means.
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:09
    Re: #43
    It's the Nijigasaki fanboys who don't get what "cancelled" means.
    47AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:11
    The anime "concludes" neatly with the movie.

    If you actually wanted to call something "cancelled," it'd be if the currently-airing "Miryoku Discover" suddenly got cut short.
    50AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:15
    Re: #47
    Don't drag out the rare case of "ending via movie" (lol).
    A show ends with the TV anime — the movie's just a bonus on top.
    And for Nijigasaki especially, it's purely being used to keep things on life support.
    They're stretching out what should've wrapped in one go and splitting it into three.
    49AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:14
    The reason they haven't announced the cast yet is just so it doesn't spoil which song is being covered next.
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:15
    Re: #49
    Same reason it'd spoil the Final announcement too, right? (lol)
    53AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:17
    "Rare case" nothing — they flat-out call it the "Final Chapter" (lol).
    54AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:20
    Re: #53
    Nijigasaki's the only one calling it a "Final Chapter."
    That's only because they turned it into a life-support trilogy.
    If it were just one movie, nobody would call it a "Final Chapter."
    They call it that precisely because Nijigasaki is actually ending (lol).
    55AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:28
    Re: #54
    I'm not quite following — are you saying you're bitter they got three whole movies made?
    Liella! got to run three seasons and wrap up properly, so what's the problem?
    56AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:32
    Re: #55
    You Nijigasaki fanboys keep whining that Liella! never got a movie, so I'm just stating facts.
    57AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:36
    Re: #56
    I think Liella! already "concluded" with its 3rd season — is that wrong?
    Whether it's a movie or a TV anime, Nijigasaki and Liella! are in the same boat, no?
    58AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:38
    Re: #57
    That's right.
    The Nijigasaki fanboys are the ones whining that Liella! was "cancelled" because it never got a movie.
    59AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:43
    Re: #58
    "If" a movie had been planned and it just never happened, sure, that'd be a cancellation.

    But if it ended cleanly as an anime, that's not a cancellation.
    Nijigasaki's just trying to do the same thing — so where's the cancellation?
    60AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:49
    Re: #59
    If you're calling Liella! "cancelled" after it finished its planned run, then Nijigasaki is "cancelled" too by that logic.
    If you've got a complaint, take it up with the Nijigasaki fanboys who only know how to parrot "cancelled" over and over.
    61AnonymousOct 8, 2026 13:57
    Re: #60
    I never even said I thought it was cancelled — I'm on your side here, and this is the thanks I get? Sad (lol).

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The Love Live! franchise is a large-scale property running multiple units in parallel — μ’s, Aqours, Nijigasaki High School Idol Club (“Nijiyon”), Liella! (“Hoshi”), and Hasunosora — and ahead of new developments, hints often surface in advance through several channels: cast-appearance information, programming schedule changes, and leaks from overseas. Note that both the “leak from China” and “the length of next spring’s broadcast slot” discussed in the thread are purely speculation on 5ch, not official announcements. The sales-figures-and-attendance-based rivalry between units is also a recurring setup regularly trotted out in fan conflicts, and the sourcing and context behind the numbers cited haven’t been verified. What the October 16 announcement actually turns out to be remains unconfirmed as of this writing.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Love Live!) thread “Guys who are honestly sweating over the 10/16 announcement wwwwwwwwwwww.”

  • Murakami Haruki Snubbed by Nobel Literature Prize Again — 5ch: ‘Let’s Meet Up Again Next Fall’

    On the 8th, the Swedish Academy announced that Canadian poet Anne Carson would receive the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature. Haruki Murakami, who had drawn high expectations after publishing his first novel in three years, “Kaho: The Tale of KAHO,” missed out on the prize once again this year. On the 5ch “Geinou/Sports News+” thread, comments mixed amusement at the annual autumn gathering of “Harukists” (Murakami fans), debate over how to rate Murakami’s work, and wry remarks noting that an actual win would put an end to the yearly tradition.

    On the 8th, the Swedish Academy announced the Nobel Prize in Literature, awarding it to Canadian poet Anne Carson. Haruki Murakami, who is perennially named among the frontrunners, published his first novel in three years, “Kaho: The Tale of KAHO” (Shinchosha), this year, raising hopes — but he missed out on the prize yet again.

    Murakami, one of Japan’s leading authors, is known for works such as “Norwegian Wood” and “Kafka on the Shore,” and has been translated in more than 50 countries. Since winning the Franz Kafka Prize in 2006, he has consistently ranked among the top contenders for the Nobel according to bookmakers. Among Japanese writers, the prize has previously gone to Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburo Oe, and in 2017 it was awarded to Nagasaki-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro.

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

    4AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:11
    It's not really exciting anymore, huh.
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:13
    Re: #4
    If they announced the Literature Prize first, it might generate more buzz, but since the science prizes usually come out beforehand, this one honestly feels like an afterthought by comparison.
    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:11
    How long are you guys gonna keep mocking Murakami over the Nobel Prize? (´･ω･｀)
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:11
    He's nowhere near Kenzaburo Oe's level lol
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:12
    Naoki Matayoshi (the comedian-turned-novelist) might be the only one left with a shot
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:13
    Murakami's overseas popularity is bigger in China than in the West.
    None of the film adaptations of his work have been award-caliber knockouts.
    In the West there's a 'past his prime' vibe around him, like Ryuichi Sakamoto, with no sign of a re-evaluation.
    23AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:14
    Harukists: 'We get to gather again next year. Thank you.'
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:14
    Re: #23
    British bookmakers: 'Keep betting next year too, Japan lol'
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:15
    Re: #23
    Though his name means 'spring' (Haru),
    we gather again every autumn (aki) —
    never growing tired of it (a pun on 'aki,' which also means 'to grow weary of something').
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:14
    Thanks for keeping the tradition alive again this year.
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:14
    My city library doesn't have a single Anne Carson book.
    33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:15
    Guess a Japanese winner for Monday's Economics Prize is out of the question too? Though apparently someone named Nobuhiro Kiyotaki is in the running as a Japanese contender.
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:15
    Last year a South Korean woman writer won.
    Who knows when it'll ever be a Japanese writer's turn lol
    49AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:17
    Re: #34
    Maybe another 20 years or so.
    58AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:18
    Re: #34
    Kawabata, Oe… should we throw Kazuo Ishiguro in there too?
    36AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    There's probably some faction out there that just doesn't want Waseda University to have a Nobel laureate.
    37AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    See you all again
    at next autumn's Harukist festival.
    38AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    The odds had it down to Anne Carson or Can Xue, so the favorite won as expected.
    39AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    Wait, is he actually nominated though?
    46AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:17
    Re: #39
    Sounds like he made it to the final shortlist this time.
    Close, but no cigar, I'd say.
    77AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:21
    Re: #46
    This year's judging records won't be made public until 2076.
    40AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    He himself doesn't even seem to want it — why's everyone so hyped about this?
    43AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:17
    Did the Harukist crowd go eat pancakes drowned in cola at some random café again this year? (a nod to a scene from his novels that fans like to reenact)
    45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:17
    If he actually won, they wouldn't get to gather again next year — so honestly, from a fan's perspective, not winning is for the best lol
    48AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:17
    You guys aren't actually gonna read a Nobel laureate's work anyway, are you?
    67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:20
    Re: #48
    When Kenzaburo Oe won, bookstores set up special display corners, and I remember as a kid some random old guy standing in front of one shouting 'You're not gonna read it anyway!' before getting kicked out by staff — total childhood trauma.
    56AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:18
    Isn't he just not writing the kind of stuff that wins Nobel Prizes in the first place?
    60AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:18
    If he actually wins, there goes everyone's excuse to gather every autumn.
    61AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:18
    Haruki Murakami: Lifetime Honorary Nobel Literature Prize Candidate
    64AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:19
    Oh no.
    I look forward to this every year,
    and I totally forgot about it this time.
    66AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:20
    At this point he's just a toy for the trash media, the publishers, and the bookstores lol
    68AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:20
    How much longer is this crappy little festival gonna keep going?
    69AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:20
    I only know the plot summary of Norwegian Wood, but it struck me as some low-key erotic novel with a dash of literary-fiction seasoning sprinkled on top. Why's it rated so highly?
    86AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:22
    Re: #69
    It's a product of its era.
    During the bubble economy everyone was forcing themselves to be party animals and were exhausted by it.
    78AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:21
    The Nobel Prize in Literature: an annual ritual of humiliating Haruki Murakami.
    80AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:21
    Murakami's basically unknown outside Japan, China, and Korea.
    Why would anyone think he could win a Nobel?
    Ohtani's got better odds at this point.

    Background and Key Points

    Among Japanese writers, the Nobel Prize in Literature has gone to Yasunari Kawabata in 1968 and Kenzaburo Oe in 1994, while in 2017 it was awarded to Nagasaki-born British author Kazuo Ishiguro. Since winning the Franz Kafka Prize in 2006, Haruki Murakami has repeatedly been named a frontrunner in overseas bookmakers’ odds, yet he has never actually taken home the prize. Opinions on the thread split between those genuinely disappointed he missed out again, and those who joked it’s actually better this way, since it lets the annual tradition of “Harukists” gathering at cafes every autumn keep going. Views on Murakami’s own work were likewise divided, with some questioning his international reputation and literary merit and others defending it. One point worth noting: the Nobel committee’s deliberation records are sealed for 50 years, and there’s been no official word on who did or didn’t make the final shortlist — a detail that’s easy to get wrong.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Breaking] Haruki Murakami Fails to Win Nobel Prize in Literature Again This Year [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★].”

  • Nanako Matsushima’s “Regrets of My 20s” Remark Dredges Up Her Dark History from Her Tunnels Days

    At the October 6 press conference for the new season of the medical drama ER 24 Hours (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji), lead actress Nanako Matsushima reportedly shared her “regrets from her 20s” with the younger cast. The report set off a 5ch Geino/Sports Breaking News+ thread about the “dark history” of her appearing on a Tunnels show at age 19. The discussion spread between those who remember the era’s signature gag — “It’s not a fart, it’s just air getting in” — and those debating the order of events between her breakthrough and her TV commercial work, with Ryoko Shinohara and Yasuko Matsushita, who went through similar segments around the same time, also coming up.

    2026/10/8

    On October 6, a press conference was held for the Fuji TV medical drama series ER 24 Hours (Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji), with lead actress Nanako Matsushima among those appearing.

    During a segment where younger cast members asked for advice, she looked back on her 20s and gently told them “how important it is to stick with something long-term, whether it’s a hobby or your work.”

    Source: jprime.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:12
    Because watching an Osaka night-view video channel is more fun than watching Peace-kun at Omiya Park on YouTube (Peace-kun being the park zoo's famous livestreamed elephant)
    4AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:12
    Nah, without that she never would've broken through
    Plus she was cute
    7AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:15
    Yasuko Matsushita appearing on Downtown's Gotchi Ee Kanji is dark history too — she just never owns up to it
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:17
    Re: #7
    Funny how they both have "Matsu" (pine) in their names
    94AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:11
    Re: #7
    Back when Matsushita was doing her singer stint and went on HEY!HEY!HEY!, the two guys from Downtown brought up something along those lines with her
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:16
    I kind of want her to just come out and say she hated every second of it
    that'd be exciting
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:16
    Nanako Matsushima was 19 when she was appearing on that Tunnels show.
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:16
    "It's not a fart, it's just air getting in"

    I was too young to get it at the time, but

    that was basically code for queefing
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:17
    Nah, that's not the one that actually went viral online
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:19
    She's a heavy smoker or something, right?
    She's done for
    18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:19
    Re: #16
    If that were Takako Matsu though…
    25AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:23
    Tunnels is pathetic too
    Now that she's massively famous they never bring this up at all
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:25
    Re: #25
    She kept going on Tunnels shows even after she made it big though
    30AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:27
    Re: #25
    They milked it for material and kept having her on, idiot
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:36
    But she's still a regular on Kuwazugirai though
    If she really treated it as dark history, wouldn't she just stop appearing?
    92AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:11
    Re: #44
    Even past 075, she's been on Kuwazugirai and Kitanatoran loads of times too
    45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:36
    The only time I actually laughed at a Tunnels show was THE ALFEE's Takamizawa taking on a bull
    84AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:04
    Re: #45
    The "Gift from the Sea of Malaga" bit was funny too, right
    46AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:38
    When Matsushima graduated from Minasan, Ishibashi told her, "You'll be fine no matter what job comes your way from now on" — lol
    82AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:03
    Re: #46
    That's basically a famous quote lol
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:41
    I think her big break was the Nissan Avenir Salut commercial where she straddles the seat and goes "o-ma-ta" (spread your legs). Feels like she started showing up on Tunnels after that
    63AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:49
    Re: #51
    Wasn't the Tunnels appearance actually first?
    55AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:45
    Wasn't it the other way around — didn't that get her the car commercial in the first place?
    The one where she climbs from the back seat over the headrest into the passenger seat going "Oma-ta~"
    What car and model was that commercial even for?
    59AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:46
    Re: #55
    She was going "saru saru saru~" (monkey monkey monkey), wasn't she
    67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:52
    Even as a kid I remember thinking there's no way she actually wanted to do this
    She must have nerves of steel
    72AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:55
    Re: #67
    Well, going that far is exactly what made her a star

    Without the Tunnels shows she'd have ended up some half-baked race queen or gravure model
    79AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:02
    Re: #72
    Getting picked as a regular on primetime variety already puts her way beyond that level
    If anything it's a miracle she went from doing that to landing lead roles in dramas
    87AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:06
    Re: #79
    No, if anything that's exactly what gets you cast — the "wow, she'll go this far?" factor

    Kind of like actresses who get more work after doing nude scenes
    90AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:09
    I think Ryoko Shinohara with Downtown is the same kind of deal
    96AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:13
    Re: #90
    Shinohara kept popping up as a guest on Downtown's shows even after she made it big
    But Matsushita…
    100AnonymousOct 8, 2026 20:16
    Matsushima and Shinohara are actually the same age, right at the peak of the second baby-boomer generation

    It's the generation with the most people in it, so if you're busy complaining about this stuff, a rival just takes the job
    Those two put their bodies on the line and that's how they got their shot and rose up

    Background and key points of this discussion

    In late-’90s variety TV, shows built around Tunnels regularly ran extreme, body-on-the-line stunt segments for up-and-coming female talent. More than a few of those women — Nanako Matsushima, Ryoko Shinohara, and Yasuko Matsushita among them — went on to become leading actresses in drama and film, and the thread was split over whether appearances like these actually kick-started their breakthroughs. The fact that she was only 19 at the time is the sort of detail that invites debate when viewed through today’s lens, but the overall tone of the thread was nostalgic, treating it as a kind of “rite of passage” on the road to stardom. How she herself felt about it at the time wasn’t addressed at this press conference.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geino/Sports Breaking News+) thread “[Just Air Getting In] Fans Stir Over Nanako Matsushima’s “Regrets of My 20s” Confession, Reviving Her Intense “Dark History” with Tunnels [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★]“

  • Kodaira City’s Official Website Knocked Offline by Ransomware Attack — Personal Data Possibly Leaked

    Tokyo’s Kodaira City official website has been inaccessible since shortly after 8 a.m. on October 7, after suffering a ransomware attack. According to the city, the cloud service used by the contractor that maintains the website appears to have been hit by a third party, and personal information of residents that the city had collected through its contact forms and other channels may have been leaked. There is no timeline yet for restoring service. On 5ch, the discussion branched out in all directions — doubts about the contracted cloud infrastructure and the state of government IT, distrust of the My Number (Japan’s national ID) system, and more.

    In Tokyo’s Kodaira City, the city’s official website has been inaccessible since the 7th after being hit by a ransomware attack from a third party. According to the city, residents’ personal information may have been leaked.

    According to Kodaira City, the website outage began shortly after 8 a.m. on the 7th, and there is still no prospect of restoration.

    The cloud service used by the contractor responsible for maintaining the website is said to have been hit by a third-party ransomware attack, and personal information the city had obtained through its contact forms and other means may have been leaked. (Source continues below)

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

    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:13
    Guess bureaucrats outsource literally everything, huh
    15AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:15
    Re: #5
    Just a clerical job
    121AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:15
    Re: #5
    A data center beats on-prem anyway, right?
    18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:16
    The real question is whether this was an inside job, deliberately leaked
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:16
    There's no way a city government can pay a ransom
    So targeting Kodaira of all places means…
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:18
    Re: #19
    We'll be fine if every resident just chips in ¥1,000
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:18
    If it's the IDC Frontier incident, a whole region just got wiped out, so there's probably no actual data leak
    But snapshots and everything got nuked too, so without a local backup recovery is basically impossible
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:20
    Re: #28
    No way the hackers didn't keep a copy for themselves
    The whole point is to hold the data hostage for extortion
    35AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:20
    Re: #28
    Why are you being so naive about this?
    36AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:21
    Isn't personal information supposed to be kept offline or something?
    41AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:21
    Re: #36
    If that were true, you wouldn't be able to print a residency certificate instantly at a convenience store lol
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:25
    Ugh…
    Guess a My Number (national ID) data leak is coming soon too lol
    54AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:28
    Re: #51
    No problem
    It's written right in the terms that even if My Number data gets leaked or misused, the government takes zero responsibility
    57AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:29
    Re: #51
    That's probably already happening lol
    Going forward AI is going to pull together your LINE, Ameba, and old Twitter-era messages and link it all straight to your personal data
    We're headed into an era where AI compiles celebrity wikis listing exactly who spent how many hours with whom at a love hotel — the tabloids are done for
    64AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:33
    Re: #51
    It's fine, the government takes zero responsibility anyway
    84AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:54
    Deng Xiaoping was the paramount leader who drove China's reform and opening-up, laying the foundation for modern China's economic development.
    (Just riffing on the "Shouhei" name connection — Kodaira is written with the same kanji, 小平, as Xiaoping)
    110AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:10
    Re: #84
    Is Otani a "Mao" too then? (continuing the pun chain — baseball star Shohei Otani shares the "Shouhei" reading, now linking to Chinese leader Mao Zedong)
    97AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:58
    Wondering if I should buy a condo near Kodaira Station
    Nerima and Itabashi are just too expensive
    118AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:13
    Re: #97
    There can't be many places right by the station…
    Can you even build anything on the cemetery side?
    112AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:10
    The takeover of IDC Frontier's cloud infrastructure really isn't getting the news coverage it deserves given how serious it is
    124AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:19
    Re: #112
    Maybe they're going easy on it out of deference to parent company SoftBank?
    129AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:22
    Re: #112
    The evening news really avoided saying "SoftBank"
    (This was on) Nippon TV
    127AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:20
    I used to live in Kodaira a while back
    Wonder if my old data got swept up in this too
    170AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:47
    Re: #127
    Same here
    Who knows
    133AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:23
    This really shows just how much they've been looking down on IT engineers
    The skill level is rock bottom
    141AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:26
    Re: #133
    Feels like it's already too late at this point
    They tout "improved service" while it's full of holes
    147AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:29
    Re: #133
    It's less about the engineers and more that they don't want to pay for equipment or updates
    156AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:37
    By this time next week, won't something like 30% of municipal websites in Japan be down?
    160AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:43
    Re: #156
    Honestly, it'd be better if it just disappeared outright
    There's a real chance it gets secretly hijacked and starts pumping out misinformation
    Imagine a flood-danger alert getting swapped for "It's fiiine, totally safe~"
    186AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:57
    With a company, the motive is obvious — hold the data for ransom
    But hacking a government system,
    what's even the point, that part's unclear
    Is this a dry run for a real crisis
    a nation-vs-nation conflict
    in other words, prep work for war?
    193AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:01
    Re: #186
    If residency certificates and other government services go down
    I'd imagine quite a lot of people would be in real trouble
    198AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:03
    But honestly, maybe it's a good thing they're attacking now? If a real war actually breaks out, the infrastructure attacks will be on a whole different level.
    204AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:05
    Re: #198
    They don't even need to attack infrastructure — the US, China, and Russia could all be wiped out instantly anyway

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    In recent years, ransomware attacks on local governments have increasingly entered not through the municipality itself but through a contracted cloud vendor. Local governments outsource much of their operations to vendors, which makes it hard for the public to see where responsibility for an outage or breach actually lies. In the thread, discussion went on without ever quite settling whether this was simply a case of “the site being encrypted and inaccessible” or whether “data was actually stolen.” In recent ransom-driven attacks, the common method has shifted to stealing data in advance and then threatening to publish it, so the site outage and the potential data leak may well be separate issues. Note that the information at risk here is data the city itself held via its contact forms and similar channels, and is not directly tied to the My Number national ID system itself.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Tokyo] Kodaira City’s official website remains inaccessible after ransomware attack… residents’ personal information possibly leaked.”

  • Memory Prices Surge, So Windows Finally Goes on a Diet — 5ch: ‘Should’ve Done This From the Start’

    Soaring semiconductor demand from the AI boom has driven up memory prices, and PC makers are moving back toward 8GB configurations. Windows has long operated on the assumption that “more memory is always better,” bloating with each release — but Microsoft is reportedly reversing course and working to cut memory consumption, with some reports claiming actual reductions in memory usage in the recent Windows 11 26H2 update. On 5ch, reactions were split: sarcastic comments like “should’ve done this from the start,” skepticism that this is just a cosmetic numbers improvement, and analysis pointing to heavyweight components like WebView2 as the real culprit behind memory bloat.

    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:03
    Right now, memory prices keep climbing thanks to the AI boom, and OEM PCs are drifting back to 8GB configurations. Microsoft has long insisted that "more RAM is always better," but now, ironically, the logic has flipped to "RAM's too expensive, so let's lighten the OS instead." Whether Windows 11 can actually hold up in an 8GB RAM world looks like it could be a major turning point.
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:17
    Re: #5
    An 8GB PC sounds rough.
    Won't you hit the ceiling just running Chrome?
    74AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:04
    Re: #5
    Should've done this from the start.
    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:04
    Reports of speedups and reduced memory usage with Windows 11 26H2
    https://news.mynavi.jp/techplus/article/20261007-5083736/


    ^
    Right after 26H2 dropped, tons of reports came in about reduced memory usage.
    You guys should update to 26H2 ASAP.
    7AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:05
    Aside from Steam dropping support and the security issues, Windows 7 would've been fine — this is just dumb.
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:07
    Re: #7
    > Steam dropping support and the security issues

    That's a huge problem though.
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:10
    Don't go messing with unnecessary stuff…

    You guys are just going to cause way more bugs than that.
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:11
    Re: #9
    26H2 runs great.
    93AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:16
    Re: #9
    Compressing memory with some new algorithm and then getting blue screens sounds exactly like something that would happen.
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:11
    It's been a memory hog this whole time.
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:14
    Re: #10
    Seriously this.

    Don't need all that bloatware bundled in either.
    18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:17
    Hard to believe Microsoft has the technical chops for this.
    They never did a real fix because rewriting the code was too much of a hassle.
    52AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:02
    Re: #18
    It's not a technical skill issue — it got bloated because they leaned heavily on WebView2 to cut costs.
    20AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:17
    So it's like "gas prices are brutal, so we're ditching the American muscle car for a kei car" (a small Japanese minicar)?
    And now that they can actually do it, people are gonna ask why they didn't do it sooner.
    87AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:58
    Re: #20
    Gas prices (i.e. memory) used to be cheap.
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:26
    If you're as rich as Microsoft, you should just build a memory fab and get into the memory business yourself.

    And if that causes a memory glut and prices crash, so what — you're one of the biggest companies in the world.
    Protect your own foundation to protect your own Windows.
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:29
    Re: #26
    Apparently there's not even enough power for that to begin with.
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:30
    Re: #26
    You don't get rich doing stuff like that.
    They got this big by pushing the risk onto someone else and keeping all the benefits for themselves.
    30AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:32
    Like Teams, which is totally dependent on WebView2.
    They'll talk a big game but never actually fix it.
    90AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:03
    Re: #30
    Of course they can't — with today's app scale and update frequency, there's no way to do native support for every environment like in the old days.
    If anything, consoles that are built against optimized dedicated APIs are the real living fossils here.
    Though even that's fading, since Xbox dropped its dedicated API starting with the Series X and unified on DirectX.
    43AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:55
    Way too little technical skill.

    If Nintendo made a PC OS, it'd probably be amazing.
    Why don't they do it?
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:55
    Re: #43
    Probably because they don't have the rights to.
    You're not thinking this through — there are barriers.
    46AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:56
    A company that says "memory got too expensive so we're standardizing on 8GB" while having zero qualms about jacking up the OS price at the same time.
    47AnonymousOct 8, 2026 16:57
    Re: #46
    Wait, did they actually raise the price?
    58AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:12
    They're probably just throwing it at AI to get it rewritten right now.
    60AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:15
    Re: #58
    I can already see the future: AI generates garbage code, it turns into a bug festival, and everyone's screaming in agony lol
    61AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:20
    Re: #59
    Sounds like you don't understand the current state of Ace Combat 8 lol
    64AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:29
    Re: #61
    There are crash reports, but it's not a spec issue.
    Ace Combat 8 isn't demanding in terms of performance.
    Minimum: RTX 2060 / RX 6600
    Recommended: RTX 3070 / RX 6800

    The requirements are actually on the lower side.
    The crashes will probably get patched out.
    67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:40
    Apparently Windows 12 is going to ship on Helix — wonder how that'll turn out.
    68AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:42
    Re: #67
    Even the XSS (Xbox Series S) costs ¥100,000, so are they planning to sell this for something like ¥400,000?
    78AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:28
    Vista gradually got lighter with updates, but by the time that happened, Windows 7 — already lighter than Vista — had taken over.
    82AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:48
    Re: #78
    SP3 wasn't really that different from 7, and 7 came after that anyway, didn't it?
    84AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:53
    Re: #78
    Nice lie.

    There's no way SP3 runs on 512MB either.
    89AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:01
    Most of this is just releasing memory that was reserved on the assumption it'd be used anyway — so it just looks like more memory is free.
    Once you actually start using it normally, it eats up about the same amount of memory as before.
    91AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:08
    Re: #89
    Wait what? Task Manager shows it going down though.
    95AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:19
    It's just optimizing for the max memory available.
    With 8GB, it adapts to 8GB.
    It's been swapping all along, so with an SSD it was basically fine anyway.
    With 16GB it feels like usage has gone up compared to before.
    Boot used to be 4.7GB, now it's +1GB.
    Once you use Edge and Chrome together it goes over 10GB.
    98AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:23
    Re: #95
    Chrome's the one hogging it.

    Background and Key Points of Debate

    The backdrop here is the surge in memory demand and DRAM price spikes driven by the AI boom that’s been ongoing since late 2025. This has forced PC makers to scale back the amount of memory they ship, and it’s chipping away at the design assumption Windows has relied on for years: that memory is abundant. Where opinions in the thread split was over whether this slimming-down actually reduces real-world memory usage, or whether it’s just releasing “unused” memory on the surface. Poster #89 voiced skepticism based on past experience, while poster #95 gave a positive assessment citing real-world measurements on both 8GB and 16GB systems. There’s also a point (poster #52) that dependence on heavyweight components like WebView2 and Teams is part of what’s driving memory consumption, though the responses alone don’t make clear whether this is a fundamental redesign or just a tweak. Some commenters bring up the history of Windows Vista slimming down into Windows 7, but that’s based on personal recollection, not any official figures.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “Microsoft: “Memory’s too expensive, so going forward Windows will lighten up its RAM requirements! A new memory strategy!”“

  • FC Osaka vs. Kumamoto Match Moved to Weekday at Expo Stadium After Losing Hanazono Venue — 5ch: ‘Revoke Their License Already’

    On October 8, the J.League announced that the J3 Division Round 15 match between FC Osaka and Roasso Kumamoto will be moved from November 3 to November 4, with kickoff shifted to a weekday at 2:00 PM and the venue changed from FC Osaka’s home ground, Hanazono Rugby Stadium, to Expo Commemorative Stadium. FC Osaka commented, “As a club, we feel truly sorry about this.” On 5ch, threads filled up with complaints about the lack of consideration for Kumamoto supporters traveling to the match, along with repeated calls to revoke FC Osaka’s J3 license over its recurring stadium problems. Many also questioned why the club couldn’t simply borrow the home ground of one of the other J.League clubs in the Kansai region.

    FC Osaka vs. Kumamoto Set for Weekday Afternoon Kickoff at Expo Commemorative Stadium: “As a Club, We Feel Truly Sorry”

    On the 8th, the J.League announced the new date, kickoff time, and venue for the J3 Division Round 15 match between FC Osaka and Roasso Kumamoto, whose venue had previously been undecided.

    The match was originally scheduled for the November 3 holiday with the kickoff time still undecided, but today’s announcement moved the date to November 4. Kickoff is set for 2:00 PM, with the venue being Expo Commemorative Stadium.

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

    2AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:44
    Kumamoto supporters planning the trip must be floored by this.
    At this point it's on the J.League.
    4AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:45
    There's a perfectly good stadium right there!
    Why not just make Expo Commemorative Stadium their home ground?
    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:46
    Why did they even let this club into the J.League?
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:59
    Re: #5
    Because they got handed a license.
    7AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:50
    It's pathetic that the association isn't handing out its usual punishments.
    Is 'the chairman' (lit. "chair man" — a mocking nickname) pretending he can't see or hear any of this?
    None of this would be an issue if they'd just built the second ground like they originally promised.
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:52
    Guess this is just how it's going to be until rugby season wraps up.
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:52
    Yeah, FC Osaka is beyond saving at this point.
    This is just not normal.
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:53
    Somebody sort FC Osaka out already, this is way too sloppy.

    It makes all the other clubs that are actually doing things properly look like fools.
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:56
    Even the guy organizing the office drinking party does a better job of planning than this.
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 17:58
    Just hurry up and renovate the Hanazono second ground already.
    Figured a weekday night might still be tolerable, but then…
    a weekday afternoon?! lol

    Though I guess it might be so Kumamoto fans can still make it home that day.
    14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:01
    Forget soccer, let's just go play golf!
    15AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:02
    This is a problem not just for the club but for the J.League itself.
    Why is a club that can't even secure a stadium allowed to keep operating?
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:02
    Shouldn't a club that can't properly secure a venue just have its license revoked?
    17AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:03
    Just kick them out of the J.League already. They're way too much of a nuisance.
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:04
    They're always saying sorry, aren't they.
    So, are the renovation blueprints even done? Have they been filed yet?
    20AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:04
    Which has a bigger presence in Osaka, FC Osaka or Osaka Pro Wrestling?
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:11
    Re: #20
    FC Osaka is a team from Higashiosaka, so it doesn't really have a presence in Osaka proper.
    22AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:05
    Maybe they should just become wandering nomads at this point?
    They issued a license to Nankatsu FC too, and that club doesn't even own a stadium.
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:08
    So it's not Gamba's stadium,
    it's the athletics track venue instead.
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:16
    Can't they just borrow Cerezo's stadium?
    30AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:24
    Won't they lend out that fancy stadium in Suita?
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:24
    The most widely recognized team in the 'Tax League' (a sarcastic jab implying the club survives on public subsidies rather than the 'J League')
    35AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:26
    Re: #31
    Well yeah, they're the popular club that made national news lol
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:25
    Checked just now and tickets still aren't on sale.
    What's more, the opposing team can't sell tickets either.
    Rough for the other team, getting dragged into this mess.
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:26
    Gamba, Cerezo, Vissel, Sanga —
    Kansai has four J1 clubs' home stadiums,
    and yet somehow they're holding the match in Kitakyushu City instead.
    36AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:26
    The whole 'hometown' concept seems kind of absurd here.
    Anywhere in Osaka should be fine, right?
    Just use Cerezo's or Gamba's stadium.
    61AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:57
    Re: #36
    Apparently FC Osaka did something rude in the past and got themselves banned.
    38AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:30
    Nara Club's stadium is actually closer — they should just rename themselves 'FC Hanna' (a portmanteau of Osaka's 'Han' and Nara's 'Na').
    39AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:30
    They should revoke the license now, even at this point.
    41AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:32
    Actually, why not just force a relegation?
    Forget results — they can't even run the club properly.
    42AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:33
    Re: #41
    Exception after exception after exception.
    The real answer is probably whether any club has ever actually had its license revoked before.
    50AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:39
    Holding it on a weekday afternoon — even pro baseball wouldn't draw a crowd doing that.
    82AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:28
    Re: #50
    Back in the day Hokkaido used to hold weekday day games,
    and the stands were actually pretty packed.
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:41
    Tough break that the takeover attempt failed.
    52AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:45
    Re: #51
    If they genuinely thought they could pull off a takeover with a method that sloppy…
    maybe they figured it'd work just because the mayor was on their side?
    79AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:26
    Wait, is this the story about that clownish club that got locked out after their takeover attempt flopped?
    83AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:31
    Re: #79
    They were actually close to pulling off the Hanazono takeover.
    The problem was it got exposed publicly.
    They should still be in as one of the designated facility managers though.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Hanazono Rugby Stadium in Higashiosaka, FC Osaka’s home ground, sees a heavy concentration of national rugby tournaments and League One matches during the winter months, making it difficult to use for soccer during this period — and this latest switch to Expo Commemorative Stadium is believed to be a result of that scheduling crunch. As for the “revoke the license” argument that came up repeatedly in the thread, J.League club licenses are issued on a yearly basis and aren’t structured to be revoked immediately just because of a venue change; there’s also no precedent of a license being pulled solely over stadium issues. The suggestion that FC Osaka “should just borrow another J1 club’s home ground” also came up, but each stadium operates under its resident club’s annual schedule and usage contract, so it isn’t something that can simply be lent out. The “takeover” controversy referenced in the thread appears to point to a past episode involving the selection process for Hanazono’s designated facility manager, but the original article doesn’t go into detail on this, and it should be noted that it remains largely speculation on commenters’ part.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuho+) thread “[Soccer] ‘FC Osaka vs. Kumamoto’ Moved to Weekday Afternoon Kickoff, Venue Changed from Hanazono to Expo Commemorative Stadium — “As a Club, We Feel Truly Sorry…”.”

  • 8 Osaka Students Barred From National Track Meet Over Registration Blunder — Hashimoto: ‘Don’t Let Kids Pay for Adults’ Mistakes’

    An official at the Osaka Prefecture Junior High School Athletic Federation botched the entry procedure for a national track and field meet, leaving eight junior high and high school students from Osaka unable to compete. The registration window ran for roughly a month, from noon on August 21 to 6:00 PM on September 24, but the official reportedly didn’t know entries could be changed or canceled after submission, and also misunderstood the deadline itself. Toru Hashimoto, former governor of Osaka Prefecture and now a lawyer, argued on a TV program that “adults’ mistakes shouldn’t be visited on the children — starting next year, the rules should be changed so kids can still compete even if the same kind of mistake happens.” On 5ch, opinions split between sympathy for the students and more cautious voices arguing that “they should figure out how to prevent the mistake in the first place” or “if you allow exceptions, there’s no end to it,” with reactions to Hashimoto’s comments similarly divided.

    Toru Hashimoto proposes on the “8 Osaka junior high/high school students can’t compete at nationals due to an entry mistake” issue: “Don’t let adults’ mistakes fall on the kids. Starting next year, the rules should be changed so children can still compete even after the same kind of mistake.”

    Due to an entry error by the Osaka Prefecture Junior High School Athletic Federation’s track and field division (“Osaka Chutairen”), eight junior high and high school students from Osaka have been barred from competing in the national track and field championships.

    On Kansai TV’s program “Shunkan LIVE Toretate!,” former Osaka governor and lawyer Toru Hashimoto laid out his view: “Don’t let the kids pay for adults’ mistakes. Adults’ mistakes should be penalized on the adults.”

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

    2AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:37
    This is only blowing up because it's Osaka. The athletics federation's response wasn't wrong.
    15AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:41
    Can't Yoshimura (Osaka's governor) at least say something like 'let them compete and I'll resign as governor instead'? Don't just gripe from a safe distance — sacrifice yourself and actually help these kids out.
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:46
    Re: #15 Using your position to bend the rules like that would be a huge problem.
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:41
    Once you can just chalk it up to 'an adult's mistake,' anything goes, huh.
    96AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:58
    Re: #19 Exactly. I mean, who else but an adult was ever going to be the one making this mistake anyway?
    22AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:43
    I was on my high school track team, and once the relay roster didn't get submitted in time on meet day, so I couldn't race. Of all times, it was my final meet as a third-year.
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:44
    Re: #22 LOL, dragged down by a useless jock of a teacher.
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:45
    How exactly would they even change it? Let people enter after the deadline with a politician's recommendation or something?
    46AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:49
    Re: #31 Registering after the deadline should cost money — make the ones who neglected to register pay 10,000 yen (about $65) each.
    49AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:50
    They'd submitted their entry one minute before the deadline.
    69AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:53
    Re: #49 If that were true it would've gone through. The login itself happened one minute before (lol) — the screen just changed right after and that was it.
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:50
    They should just let the athletes enter themselves instead of going through the school. That way, if there's a mistake, it's on them.
    73AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:54
    Re: #51 From what I gather, athletes who've already cleared the qualifying standard get entered through their school and can compete as normal. But athletes who, say, won some other competition get entered by the junior high athletic federation instead, and that's apparently where the mistake happened this time. (This came up in Google's AI search mode though, so it might not be accurate.)
    61AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:52
    Normally you'd think they'd focus on a system that prevents the mistake in the first place, no?
    70AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:53
    Re: #61 Exactly. But instead, they're glossing over the federation's own mistake and using it as a springboard to push for a rule change.
    67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:53
    "I finally managed to log in at 5:59:13 PM (on September 24). Since the event was being held in Mie Prefecture, I searched using 'Mie Prefecture' as my keyword, but I had trouble finding the right page and ended up on the U18 meet's page by mistake — that's when I realized the error. After that I rushed to find the information page for the U16 meet entry and logged in, but by the time I got in it was 6:00:01 PM, and the entry button was no longer there."
    74AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:54
    Re: #67 So the 'one minute before' thing was actually for a different competition?
    76AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:55
    It wasn't the school that made the mistake, it was the junior high athletic federation — so they should just let the kids compete as normal. This whole situation is so dumb.
    88AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:57
    Re: #76 Right. The school didn't mess anything up.
    78AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:55
    The fault here lies entirely with the school to begin with, so if anything should be fixed first, it's how the school handles meet entries. Talk of changing the rules should come after that.
    85AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:57
    Re: #78 It's not even the school — it's the Osaka junior high athletic federation.
    84AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:57
    I looked it up — the entry period for this meet ran from 12:00 PM on August 21 to 6:00 PM on September 24. With that much time to work with, forgetting to enter is just dumb.
    99AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:59
    Re: #84 The staff member made two mistakes: they forgot that entries could be changed or canceled after submission, and they got the deadline date wrong. If they'd just done a provisional registration back on August 21, none of this would've happened.
    90AnonymousOct 8, 2026 18:57
    Why not just charge a hefty extra registration fee and let them in?
    120AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:03
    Re: #90 The tricky part is the entries are already locked in — adding the Osaka athletes would bump other athletes out. For the 100m, only 48 can compete, so adding the Osaka athletes would mean knocking out the 48th-place athlete from Okayama.

    U16 Boys' 100m — Target number: 48 / Competing: 48
    45 Osaka
    48 Okayama
    — cutoff line, everyone above competes —
    49 Mie
    64 Osaka
    111AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:01
    Old people's rigidity is seriously scary. They're so shackled by rules, regulations, and compliance that it's warped their minds. If you've got no flexibility, you're basically worthless as a human being.
    122AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:03
    Re: #111 If you flexibly think through all the different scenarios, you end up concluding that this kind of self-serving exception shouldn't be allowed. Thinking 'poor kids!' and stopping there is the shallow, closed-minded take.
    116AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:02
    I know someone whose coach botched the application and they couldn't compete at nationals because of it. They found out on-site. It's been three or four years now, but it clearly still looks like serious trauma for them.
    124AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:04
    Re: #116 Ugh, finding out on-site must have been brutal. That's really rough. All you can do is hope a lot of good things come their way…
    126AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:04
    Then just have the students apply for themselves.

    [Picture the] coach: "Oops, I forgot to submit the whole batch…"
    135AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:07
    Re: #126 I think that'd be fine honestly. Teachers forgetting to submit things happens every year even with high school entrance exam applications.
    130AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:06
    Schools are so strict about students being late, yet here the adults can't even make a deadline. When I once used 'Wicky-san got me' as my excuse for being late (a reference to a TV prank/urban-legend character used as a jokey alibi), they absolutely lost it at me.
    136AnonymousOct 8, 2026 19:07
    Re: #130 The school isn't actually the one at fault here, though.

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    The core issue here isn’t a mistake by the schools, but a procedural oversight by a staff member at the Osaka Prefecture Junior High School Athletic Federation, which organizes the meet. The entry window ran for over a month, from noon on August 21 to 6:00 PM on September 24, so this wasn’t a simple case of forgetting — it came down to two overlapping errors: not realizing entries could be changed or canceled after submission, and misjudging the deadline time itself. Where opinions split on the thread was over whether Toru Hashimoto’s proposed rule change — that “adults’ mistakes shouldn’t disadvantage children” — was the right call, with sympathy for the students on one side and caution that “allowing exceptions would make things unmanageable” on the other. It’s also worth noting, and easy to miss, that the competition slots are capped, so adding the Osaka athletes could mean bumping athletes from another prefecture out entirely — meaning simply expanding the field isn’t a straightforward fix given the meet’s structural limits.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuho+) thread “[Track and Field] 8 Osaka junior high/high school students can’t compete at nationals due to an entry mistake… Toru Hashimoto: ‘Don’t let adults’ mistakes fall on the kids. The rules should be changed’.”