Japan Reacts

Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

  • Rakuten’s Mikitani Opposes Food Consumption Tax Cut: ‘I Don’t Think Prices Will Actually Drop’ — Here’s Why

    Rakuten Group Chairman and President Hiroshi Mikitani has reportedly voiced skepticism about a consumption tax cut on food, saying he “doesn’t think prices would actually drop” — the remarks drew a wave of reactions on 5ch’s Breaking News+ board.

    In the thread, posters compared his comments to Suntory President Torii’s similar opposition to the tax cut, while also trading explanations back and forth about how the consumption tax actually works and how it relates to corporate tax.

    Published 8/18 (Tue) 16:12

    Bunshun Online

    Rakuten Group Chairman and President Hiroshi Mikitani (61), speaking to Weekly Bunshun, expressed a negative view of a consumption tax cut on food, saying he “doesn’t think prices would drop.”

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

    6AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:09
    It's a campaign pledge.
    Don't start whining about it now.
    130AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:45
    Re: #6
    The pledge was only to speed up the review.
    If, after reviewing it, they conclude it won't be effective, scrapping it IS keeping the pledge.
    12AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:10
    Executives are scared of corporate tax hikes.

    That's why they want the consumption tax raised more and more instead.
    113AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:42
    Re: #12
    You can't collect corporate tax from a company running a loss, lol
    154AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:51
    Re: #12
    These days both politicians and executives only talk their own book.
    The kind of decent adult who'd act even at personal cost, just because it's good for society or the public — someone morally upright who can put others first — those people are just gone.
    Companies rake in profits, hoard them instead of passing them on to employees, and then turn around and demand lower corporate tax.
    Diet members know full well the yen is sliding and bonds are falling, but they got elected riding Takaichi's popularity, so they can't say a word against it.
    No wonder nobody trusts these people anymore.
    15AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:11
    Honestly, I agree.
    Direct payments for low-income households would be more realistic.
    26AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:15
    Re: #15
    Opposed ¥60k.
    Opposed ¥40k.
    "We'll do ¥20k, that's the pledge!" — LDP
    Takaichi's LDP breaks the ¥20k pledge

    And now this.
    22AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:13
    Nobody's saying prices overall need to drop — just that they should drop by the amount of the consumption tax.
    58AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:20
    Re: #22
    That's exactly the point — it won't even drop by that much.
    98AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:39
    Re: #22
    Sounds like you think the consumption tax is just money businesses hold in trust for the government.
    104AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:40
    Isn't consumption tax separate from prices?
    Isn't consumption tax just the 8% or 10% added on top of the item's price?
    129AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:45
    Re: #104
    It's the opposite.
    Consumption tax isn't added on top of the item price — businesses simply pay tax on the tax-included sale price, minus a credit for the tax they paid on their own purchases.
    In essence, it's just taken out of the "tax-included price."
    In other words, it's an entirely ordinary tax on businesses — exactly like corporate tax or property tax.
    148AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:49
    Re: #104
    Even now, dine-in and takeout are taxed at different rates, yet places like McDonald's keep the tax-included price the same for both anyway.
    115AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:42
    So after Suntory, now Rakuten too, huh.

    Suntory Holdings President Nobuhiro Torii voices opposition to a "1% consumption tax on food and drink," explaining: "It would cause people to cut back on dining out, and the negative impact would be significant"
    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/fa245026ced475a7062315fe4fa83c305169f4ca

    Suntory Holdings President Torii voices opposition to "1% consumption tax on food and drink" — "It would cause people to cut back on dining out, and the negative impact would be significant" ★3 [♪♪♪★]
    https://asahi.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/newsplus/1786939405/
    118AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:43
    Re: #115

    575 Anonymous 2026/08/17 (Mon) 12:10:01.57 ID:V+ZLo6zm0
    Share of retail profit within total alcoholic-beverage profit:
    Suntory > Kirin > Asahi


    I think it means something that Suntory — which is way weaker than its rivals in the on-premise/food-service channel and makes its money on retail — is the one saying this.
    142AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:48
    Re: #115
    They just don't want to cut their own prices, that's all.
    Foreign-owned brands aren't affected the same way, so they'll cut prices.
    123AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:44
    The dine-out market isn't that big a deal, is it?
    127AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:44
    Re: #123
    Dining out and takeout will end up priced differently.
    133AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:45
    Re: #127
    So the whole country has to shoulder the burden for that niche market?
    135AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:46
    Re: #133
    Cash handouts would do fine.
    138AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:47
    Re: #133
    The government is also weighing measures to cushion the blow to restaurants and farmers.

    1% consumption tax on food and drink could make the 10%-taxed dine-out sector feel "overpriced" — farmers also at risk of taking a hit — government considers countermeasures [Gure★]
    https://asahi.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/newsplus/1785929790/
    177AnonymousAug 18, 2026 18:59
    Budweiser American Lager Beer, 12 fl oz, 30 cans
    $22.83
    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Budweiser-American-Lager-Beer-30-Pack-12-fl-oz-Aluminum-Cans-5-ABV/10984471?classType=REGULAR


    Under a dollar a can
    213AnonymousAug 18, 2026 19:08
    Re: #177
    Sapporo Beer, 12 fl oz, 12-pack
    $14.27
    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Sapporo-Premium-Import-Lager-Beer-12-fl-oz-12-Pack-Cans-4-9-ABV/595874078?classType=REGULAR

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “Rakuten’s Mikitani Opposes Food Consumption Tax Cut: “I Don’t Think Prices Will Actually Drop” — Here’s Why.”

  • Streamer Hori Daisuke Claims ’30-Minute Sleep’ Works — Experts Say ‘That’s Just Sleep Deprivation’

    Streamer Hori Daisuke claims that “30 minutes of sleep is enough for anyone to become a short sleeper,” and has become a hot topic on 5ch after taking on a week-long livestream challenge to prove it. In the thread, users pointed out that he may just be faking it with baths and workouts, debates broke out over the actual definition of a “short sleeper,” and the discussion even touched on his clash with sleep experts.

    1AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:21
    Hori Daisuke's a fraud, right?
    6AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:24
    I love how the whole point of cutting sleep to 30 minutes was to free up time, and what he does with that freed-up time is take a bath just to wake himself up — it's like a comedy routine.
    9AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:24
    Re: #6
    Bath (aka sleep)
    12AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:25
    I want NHK's "100 Cameras" or "72 Hours" (NHK documentary series) to cover this.
    Or even "Darwin's Come!" (NHK's nature documentary show) would be fine.
    15AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:26
    Re: #12
    No way, no way.
    Didn't he try to livestream a full week without sleeping,
    only to sleep 7 hours on day one?
    20AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:29
    Only a Showa-era guy would even attempt being a "short sleeper."
    Loving this kind of pointless, worthless stunt is such a Showa thing to do.
    22AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:29
    Re: #20
    Total "Misawa from Hell" energy (a meme character famous for smug self-satisfaction)
    23AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:30
    Re: #20
    Honestly, back in middle/high school I looked up to that — or really I just wanted more time to play, so I tried all kinds of things to cut down my sleep.
    Gave it up after about six months when I realized it was impossible.
    29AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:34
    So what's this guy actually doing with all the time he's not sleeping?
    If he's got 23 extra hours to use, he must be accomplishing something impressive, right?
    30AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:34
    Re: #29
    Working out and taking baths just to shake off drowsiness, that's it.
    31AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:34
    Re: #29
    Bath (aka sleep)
    Working out

    That's basically his whole day right there.
    33AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:36
    He's probably actually sleeping like 7 or 8 hours.
    35AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:37
    Re: #33
    If he's in that state after 8 hours, he probably needs more like 12.
    36AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:37
    For a 24/7, week-long stream, does he actually have someone monitoring him the whole time?
    43AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:42
    Re: #36
    If he did that, he'd get caught immediately.
    39AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:40
    He's sleep deprived, sure, but technically he is a short sleeper, isn't he?
    42AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:42
    Re: #39
    "Short sleeper" doesn't just mean someone whose sleep time is short, you know.
    44AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:44
    Re: #39
    According to Thomas Edison, who coined the term, a true "short sleeper" is
    someone with an innate ability to function with little sleep, with no effect on their mental state.

    Someone once said (forget who) that most self-proclaimed short sleepers are just sleep deprived.
    46AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:45
    I'm sure if you searched the whole world you'd find someone who genuinely gets by on 30 minutes of sleep a day, but that's the rarest of rare exceptions — why can't people grasp that it's not something others can just copy?
    55AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:51
    Re: #46
    Apparently it's flat-out impossible.
    Even people who seem to sleep very little are usually napping or just not realizing they dozed off during "waking" periods — once you actually measure it, the real total converges to something higher than they think. So under perfect measurement, maybe a week is doable, but biologically it's impossible to sustain long-term.
    48AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:46
    If there's no monitor for the whole week-long stream, doesn't that make the whole thing pointless?
    What are the actual rules here?
    If he actually pulled this off, it seems like it could be a Guinness World Record for livestreaming, so it'd be worth spending money to properly verify it.
    53AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:49
    Re: #48
    Unfortunately, Guinness no longer registers records that pose a health risk.
    For reference, the sleep-deprivation record that triggered that policy is Randy Gardner's 11 days, so a week of 30-minute sleep wouldn't be anywhere near record territory anyway.
    57AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:53
    For the week-long stream, he'll probably end up sleeping partway through anyway, with excuses like "I've got a TV recording" or "equipment trouble."
    58AnonymousAug 20, 2026 08:54
    Re: #57
    He's sleeping in the bath.
    71AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:05
    But it is a bit odd — Yanagisawa Masashi (the sleep researcher) has been directly attacking Hori Daisuke for a while, repeatedly insisting he can't become a short sleeper through training, yet Yanagisawa himself is researching how to make people short sleepers with drugs, and his side keeps avoiding a direct debate.
    Maybe the real reason is it'd be inconvenient if people actually could become short sleepers through training.
    75AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:14
    Re: #71
    Isn't it just that his research concluded you can't become one through training?
    76AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:19
    Re: #71
    It's not really odd.
    Plenty of diseases the body can't heal on its own get solved with medicine.
    So it makes sense that sleep could work the same way — impossible through natural human ability, but maybe possible with drugs.
    83AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:28
    Re: #71
    There's basically zero upside for Dr. Yanagisawa to engage directly.
    What's a guy whose only evidence is personal anecdote going to do against a Nobel Prize candidate? All he can do is come in swinging on momentum and emotion, like his feuds with Takasu (the plastic surgeon known for combative online spats).
    79AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:24
    If you've already cut it down to 30 minutes, just don't sleep at all then.
    Why are you still sleeping even a little?
    86AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:33
    Re: #79
    Hori's theory is that if you massively boost sleep quality, you can cut down the time you need.
    101AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:44
    Re: #86
    Might as well go for a delta function at this point (an instant of infinite intensity but zero duration — math joke).
    108AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:50
    Re: #86
    But if he still needs a bath to wake himself up, doesn't that mean the quality isn't actually high enough for 30 minutes to suffice?
    102AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:45
    If there were a way to not sleep at all, I'd want to know it, but if he's still sleeping regardless, 30 minutes vs a few hours makes no real difference.

    A person who never poops at all would be impressive, but if someone tells me they poop in 5 seconds, all I can say is "huh, guess that's different."
    105AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:48
    Re: #102
    "Speed-pooping," lol.
    Comparing it to one of the three basic human urges is a bit much though.
    106AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:49
    Re: #102
    If you could genuinely poop in 5 seconds, honestly that'd be more enviable.
    Not pooping at all just means you're constipated.
    107AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:50
    Re: #102
    Nah, if there's an actual trick to pooping fast and clean, I'd genuinely want to know it.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Live Commentary board) thread “Hori Daisuke: “30-Minute Sleep, Anyone Can Become a Short Sleeper” — Experts: “Short Sleepers Are Just Sleep Deprived”.”

  • New World Record: China’s Maglev Train Hits 800 km/h Just 5 Seconds After Launch

    China’s magnetic levitation (maglev) railway has reportedly succeeded in a test run that reached 800 km/h in just 5.3 seconds from a standing start, then brought the train to a safe stop. On 5ch’s Science News+ board, discussion has centered on the G-forces passengers would experience, whether decelerating over such a short distance is safe, and how the technology differs from Japan’s superconducting maglev.

    New World Record: China’s Maglev Train Hits 800 km/h Just 5 Seconds After Launch

    The results of a magnetic levitation (maglev) railway test conducted in China are drawing the attention of engineers and security experts around the world.

    The train accelerated rapidly to 800 km/h in a mere 5.3 seconds, then successfully came to a smooth stop.

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

    2AnonymousAug 17, 2026 23:44
    The Shinkansen only does 300 km/h and still has that platypus-bill nose, but this thing hits 800 km/h and looks totally ordinary.
    53AnonymousAug 18, 2026 03:44
    Re: #2
    The platypus-bill shape is to reduce the shock when entering tunnels. If there's no tunnel, the shape can be a lot simpler.
    8AnonymousAug 18, 2026 00:01
    If you accelerate to 800 km/h over 10 seconds, that works out to about 2.27G (roughly 22.25 m/s²). That's like being pressed back into your seat with about 2.27 times the force of Earth's gravity.

    If a 70kg driver experiences a 2G load, the effective weight on their body doubles to 140kg (about 1,372 newtons).
    33AnonymousAug 18, 2026 01:34
    Re: #8
    It's actually 5 seconds, so double that again?
    13AnonymousAug 18, 2026 00:08
    My earlier number was wrong. Accelerating to 800 km/h in 5 seconds works out to about 4.54G.

    If a 70kg driver takes a 4.45G load (4.45 times Earth's gravity), the total force on their body is equivalent to about 311.5kg (3,054.8 newtons).

    Kind of like having three 100kg (220 lb) guys sitting on top of you?
    38AnonymousAug 18, 2026 02:42
    Re: #13
    I have a vague feeling aircraft acceleration/deceleration G-forces are around 1.3G — compare that.
    19AnonymousAug 18, 2026 00:40
    Japan's railgun also has a muzzle velocity of 3 km/s, you know.
    71AnonymousAug 18, 2026 07:25
    Re: #19
    Crank that up just a bit more than double and it'd circle the globe and come back to hit you…
    24AnonymousAug 18, 2026 01:07
    This is a high-speed test using a small-scale vehicle. Judging by the video, the method is close to JR's approach. China also has another test line using the conventional (normal-conducting) electromagnet method that's producing similar results. They're probably still weighing which one to go with.
    108AnonymousAug 18, 2026 16:47
    Re: #24
    Last year's article said the National University of Defense Technology's system uses superconducting electromagnetic levitation and propulsion.
    https://news.sciencenet.cn/htmlnews/2025/12/557701.shtm
    https://www.instagram.com/p/DSrfkgjFB96/

    This time it says the Hubei Donghu Laboratory's system uses electromagnetic levitation support and propulsion — I wonder how that differs?
    34AnonymousAug 18, 2026 01:52
    4.27G, huh? That's nuts.
    54AnonymousAug 18, 2026 03:45
    Re: #34
    Wasn't blackout from blood being unable to reach the brain supposed to start around 5G? Apparently there's individual variation too — some people can't even handle 3G — so with this kind of acceleration, a few passengers would probably pass out, and if anyone has a health condition or is frail, it could get dangerous.
    37AnonymousAug 18, 2026 02:13
    The issue isn't the acceleration, it's the deceleration. If you can't stop safely over a short distance, you can't even reach that speed in the first place.
    39AnonymousAug 18, 2026 02:44
    Re: #37
    Well, but even the original Shinkansen was designed so the driver can't stop in time to avoid an obstacle by sight alone.
    49AnonymousAug 18, 2026 03:15
    In Japan this would just mean longer transfer times with zero benefit — and it'd take 10 minutes just to get down underground to begin with.
    55AnonymousAug 18, 2026 03:52
    However you look at it, this is an aircraft-carrier electromagnetic catapult.
    61AnonymousAug 18, 2026 06:01
    Re: #55
    Carrier catapults are only a few dozen meters long, though. Can this method even reach that kind of speed over such a short distance?
    59AnonymousAug 18, 2026 05:15
    This isn't for humans, it's for humanoid robots. They made it general-purpose, so it has to carry them seated in human-style seats. But since it's a CCP product, the question is whether it can actually hold up to 4.54G.
    60AnonymousAug 18, 2026 05:34
    Re: #59
    If you rode this right after eating, you'd throw it all up spectacularly lol
    92AnonymousAug 18, 2026 11:31
    Inside a train that hits 800 km/h in 5 seconds from a standstill: any unsecured luggage, phones, and standing passengers would go 'flying' toward the rear wall the instant it launches, at speeds exceeding 160 km/h (pro-baseball-fastball territory). The cabin would be a disaster zone in an instant.
    I mean, that's terrifying lol
    97AnonymousAug 18, 2026 12:26
    Re: #92
    Americans would probably love this kind of extreme stuff. There's a small chance the US and China team up on it.
    101AnonymousAug 18, 2026 13:46
    Re: #92
    Everyone would need seatbelts and no eating or drinking allowed. Phones, earbuds, all bags would have to be stowed.
    113AnonymousAug 18, 2026 19:14
    So it's beaten Japan's maglev. China's maglev uses the German system, so unlike Japan's it doesn't need to run underground. It should also be cheaper to build than Japan's method — though Germany itself abandoned commercialization over the cost, even so.
    119AnonymousAug 18, 2026 20:40
    Re: #113
    The reason Japan's superconducting maglev runs underground is that buying up the land for the route isn't realistic.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Science News+) thread “[Railways] New World Record: China’s Maglev Train Hits 800 km/h Just 5 Seconds After Launch.”

  • Akita’s AI Data Center Could Eat Up Over Half the Prefecture’s Electricity — 5ch: “Nothing Good in It for Residents”

    An Asahi Shimbun article reporting that the UAE’s ambassador visited the planned site of an AI data center in Akita Prefecture became a hot topic on 5ch.

    Reports suggest that once fully operational, the facility could consume roughly half of Akita Prefecture’s total electricity usage, sparking a heated debate over the massive amounts of cooling water required, low-frequency noise, higher electricity bills, and real-world examples of resident opposition movements in the United States.

    Can AI Data Centers Save Rural Japan? UAE Ambassador Visits Planned Site in Akita [Akita Prefecture] [The Age of AI]: Asahi Shimbun

    August 19, 2026, 11:44 AM — Paid article

    江湖良二, 上田学, Staff Writer: 篠健一郎

    Source: asahi.com / Original article here

    8AnonymousAug 19, 2026 12:06
    It uses a ton of water and there's a risk of contamination
    Rice farming's gonna be finished, isn't it?
    Between this and the "R" thing, Akita Prefecture seems shady
    564AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:46
    Re: #8
    It's not a nuclear plant, so I don't get how it would cause contamination
    14AnonymousAug 19, 2026 12:08
    Building it in a cold region isn't a bad idea
    Might as well put all that snow to efficient use too
    43AnonymousAug 19, 2026 12:16
    Re: #14
    If they can just keep dumping snow on it endlessly, that might actually work out well
    177AnonymousAug 19, 2026 12:45
    There's a surprising amount of opposition to building data centers — kind of don't get it, since there's no real noise or pollution involved
    182AnonymousAug 19, 2026 12:47
    Re: #177
    Apparently the low-frequency noise is on par with standing right under a wind turbine lol
    213AnonymousAug 19, 2026 12:52
    Re: #177
    A huge warehouse-like building suddenly pops up right in the middle of town
    And it's basically like placing a giant shichirin (charcoal grill) in the middle of the city — it heats up the whole surrounding area lol
    Nothing good in it for the residents lol
    447AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:13
    Re: #177
    In Phoenix, USA, and in Texas, it's already turned into a political issue — pro-data-center state legislators have lost their seats while anti-data-center candidates have won
    249AnonymousAug 19, 2026 13:00
    Prefectures without a single data center are basically IT backwaters
    https://blogs.ricoh.co.jp/RISB/20220201_04.png

    Places with zero probably don't even have fiber-optic lines running through them
    288AnonymousAug 19, 2026 13:10
    Re: #282
    Yeah, I don't get people going on about "the water, the water"
    It's not like they're manufacturing semiconductors, so it's not going to get contaminated
    303AnonymousAug 19, 2026 13:13
    Re: #288
    Well, it is true that they evaporate it like crazy and use an insane amount, though
    292AnonymousAug 19, 2026 13:10
    Electricity bills will definitely go up, and that burden falls on residents
    295AnonymousAug 19, 2026 13:12
    Re: #292
    Wouldn't a place like Akita actually be able to sell off surplus power, which would lower residents' electricity bills?
    301AnonymousAug 19, 2026 13:13
    Re: #292
    In Japan it'll probably just get passed on as a burden to every single Japanese person lol
    302AnonymousAug 19, 2026 13:13
    Re: #292
    Since when are electricity rates calculated per city?
    It's calculated across all of Tohoku Electric Power's service area, so one more data center is only a tiny marginal increase
    443AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:12
    Re: #1
    Data centers are kind of outdated tech, aren't they
    They consume massive amounts of electricity and generate enormous heat, which negatively affects the surrounding environment

    In fact, in the US, which is further along on this, residents are actively pursuing class-action lawsuits and legal opposition movements
    457AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:15
    Re: #443
    What specifically counts as environmental damage here?
    462AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:16
    Re: #457
    Apparently it's pretty noisy.
    There's a constant "whirrrr" sound, 24/7, 365 days a year.
    Not an issue if there's no housing nearby, though.
    569AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:47
    Re: #457
    Of course, the power draw isn't like a factory's — it's the equivalent of an entire city's electricity consumption
    And the huge volume of cooling water is enough for millions of people in a single day, so it's on par with a whole city's water supply
    Air pollution and health damage from the huge number of diesel generators
    The diesel generators are seriously the number one issue that gets residents riled up
    Basically, every single aspect of the scale here is just on a completely different order of magnitude lol
    498AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:28
    Tohoku's population is shrinking anyway, so instead of just flatly saying "no way!", show some spirit and squeeze every yen you can out of them!!
    510AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:31
    Re: #498
    The ones shouting "no way!" look like outsiders to me
    When Akita Prefecture itself is saying "let's build it!" lol
    If they've got their own wind power, it's win-win
    524AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:36
    Re: #498
    The locals were on board with this from the start
    It's the non-locals who are saying no
    536AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:40
    Re: #498
    This is a business for the wealthy, and it'll wreck ordinary people's food supply in the process
    Is there really anyone who wants to cheer on the rich here?
    554AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:44
    Apparently, once it's fully up and running, this data center alone will use about 50% of Akita Prefecture's current total electricity consumption
    558AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:45
    Re: #554
    Why not just cover the fallow rice paddies with solar panels?
    559AnonymousAug 19, 2026 14:45
    Re: #554
    Well, if a foreign-owned data center ends up taking such a disproportionately large share, I think they should be made to shoulder their portion of the electrical infrastructure costs — squeeze the money out of them
    They obviously shouldn't get treated the same as an ordinary domestic company

    This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “Can AI Data Centers Save Rural Japan? UAE Ambassador Visits Planned Site in Akita.”

  • Zion Suzuki’s Aston Villa Transfer Officially Confirmed: Fee Up to ¥6.5 Billion, Champions League Football This Season

    Goalkeeper Zion Suzuki’s transfer to Aston Villa has been officially announced, with the fee reported to reach as much as approximately ¥6.5 billion. On the forum, discussion centered on how the pecking-order battle with starting keeper Emiliano Martínez will play out, along with excitement about teaming up with fellow Japan international Ao Tanaka.

    Aston Villa of the English Premier League announced on their official club website on the 19th that they have signed Japan national team goalkeeper Zion Suzuki (23) from Parma (Italy). According to Sky Italia and other outlets, the transfer fee could reach as much as €35 million (approximately ¥6.48 billion).

    Suzuki, who impressed at the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North/Central America, had been widely expected to move to back-to-back Champions League champions Paris Saint-Germain (France), but no deal was reached. It was reported on the 15th that the PSG move had fallen through, and on the 16th the BBC’s website and other outlets reported that a transfer to Aston Villa — a club long mentioned as a candidate — was drawing closer. Japan’s last line of defense spent two seasons at Parma, making 59 appearances in official matches.

    Birmingham-based Aston Villa won last season’s Europa League and finished fourth in the Premier League, behind only Arsenal, Manchester City, and Manchester United. Managed by Spain’s Unai Emery, the club returns to the Champions League this season for the first time in two seasons.

    Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here

    7AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:04
    The first Japanese player to become a starting GK in the Premier League
    and at a top club in Champions League contention, no less
    this is huge
    177AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:48
    Re: #7
    It'll be pure chaos if Ao Tanaka rips a long-range shot past Zion

    https://imgur.com/9qPfycr.gif
    181AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:49
    Re: #177
    Totally possible — Tanaka was excellent against Villa with a 100% stat line, and he's already scored against big clubs like Chelsea and Liverpool
    227AnonymousAug 19, 2026 21:02
    Re: #177
    The knee-slide-fail enthusiasts rejoice (a running joke about a botched celebration slide)
    14AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:07
    I always thought goalkeeper was the position furthest from the world stage for Japan, but he really showed up…
    Hope Japan can put up a great World Cup result while Zion's still in his prime!
    24AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:11
    Re: #14
    Well, I mean…
    17AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:09
    With Martínez there, he's stuck as the backup keeper no matter what…
    23AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:10
    Re: #17
    Emi Mart's got the track record, sure
    He reportedly wants to leave though, so hopefully some club picks him up
    26AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:11
    Re: #17
    Martínez is having finger surgery, so he might be out for the rest of the year
    How much Zion can show in that window will be key
    28AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:11
    Re: #17
    That guy's an old man now, Zion's gonna overtake him
    27AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:11
    34AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:13
    Wasn't Kawaguchi a Premier League goalkeeper before?
    35AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:14
    Re: #34
    Portsmouth was in the English top flight, but that's not the Premier League
    38AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:14
    Re: #34
    It was the Championship
    He barely played at Portsmouth anyway
    70AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:21
    Re: #34
    Kawaguchi got panned at Portsmouth in England's second division, then mostly played for a small club in the Danish league after that
    72AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:21
    Emi Mart's got that classic Argentine mentality through and through
    77AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:23
    Re: #72
    But he didn't become a regular starter until around age 28, so he had it rough — spent more time on the bench than not before that
    138AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:38
    Whatever happened to the Juventus talk?
    Also, Japanese players get reported like they're tearing it up all over Europe, but when you actually look, they're always at clubs you've never even heard of
    142AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:39
    Re: #138
    Between Juventus and Aston Villa as they stand right now, Villa's actually the better club
    146AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:40
    Re: #138
    Endo at Liverpool
    Itō at Bayern
    Though as for actually playing…
    152AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:41
    Re: #138
    Juventus signed Italy national keeper Vicario on loan — "a long-held dream come true"
    159AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:43
    Is Emi Mart actually leaving?
    He's surely not good enough yet to take the starting spot from him
    165AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:44
    Re: #159
    He's declining, so they want to offload him to a fallen-from-grace Juventus
    170AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:45
    Re: #159
    A winter move looks tough now that it fell through — probably next season then
    171AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:45
    Re: #159
    He's injured and out for about 3 months
    Plus his wages are high, so the club wants to sell him
    254AnonymousAug 19, 2026 21:12
    A photo of the two of them together
    559AnonymousAug 20, 2026 00:29
    Never heard of that club. Is it really the Premier League? Not, like, Saudi Arabia or something?
    564AnonymousAug 20, 2026 00:35
    Re: #559



    Look at the club crest in the background —
    it says 1874 on it
    the club's been around since then

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread「[Soccer] Zion Suzuki’s Aston Villa Transfer Officially Confirmed — Fee Up to Approx. ¥6.5 Billion, Champions League Football This Season」.

  • Denki Groove’s Takkyu Ishino: “Sansen (‘Joining the Fight’) Isn’t War” — Quruli’s Shigeru Kishida Reacts to a 7-Year-Old X Post

    A one-line 2019 post by Denki Groove’s Takkyu Ishino — “‘Sansen’ (‘joining the fight,’ slang for going to a show) isn’t the same as going to war” — blew up after Quruli’s Shigeru Kishida quoted it seven years later. On 5ch, the debate centered on whether the word “sansen” is appropriate to use for concerts, and how it squares with the similarly “battle”-rooted term “kansen” (watching a game/match).

    Aug 19 (Wed), 9:32 AM

    A seven-year-old X post by Denki Groove’s Takkyu Ishino is stirring up quite a wave.

    On April 25, 2019, discussing what it means to go to a live show, Ishino had posted: “A live show isn’t a place to check off what you already know — it’s a place to encounter new sounds and new fun. ‘Yoshu’ (studying up beforehand)? This isn’t school. And ‘sansen’? This isn’t war.”

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

    4AnonymousAug 19, 2026 15:01
    Naruyoshi Kikuchi vs. Shigeru Kishida
    158AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:47
    Re: #4
    Those two actually go way back — I think there was some incident where Kikuchi felt disrespected by Kishida or something, and just went off on him unprompted…
    290AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:48
    Re: #158
    This was like 20 years ago now,
    but he trashed Kishida on the radio,
    painting him as this prickly, twisted, stereotypical Kyoto type.
    Later he and Yoshio Otani also poked fun on the radio at that band Kishida did with Kokko — "Singer Songer" or whatever it was called.
    No idea what actually happened between them, but he clearly doesn't like the guy.
    54AnonymousAug 19, 2026 15:19
    Re: #43
    But a live show isn't even a battle to begin with.
    Kind of nitpicky — I mean, either way's fine honestly.
    141AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:16
    Re: #54
    A festival's half a battle though
    233AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:44
    Re: #54
    Well, you could call it a battle between the artist on stage and the crowd.
    And the crowd's not exactly all friends with each other either —
    people are literally slamming into one another.
    145AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:23
    Post Takkyu's tweet from after Kishida quoted him too lol

    161AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:50
    Re: #145
    Classic Takkyu lol
    239AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:54
    Re: #145
    So very him, I love it
    192AnonymousAug 19, 2026 17:48
    If you're gonna sweat stuff like this you can't exactly watch baseball, can you.
    200AnonymousAug 19, 2026 17:52
    Re: #192
    Give up on second base, but you'd better "kill" the runner at first for sure (baseball jargon for getting someone out).
    243AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:00
    Re: #192
    Takkyu has zero interest in sports in general — he once told Taki (his Denki Groove bandmate), "I can't believe you get so hyped over something so pointless."
    209AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:09
    Honestly so dumb.
    This is just word-policing.

    So are we banning "kansen" (watching a game) for sports too then?
    Guess we gotta say "kan-jiai" instead?

    So lame.
    213AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:15
    Re: #209
    Nobody's even talking about "kansen" here.
    The subject is "sansen," a military term.
    People with weak reading comprehension can't even follow the context.
    217AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:23
    Re: #213
    Trace it back and "kansen" also comes from "watching a battle" —
    that's literally why it uses the character for "battle" in the first place, obviously.
    Are you a monkey or something?
    225AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:34
    Re: #213
    Kansen = treating war as entertainment.

    Which makes it the single most taboo word of all.
    298AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:56
    Sure, you can question whether "sansen" is the most appropriate word to use.
    But if seeing the character for "battle" only ever makes you think "literal nation-vs-nation war"…
    the fact that's the only thought you're capable of…
    Generously put, that's a music nerd who's clueless about the world; bluntly put, that's just a low-information ○○.
    305AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:58
    Re: #298
    "Sansen-ing" a ramen shop. "Sansen-ing" a barbershop. "Sansen-ing" the supermarket.
    Put it that way and I think you can hear how weird it sounds.
    321AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:04
    Not war, but they're "The Three Musketeers"
    338AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:11
    Re: #321
    Not war, but:
    Chono
    Muto
    Hashimoto
    (New Japan Pro-Wrestling's famed "Three Musketeers")
    434AnonymousAug 19, 2026 22:45
    You know what happens in the end if you keep stacking up forbidden words like that? 😄

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Bulletin+) thread “Takkyu Ishino’s 7-Year-Old X Post Back in the Spotlight — “And Sansen Isn’t War” — Quruli’s Shigeru Kishida Quotes It: “I Think So Too”.”

  • FIRE’d with ¥120 Million, Declared Himself a Stay-at-Home Dad — 8 Months Later, Wife and Daughter Are Gone. 5ch: “Yeah, Obviously She’d Leave”

    A Yahoo News article about a 42-year-old man who FIRE’d (Financial Independence, Retire Early) with ¥120 million in assets and declared himself a full-time stay-at-home dad — only for his lifestyle to fall apart and his wife and daughter to leave him eight months later — became a hot topic on 5ch.

    The thread mixed pointed math arguing that “full FIRE just isn’t realistic with a wife and kid to support” with plenty of voices suspecting the article itself was nothing but a made-up story.

    Things went fine for a while after I quit my job. But once I no longer had a reason I absolutely had to get up in the morning, my life gradually fell apart.

    I’d wake up after my wife and daughter had already left the house — often not until nearly noon. Even when I meant to cook dinner, it felt like too much trouble, so I started relying on delivery and store-bought side dishes instead. I stopped exercising, stopped seeing anyone, and only opened my laptop to check my portfolio.

    I’d go whole days unshaven in loungewear, and there were even days I started drinking in the afternoon. Naturally, my wife wasn’t going to stay quiet about it.

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

    4AnonymousAug 21, 2026 07:55
    There are way too many articles like this trying to talk people out of FIREing, because it shrinks the workforce.
    7AnonymousAug 21, 2026 07:57
    Re: #4
    Just let AI take the jobs already.
    8AnonymousAug 21, 2026 07:57
    I mean, this isn't the internet — in real life, having "unemployed" as your title makes you feel pretty small.
    10AnonymousAug 21, 2026 07:58
    It's supposed to be shared marital property, and he just went and FIRE'd on his own, quit working, and started acting all high and mighty about it. Of course she'd walk out.
    72AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:27
    Re: #10
    Stuff like this getting normalized is exactly why it's better not to marry carelessly these days. The risk is way too high.
    20AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:00
    Right on cue, some self-absorbed old guy showed up in the Yahoo comments to talk about himself lol
    25AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:01
    Re: #20
    Seems like a bunch of bored people with nothing to do even after FIREing are crawling out of the woodwork now.
    54AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:14
    Deflation's over — from here on prices are going to climb hard to catch up with the rest of the world. Isn't a few tens of millions of yen kind of scary to retire on with that coming?
    61AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:19
    Re: #54
    Stock prices climb with inflation too, though.
    64AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:21
    Eh, whatever. Anyone whose "plan" falls apart just from reading an article like this was going to go bankrupt and become a burden on the state anyway.
    68AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:24
    Re: #64
    Nah, this is just a pressure valve for people too broke to FIRE themselves.
    80AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:32
    If even a big outlet like Yahoo is covering stories like this, you're better off just doing it yourself. Actually, does anyone even check Yahoo News?
    86AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:34
    Re: #80
    Yahoo News checks their click numbers really closely when picking articles. It just means a lot of people read stuff like this.
    81AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:32
    There's no way you can pull off full FIRE with a wife and kid on just ¥120 million. Bring me a better fabricated story than this.
    94AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:38
    Re: #81
    He's still got it invested, so it should be plenty.
    106AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:52
    Re: #94
    If you follow the 4% rule for withdrawals, that's under ¥5 million a year. That might work living alone, but isn't it pretty thin for supporting a family? And with the risk of a crash on top of that, full FIRE seems rough. He should've gone at least Side FIRE or Barista FIRE instead.
    108AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:54
    Re: #106
    Where exactly do the investment returns disappear to?
    119AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:00
    Re: #106
    The 4% rule is the line where withdrawing 4% is supposed to keep your principal from shrinking (i.e., maintain it). If you're not worried about leaving an inheritance for the kid and you go "Die With Zero," you can spend a lot more every year.
    107AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:53
    "You're fired!"

    That's the one I was thinking of.
    111AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:55
    Re: #107
    Trrrump! 🇺🇸 (riffing on Trump's exaggerated pronunciation of "fired")
    110AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:54
    If you've actually done this you'd know — 3% or 4% is the bare minimum for the safe scenario. Right now returns are running around 20% a year.
    118AnonymousAug 21, 2026 08:59
    Re: #110
    Well yeah, that's because we're in a bubble right now. There's no point judging a long-term investment by a short-term number. Forget that figure — going by the long-term average return of something like the S&P 500 index, you should be planning around 4-5%.
    130AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:07
    As a married guy who's already FIRE'd myself, all I can think is "that's not how it goes."
    132AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:08
    Re: #130
    What do you actually do with your time now that you're FIRE'd?
    135AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:09
    Re: #132
    My kid's 9 months old, so right now it's mostly childcare, shopping, and gaming. Before the baby was born, my wife and I used to travel and go fishing too.
    154AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:19
    Re: #135
    Doesn't having an unemployed parent mess a kid up?
    136AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:09
    Isn't working actually more fun than FIREing? I don't really get the appeal.
    139AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:11
    Re: #136
    You can still work if you want. It's just that once making money stops being your life's purpose, you get bored of it. That's why guys like Kiriya-san (a famous Japanese investor known for living almost entirely off shareholder perks) go off and do goofy stuff like that.
    140AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:12
    If he's 42 and started working at 22, is it really possible to save up ¥120 million in 20 years? What kind of salary would that even take?
    142AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:14
    Re: #140
    Maybe he leveraged up and took on risk during the COVID bubble, or picked the right generative-AI stocks at the right time.
    143AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:15
    Re: #140
    Even on a ¥5 million salary, that's ¥100 million over 20 years — totally doable.
    144AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:15
    Re: #140
    Saving that much would be insanely hard, but if he was investing it, the market's grown like crazy in recent years, so it's doable.
    153AnonymousAug 21, 2026 09:18
    By the way, I'm off to take a morning nap with my kid now.

    *This article was compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyō G board) thread “A 42-Year-Old Man FIRE’d with ¥120 Million and Declared Himself a “Stay-at-Home Dad” — Eight Months Later, His Wife and Daughter Were Both Gone.”

  • “Got Scolded at Work” Advice Thread Derails Into a Fried Rice Debate After OP’s Explanation Falls Short

    When the original poster (OP) sought advice after getting scolded at work, commenters piled on, criticizing the explanation as too vague. The back-and-forth over break times and whether a report was even necessary went nowhere, and before long the thread derailed into a casual chat about favorite fried rice and ramen.

    1AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:40
    Contacted the client scheduled for the afternoon and had them move it to the morning
    ↓
    While sorting that out it hit 1:00 PM, so I took my break
    2AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:40
    Write it in more detail, I can't tell what happened at all
    7AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:43
    Re: #2
    If I write more it'll turn into a wall of text
    Re: #3
    I did take my break
    10AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:44
    Re: #7
    Long is fine
    This text tells us nothing
    16AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:46
    Re: #7
    No, that's not it — wasn't the temp worker paired with you basically saying "skip the break and stick to schedule"?
    Which means OP wasn't wrong to take the break
    3AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:41
    Pretty sure you're required to take breaks, right?
    Forget the temp worker, this one's on the company
    6AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:42
    Am I the only one who has no clue what's going on here…
    12AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:45
    Re: #6
    Yep, just you
    Re: #8
    You'll just get reported on again
    8AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:44
    Just put that out-of-line temp worker in their place and this whole thing's over
    14AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:45
    If you were actually a good worker, nobody would've reported you over something like this — so this one's on you
    17AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:46
    Re: #14
    I am a good worker
    Re: #15
    I wasn't slacking off
    15AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:46
    So basically, you're a temp worker too who got scolded for slacking off?
    54AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:11
    I wish burnt-soy-sauce fried rice zealots would just disappear — the right amount of soy sauce in fried rice is an amount you can barely even taste
    55AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:12
    Lately I'm into skipping shantan (Chinese-style chicken bouillon powder)
    But I dump in an absurd amount of MSG
    56AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:13
    Re: #54
    Well, that's one school of thought I guess
    Hate to admit it, but fair
    66AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:16
    Re: #54
    Yep
    Re: #55
    What's shantan?
    65AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:16
    I always order fried rice and ramen together and judge a shop's whole level off both — is Wao the only one who does this? ("Wao" = the poster's own self-given nickname)
    74AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:19
    Re: #64
    Not lying
    Re: #65
    Wao
    78AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:20
    Re: #65
    I get where you're coming from
    But there are fewer and fewer shops where you can even judge both like that, and that's sad
    79AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:20
    What's this even about?
    82AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:21
    Re: #79
    Apparently OP got scolded at work, but the explanation was such garbage that we ended up talking about fried rice instead
    84AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:22
    Re: #78
    Oh, so it's a restaurant thing
    Re: #79
    No, it's about getting scolded at work
    85AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:23
    Re: #82
    What exactly was garbage about the explanation?
    Re: #83
    Because you won't answer people's questions
    Just answer yes or no
    93AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:25
    Re: #85
    You couldn't make sense of anything from the original post — it only started to click after several rounds of follow-up questions
    But you're actually replying and trying to explain, so I don't hate you for it
    102AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:28
    Re: #91
    And here we go rebuilding the story again
    Re: #93
    Well, writing the whole thing out would make it way too long
    103AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:30
    Re: #102
    That's considerate in a way
    You grow a little every time you start a thread
    107AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:31
    Re: #102
    Long is fine, just hurry up and write it — or we're taking this over to the ramen thread
    86AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:23
    Re: #78
    I get that, but you'd be surprised how many places still do it
    Hunting them down and going on food trips is half the fun
    92AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:24
    Re: #86
    Deeper than it looks
    Re: #87
    That's just trolling
    98AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:27
    Re: #86
    Nice
    I'm going exploring this weekend
    87AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:23
    This thread's really taking off
    Kind of jealous of how popular it got
    125AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:46
    Lately I don't get out for ramen much, and honestly cup ramen's starting to feel like enough — what is this phenomenon
    127AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:47
    Re: #125
    It's the era of ¥1,000 (~$7) a bowl now
    Can't justify spending that much on just ramen
    130AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:51
    Re: #125
    Sounds like you're just broke
    Re: #127
    Everything's gotten more expensive, that's just how it is now

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from a 5ch (Anything Goes Live board / なんでも実況G) thread titled “I got scolded at work, but I’m not in the wrong here, right?“.

  • FF14 Players Split Over “Cheating Isn’t Evil” Defiance — 5ch: “Any Other Online Game Would Get You Banned for This”

    In FF14, popular even on PS5, a debate over the use of MODs and DPS-tracking tools flared up on the console wars (geha) board. One post argued that “in other online games, cheaters get pushed out of the community, but in FF14 it’s the people who *don’t* cheat who end up feeling like outsiders.” In response, some defended the developers’ refusal to add anti-cheat measures, arguing it could destroy the culture of racing to clear raids and post the fastest logs. Opinions were split.

    There was also frustration over how this plays out on consoles, given a MOD-centric culture that creates a gap between platforms.

    5AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:17
    MODs are just common sense on PC
    Only the Nintendo fanboys ("Nishi-kun," 5ch slang for anti-Nintendo trolls posing as fans) are against it
    32AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:04
    Re: #5
    You can't properly install MODs on PS
    ↓
    PS piggy: "…MODs are evil!"
    12AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:25
    https://jp.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodestone/topics/detail/05b39a26f9740ef1bc2baa91ec3a661a2d2802c9

    Our "guru" (sarcastic nickname for producer Naoki Yoshida) never said "MODs are banned"
    26AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:48
    Re: #12
    He said anything that affects other players is a no-go, though
    13AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:28
    This game has the worst community manners in the world, doesn't it
    52AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:45
    Re: #13
    That's just the starting line — this is a game where in-game disputes have actually led to real deaths
    24AnonymousAug 20, 2026 09:47
    The reason cheating has spread this far in FF14 really comes down to the community's rotten manners
    If you cheat in FF14, instead of getting called out, people tell you "It's your own fault for not cheating too, lol" or "If you're not using tools, don't bother showing up to high-end content!"
    In other online games, cheaters get shunned by the community, but in FF14 most people see everyone else cheating and think "guess I'll cheat too" — the community's manners are just done for
    63AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:14
    Re: #24
    You say "other online games," but
    Western MMORPGs often have official MOD support.
    I was surprised UO (Ultima Online) just came bundled with a well-regarded MOD tool as standard.

    Well, I guess since they only market to Japanese users, they ended up banning MODs…
    69AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:38
    Re: #24
    Wasn't there a Western player who got world-first on a new boss and then quit FF14 with the parting shot, "Finally, I get to escape this pathetic cheater pool"?
    Calling it a "cheater pool" is pretty brutal
    31AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:00
    MODs get popular because the vanilla game is trash
    33AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:07
    Re: #31
    This, basically
    FF14 is riddled with MODs simply because it's low quality as a product
    35AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:12
    "C'mon, somebody running logs join our pug!"
    A friend of mine actually said this — cracked me up (lol)
    56AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:57
    Re: #35
    Just upload your own logs then
    Wanting someone else to do it, and publicly at that — are you dumb?
    46AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:35
    Since the game basically assumes everyone cheats, console players have no rights, huh?
    So why'd they even release it on Switch 2
    49AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:38
    Re: #46
    Probably because there's no playerbase there?
    They released it on Xbox too and that didn't help either
    48AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:36
    This is exactly why PC gamers get hated on even in cross-play
    And then they complain when things get broken because of it
    51AnonymousAug 20, 2026 10:39
    And it's not just the tools — the community's manners are like this even without them


    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/HQBby-BbgAAHUuR.jpg
    59AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:00
    Re: #51
    Nothing weird about this, honestly
    You can tell from checking someone's gear during matchmaking that something's off, and in this case it looks like glamour (cosmetic) gear at item level 0 — getting called out is fair
    86AnonymousAug 20, 2026 12:12
    Re: #51
    Checking someone's gear just to call them out —
    what a community, man
    64AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:21
    No matter how well-regarded a MOD is, it still shows zero respect for the developers
    How can people just go modifying someone else's work without permission?
    67AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:34
    Re: #64
    You didn't know?
    The producer here actually said he wants to thank the people who make them
    By the way, the ones losing their minds over this are PS loyalists — they've been bitterly griping for years that it's "unfair" they can't use them

    Apparently they even want MOD support pulled from PS entirely
    70AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:39
    Re: #67
    Oh, you didn't know?
    That guy only sees FF14 as a product, nothing more
    75AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:44
    Re: #70
    Is there such a thing as a game a company releases that ISN'T a product for sale?
    Unless you mean like some test project made by new hires, or a bonus freebie?

    Honestly, I don't get what you're trying to say
    Even free-to-play games
    are tools for making money, you know…
    76AnonymousAug 20, 2026 11:58
    MODs that change your appearance are honestly pretty sketchy stuff these days, online or offline
    79AnonymousAug 20, 2026 12:05
    Re: #76
    Uh… do you even play games?
    81AnonymousAug 20, 2026 12:08
    Just keep all the scumbags quarantined in FF14, please
    83AnonymousAug 20, 2026 12:11
    Re: #81
    We need to quarantine them from the boss man who's out there thanking those guys
    96AnonymousAug 20, 2026 12:28
    Re: #86
    Sure, every online game has people calling stuff out…
    builds, items, gear
    Are you new to online games or something?
    Even in FPS games, people leave if you pull some garbage move
    98AnonymousAug 20, 2026 12:31
    Re: #96
    Even in Battlefield people leave the squad
    Like when you need to push after a revive beacon's down, and someone starts camping as a useless potato sniper instead
    106AnonymousAug 20, 2026 12:57
    60 Anonymous Security Guard [Lv.0][Sprout] (Wacchoi 7f15-GczT [2001:268:948b:fb29:*]) sage 2026/08/19 (Wed) 18:47:13.28 ID:GWMd0+hM0
    Things have been dull lately, so my group of 4 tanks and healers has started deliberately toggling off tank stance to just pad DPS, and we clear raids and extreme trials while intentionally leaving one specific party member dead the whole fight, just for kicks
    Watching them rage-quit is hilarious, we have a blast about it on voice chat
    108AnonymousAug 20, 2026 13:02
    Re: #106
    Building a game that turns into "Toxic Online" is exactly why only this kind of trash sticks around
    It's all Yoshida's fault
    112AnonymousAug 20, 2026 13:18
    FF14 must really not consider it "evil," since it doesn't even have anti-cheat installed
    But I still think it's lazy that they haven't closed the platform gap, when they clearly could, despite releasing on multiple platforms
    115AnonymousAug 20, 2026 13:24
    Re: #112
    I think the reason FF14 doesn't have anti-cheat is that it would kill everything built around ACT (the third-party combat parser)
    Meaning FFLogs would die, and so would the raid-race scene where people flex their clear times
    There's also a whole segment of players doing Savage raids on the assumption that tools are available, so adding anti-cheat would basically be suicide — it'd destroy the main content
    116AnonymousAug 20, 2026 13:28
    Re: #115
    No, if the game needs a DPS meter, the devs should just build one in officially…
    Otherwise that's basically the same as saying console players can't participate
    121AnonymousAug 20, 2026 13:34
    Re: #116
    That's a fair point
    But if the devs officially add a DPS meter, this garbage community will use it as an excuse to start gatekeeping people
    And the devs clearly don't want to be blamed for that, so they can't implement it
    125AnonymousAug 20, 2026 13:53
    FF14 should really split servers between console and PC
    I know other MMOs riddled with cheats too
    but at least those keep the platforms separate
    126AnonymousAug 20, 2026 13:57
    Re: #125
    The population's too small for that, it'd never work

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware & Industry (Console Wars)) thread “[Barrier Sad News] FF14, Hugely Popular on PS5, Sees Fans Double Down That “Cheating Isn’t Evil” — This Community’s Manners Are Just Awful“.

  • Kokubo Reo Brian’s Possible Nigeria Call-Up Has 5ch Buzzing: ‘Just Say Kawaguchi and Narazaki’

    Foreign media are reporting that GK Kokubo Reo Brian (STVV), a product of Kashiwa Reysol’s youth academy, may choose to play for Nigeria instead of Japan. On 5ch, the news sparked comparisons with Suzuki Zion, who has become Japan’s undisputed starting goalkeeper, and the discussion expanded into a broader debate about the thin depth at the goalkeeper position and the generational transition at the national team.

    Football Tribe, 2026.08.18, 7:47 am

    GK Kokubo Reo Brian, a product of Kashiwa Reysol’s youth academy, has been rumored to be leaving Belgian first-division club Sint-Truiden VV (STVV). Now, the possibility that he may not choose Japan for his senior national team has emerged, sparking comparisons with Japan’s current first-choice keeper, GK Suzuki Zion (Parma).

    Foreign outlet Get Football ran a feature on Kokubo’s situation on the 17th, addressing the possibility of a transfer this summer: “Now 25, Kokubo put in a decent performance in his first year at STVV, but it was really last season that he broke out. Plenty of clubs should be keeping an eye on him — especially given that he has only one year left on his current contract.”

    Source: football-tribe.com / Original article here

    3AnonymousAug 19, 2026 15:53
    Kind of like Wakabayashi and Wakashimazu (the rival goalkeeper duo from the manga Captain Tsubasa).
    60AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:18
    Re: #3
    If that's the case, could they pull a Wakashimazu-style conversion and turn him into a forward?
    He looks tall enough for it…
    138AnonymousAug 19, 2026 17:14
    Re: #3
    At least say Kawaguchi and Narazaki (Japan's legendary GK rivals from the late '90s/2000s).
    260AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:31
    Re: #3
    Don't lump Zion and Kokubo together.
    Kokubo's below Umeda even.
    6AnonymousAug 19, 2026 15:54
    Does he currently hold dual citizenship?
    112AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:54
    Re: #6
    Wikipedia lists his nationality as Japanese only.
    No idea how accurate that is though.
    153AnonymousAug 19, 2026 17:32
    Re: #6
    Nigeria doesn't strip citizenship acquired by descent.

    So even if he picks a nationality in Japan by age 20,
    his Nigerian citizenship wouldn't automatically disappear.

    Unless he specifically goes through a renunciation process,
    there's a good chance he's still a Nigerian citizen.
    292AnonymousAug 19, 2026 20:01
    Re: #6
    Only one parent is from Nigeria — he himself grew up in Japan as a Japanese person, so it probably wouldn't count as dual citizenship.
    16AnonymousAug 19, 2026 15:57
    There's still a shot at being the No. 2 keeper, right?
    He just needs to earn his way up that far, and that should be doable.

    The problem is GK3 and below —
    basically zero chance there.

    Back in the Kawaguchi-Narazaki era, nobody outside those two ever got a look-in.
    22AnonymousAug 19, 2026 15:59
    Re: #16
    Kojima: "I was happy I got to watch the World Cup from the best seat in the house." (a nod to backup keeper Kojima's famous self-deprecating bench quote)
    241AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:15
    Re: #16
    Araki Rui is waiting in the wings too.
    54AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:14
    Nigeria's national team goalkeepers
    Francis Uzoho, 27, Omonimo, Cyprus (played at the 2018 World Cup)
    Maduka Okoye, 26, Udinese, Italy (father Nigerian, mother German — born and raised in Germany)
    Arthur Okonkwo, 24, Wrexham, Wales (born and raised in England — capped for England up to U-18)
    71AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:26
    Re: #54
    No way Kokubo forces his way into that mix.
    101AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:44
    Re: #54
    Doesn't look like they're short on keeper talent either, so this isn't happening.
    219AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:57
    Re: #54
    Judging by this, Nigeria does seem willing to reach out to guys raised elsewhere.
    But it's probably a numbers game — contact a ton of players and count it lucky if even 10% bite.
    105AnonymousAug 19, 2026 16:46
    I wonder if people who really know goalkeeping can even tell the difference.
    Zion might be overrated — gives off Kawashima vibes.
    147AnonymousAug 19, 2026 17:19
    Re: #105
    He turned into a completely different player in three years.
    Youth is scary.
    155AnonymousAug 19, 2026 17:32
    Re: #105
    He's said to have a narrow range, so it's scary pushing the back line up high. Taniguchi doesn't have the speed, so the defense sat back and built a low block, which kept Zion's limited range from being exposed — but that also meant they couldn't play a compact defense linked to a high press, so Brazil did whatever they wanted against them.
    178AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:04
    Come on, keep some depth lol
    His performance could drop from injury or just plain decline, you know?
    Japan's goalkeeper pool is thin to begin with.
    179AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:05
    Re: #178
    Nah, the generation below him is scary good.
    189AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:16
    Goalkeeper really is a cruel position, isn't it.
    Zion's locked in as the starter through the 2034 Saudi World Cup no matter what anyone does, and honestly there's a good chance he's still the starter for the 2038 tournament too.
    (If anything, if he's still playing, he could easily be the third-choice keeper even at the 2042 tournament lol)
    Which means every Japanese goalkeeper who peaks during that span has zero chance.
    Zion is probably going to bring more attention to the goalkeeper position than ever — but ironically, it might scare off talented kids who'd otherwise want to become keepers.
    190AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:19
    Re: #189
    It's not that simple — a talent who surpasses Zion will turn up.
    215AnonymousAug 19, 2026 18:51
    Re: #189
    There are plenty of excellent young keepers coming up, starting with Araki, so it's questionable whether even the next spot is safe.
    226AnonymousAug 19, 2026 19:07
    Re: #189
    Too dumb, lmao
    There's every chance some guy with a name like "Zeion" shows up and blows right past Zion.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuho+) thread “[Soccer] “Because Suzuki Zion is there…” Nigeria call-up buzz emerges for Kashiwa Reysol product Kokubo Reo Brian!“