Author: Japan Reacts Editorial

Miyabi Natsuyaki, formerly of Hello! Project, announced on social media that she’ll appear at “YAMATO Spirit Fes 2027.” The event is held to help revitalize Kanoya City in Kagoshima Prefecture — hometown of former Yokohama DeNA BayStars player Yamato — and will run as a two-day show next January, marking its 5th anniversary. The announced lineup includes 2000s-era acts like ET-KING, 19, ZONE, Hysteric Blue, Yusuke, SEAMO, and Rina Aiuchi. On 5ch (a major Japanese forum), the reaction split between posters in their late 30s/40s cheering the throwback lineup and others raising concerns about the mismatched name recognition among acts, the cheap ticket price, and how anyone’s supposed to reach railway-less Kanoya City.

22Anonymous2026/10/05 (Mon) 20:01:37.54

Last year's lineup:

24Anonymous2026/10/05 (Mon) 20:03:05.66

Don't know anybody except Rina Aiuchi.

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “Miyabi Natsuyaki Confirmed for “YAMATO Spirit Fes 2027”!!!!!!!!!!“

A 5ch thread titled with the baiting claim that “Japan ranks 4th among major developed nations for judicial human-rights compliance” quickly spiraled into a broader pile-on against Japan’s criminal justice system. Posters brought up the real-life episode from Japan’s 2013 review before the UN Committee Against Torture, when the ambassador for human rights shouted “shut up” in English, alongside a string of wrongful-conviction cases — including the Iizuka case and the torture and evidence fabrication committed by detective Asao Kurebayashi. While many comments zeroed in on Japan’s notoriously long pretrial detention and the secrecy of interrogations, others argued the deeper problem isn’t the legal system itself but the public’s poor grasp of the presumption of innocence — splitting the debate into criticism of the system versus criticism of public attitudes.

78AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:36

This is a country where the Prime Minister gets to weigh in on judicial appointments

(image)

79AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:36

Re: #78
How is this actually different from China?
It's the same thing

80AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:37

Re: #78
Separation of powers? More like unification of powers 😤

82AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:37

Re: #78
That's a mess lol

93AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:40

The King of Wrongful Convictions
Asao Kurebayashi

In the cases he personally handled — the Koura case (death sentence, later acquitted), the Futamata case (death sentence, later acquitted), the Kojima case (life sentence, later acquitted), and the Shimada case (death sentence, later acquitted) — he tortured innocent people into false confessions and fabricated evidence, manufacturing one wrongful conviction after another. His methods went on to influence other Shizuoka Prefectural Police officers, including his own subordinates, and even though Kurebayashi himself wasn't directly involved in the investigation, they helped create the conditions for later wrongful convictions like the Hakamada case (death sentence, later acquitted).

Because he used every method imaginable to torture suspects into confessing, he's known as the "Torture King of the Showa Era" and the "King of Wrongful Convictions."

Kurebayashi devised various torture methods himself but didn't carry them out directly, instead ordering his subordinates to do so. A book about the Futamata case by Heihachi Yamazaki also alleges that Kurebayashi took bribes from the person believed to be the actual perpetrator.


(image)

95AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:40

Re: #93
Nah, this is way too much
Honestly this guy should've gotten the death penalty himself

96AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:40

Re: #93
People really can become this evil…
Does this guy not have a conscience at all?

97AnonymousOct 5, 2026 19:41

Re: #93
If things had improved after this, fine, but it's wild that Japan's still churning out wrongful convictions even in the Reiwa era, like the Okawa case

※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Live News General) thread “[Great News] Japan Ranks 4th in the World for Judicial Human Rights Compliance Among Major Developed Nations!!!!!!!!!“

On October 5, 2026, the Kirin Cup match between Japan and New Zealand kicked off at 19:30 at the National Stadium. The starting lineup included captain Ritsu Doan, Daichi Kamada, Ayase Ueda, Takefusa Kubo, and Ayumu Seko, among others. On a 5ch thread (Hello! Project board), alongside tactical talk about formations, New Zealand’s size advantage, and how to defend against their tall, long-ball-heavy style, much of the attention centered on the fact that actress Haruka Fukuhara — wife of Takefusa Kubo — was watching from the stands. After the match, news photos of Fukuhara watching the game were posted in the thread, and the discussion spread to cover both the action on the pitch and the celebrity in the crowd.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Japan VS New Zealand, Kirin Cup Final.”