Japan Reacts

Category: Entertainment

  • Audrey’s Wakabayashi to Leave ‘School Kakumei!’ at End of September, Kasuga Staying On

    Audrey’s Masayasu Wakabayashi announced on the September 20 broadcast of Nippon TV’s “School Kakumei!” that he will leave the show at the end of September. Near the end of the program, prompted by Mitsuyoshi Uchimura, he made the announcement himself, touching on throat trouble as one reason. His comedy partner, Toshihiko Kasuga, will continue on the show. On 5channel threads, reactions split between those taking the announcement at face value, those speculating he’s shifting his focus toward his recent writing career, and others lamenting the turnover among the show’s regular cast.

    9/20 (Sun) 1:54 PM

    Masayasu Wakabayashi (47), of the comedy duo Audrey, appeared on Nippon TV’s “School Kakumei!” (Sundays, 11:45 AM) on the 20th and announced he will leave the show at the end of September.

    Near the end of the show, as the cast lined up together, Mitsuyoshi Uchimura turned to Wakabayashi and said, “Now, there’s an announcement from the show.” Wakabayashi reported, “I’ll be graduating from ‘School Kakumei!’ as of September. Thank you very much!”

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

    6AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:01
    He's nearly 50 now — maybe he's making room for a younger talent from the same talent agency.
    9AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:03
    Sandwichman, Bananaman, and now Audrey too — all dropping out.
    10AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:03
    Stepping down over throat trouble? Are the other regulars going to quit too?
    56AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:58
    Re: #10
    Is there any show besides this one where he's still expected to act like a comedian? That's exactly it — this guy's already stopped being a comedian.
    11AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:04
    I've always wondered — with Uchimura already there, is Wakabayashi even necessary? Kasuga's fine since he plays a different role, though.
    24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:14
    Re: #11
    He used to be the one managing Kasuga back in the days when Kasuga was a total loose cannon, but that's not needed anymore.
    12AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:04
    I watch it for Meruru and Hikaru Takahashi.
    76AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:43
    Re: #12
    Sei-chan stopped showing up at some point without me noticing, so now I only catch it occasionally.
    13AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:04
    Same as with 'Iitomo,' 'Seven Rules,' and 'Hirunandesu' — he just up and quits these shows.
    15AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:05
    Meruru's edges have softened and she's gotten incredibly cute.
    16AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:05
    So this was her first regular gig? I thought it was a Hinatazaka46 show.
    17AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:07
    It's a show only idol-fan otaku watch anyway. Audrey, who only pushes Sakamichi-group (Nogizaka/Hinatazaka) idols, is probably just in the way there.
    19AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:12
    Your late 40s is when your body and mind stop letting you push through — overdo it and you end up like Himura or Nainai's Okamura, dealing with depression or a breakdown.
    21AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:12
    17 years — Ucchan's shows just keep running forever.
    25AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:16
    This means his reigning radio show (Audrey's All Night Nippon) is on its way out too.
    31AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:25
    He doesn't seem to get basic loyalty and human decency to begin with — makes you wonder if things are okay at home.
    32AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:26
    Wakabayashi's been acting more like a self-styled pundit lately. Well, as long as Kasuga's doing fine, that's what really matters.
    34AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:33
    Please, whatever happens, don't end 'Achikochi Audrey.'
    38AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:36
    It's because he's got the morning drama (asadora) coming up.
    58AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:01
    Re: #38
    Isn't that Bakarhythm you're thinking of?
    41AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:40
    I don't think duos even get panel-show lineup spots together anymore.
    48AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:46
    Meruru's really mellowed out.
    57AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:00
    Re: #48
    Somehow that's not the Meruru I remember from about three years ago.
    54AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:56
    He's probably getting serious about writing because he was stung by his novel getting trashed.
    64AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:06
    Re: #54
    That's not going to work out. If your debut novel flops — the one with the most time, motivation, and marketing strategy behind it — that's a bad sign.
    72AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:37
    Basically he's cutting back on TV work because he's making money online, right?
    73AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:39
    Re: #72
    The guy who calls people who comment on his social media 'gnats' is making money online?
    78AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:45
    Re: #73
    Apparently he writes essays on note (a Japanese blogging platform) and makes as much as 10 million yen a month from that alone.
    81AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:10
    Re: #78
    Huh. Haven't heard anything about Seiten's sales lately, but good for him if he's making money writing. If I pulled in that kind of monthly income, I wouldn't bother working anywhere else either lol

    Background and Points of Discussion

    “School Kakumei!” is a long-running Sunday morning variety show on Nippon TV, also known for featuring members from Nogizaka46 and Hinatazaka46. This time, the only reason Wakabayashi himself gave for leaving was throat trouble, with no further details made public. Opinions on 5channel split between those accepting this explanation at face value and those who believe he’s shifting his focus toward his recent book and essay-writing on note; the latter view, however, is speculation based on past reporting and his social media behavior, and no evidence has been presented directly linking it to his departure. It’s also worth noting that comedians in their late 40s scaling back regular TV commitments isn’t unique to Wakabayashi — it’s described as a trend seen among other comedians of his generation as well.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “Audrey’s Wakabayashi Leaving ‘School Kakumei!’ at End of September, Cites ‘Throat Trouble…’ — Kasuga Continues.”

  • Aichi Asian Games: National Anthem Skipped Again at Women’s Handball Match — All Events Suspend Anthem Playback

    At the Asian Games currently underway in Aichi and Nagoya, the national anthems of both teams were not played before the women’s handball match between South Korea and Hong Kong on the 19th. This came after a mistake the previous day, the 18th, during the men’s hockey match, when North Korea’s anthem was mistakenly played instead of South Korea’s, forcing the organizing committee to apologize to the South Korean delegation. The host, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), reportedly suspended anthem performances across all events temporarily while it sorted out its operational setup. Players were given no advance explanation, and South Korea’s coach expressed bewilderment, saying, “I’ve never seen anything like this at an international competition.” Reactions on 5ch were split between those who saw it as mere confusion from staff shortages and those who suspected deliberate sabotage or political motives.

    1AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:45
    At the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, the national anthems of both teams were not played before the women's handball match between South Korea and Hong Kong held on the 19th. According to South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo and others, this followed a mistake the previous day in the men's hockey match, where North Korea's anthem was played instead of South Korea's by error, prompting the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) to temporarily suspend anthem performances across all events while it got its operational setup in order.
    According to reports, in the South Korea-Hong Kong match on the 19th, the match began after player introductions without the usual anthem performance. There was no advance explanation, and players from both teams reportedly appeared confused. South Korea's coach, Lee Gye-cheon, said, "I've never seen anything like this at an international competition." The men's handball match between Kuwait and Iran also went ahead without anthems.
    In the men's hockey match on the 18th, North Korea's anthem played during the moment meant for South Korea's anthem, prompting South Korea to lodge a protest with the games' organizing committee. The committee had apologized to the South Korean delegation.
    6AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:48
    Japan has become a third-rate country…
    7AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:48
    Don't pin the blame on some underpaid temp staffer.
    8AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:49
    Did they even set a proper run-of-show and rehearse it?
    10AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:50
    This has gotta be deliberate.
    33AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:01
    Re: #10
    Well, suspending it across the board is deliberate by definition.
    Though not explaining why might be the real problem.
    12AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:50
    At this point you'd almost have to suspect some kind of influence operation.
    15AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:52
    Playing North Korea's anthem for South Korea is way too dark a joke.
    16AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:52
    They mixed up South Korea's and North Korea's anthems, so…

    We're cancelling anthem playback for ALL events!!


    What kind of operation is this…
    17AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:53
    I thought the anthem was only played at the medal ceremony.
    18AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:53
    Okay seriously, isn't there a spy planted in there somewhere?
    19AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:54
    First South Korea's shuttle bus never showed up,
    and now it's always South Korea running into problems… weird lol
    20AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:54
    Mixing up anthems happens all the time, doesn't it?
    No need to make such a big deal out of it.
    21AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:54
    The shipping-container dorms might be a budget or staffing issue,
    but not playing the anthem or not running the buses is just sloppiness.
    Are Nagoya City or the operator just hiring gig workers off Timee (a same-day temp-staffing app) to run this thing?
    23AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:55
    I heard the operator is a French company.
    They also worked on the Osaka Expo, so they should have the know-how by now.
    24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:55
    There aren't many sporting events that play anthems,
    but what they have in common is that they're funded by taxes, not event revenue.
    25AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:56
    Organizing committee: "We'd like everyone to understand that playing the anthem isn't the main point of this event."
    26AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:57
    If it's just going to draw complaints, best not to play it at all.
    27AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:57
    Is this also because of that sudden increase of 2,000 people?
    28AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:58
    This event keeps screwing up with South Korea specifically.
    How many times is that now?
    30AnonymousSep 20, 2026 16:59
    Playing the anthem before a match is weird to begin with — that's supposed to be reserved for gold medalists.
    32AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:01
    Figures — this is the same Aichi that failed to win an Olympic bid and didn't even get to host a match at the 2002 World Cup.
    34AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:01
    If they suspend it, every country's going to complain.
    Classic dumb Japanese-style decision-making.
    35AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:01
    Isn't this starting to look like the Free Planets Alliance in its final days from Legend of the Galactic Heroes?

    Is this what happens when the population shrinks faster than it did during wartime, even without an actual war?
    36AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:01
    Guess the "yutori" generation (raised under Japan's relaxed, pressure-free education policy) is really showing its effects.
    37AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:02
    Spending 370 billion yen just to keep embarrassing themselves, huh.
    38AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:02
    One match, sure, but I've never heard of an international event suspending the anthem across every single sport.
    Seriously, what's happened to this country if it can't even play a national anthem properly?
    42AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:05
    Can't even play a national anthem properly — are they just booking gig workers off Timee for this?
    45AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:06
    Dentsu: "See? Now you get why you need us, lol" (Dentsu, Japan's dominant ad/events agency, often blamed for taking over event operations)
    46AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:07
    Who's actually running this thing?
    Name and shame.
    49AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:10
    They probably didn't rehearse a single thing.
    50AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:13
    This reeks of a deliberate Japan-bashing narrative lol
    65AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:28
    They probably skimmed so much off the top there's no budget left for real staff, so they're stuck hiring gig workers off Timee.
    This country's gotten shoddy at everything.
    70AnonymousSep 20, 2026 17:30
    Re: #65
    They were definitely hiring a ton of short-term part-timers, but that was for stuff like venue guidance.

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    At this year’s Games, the men’s hockey match on the 18th saw North Korea’s anthem mistakenly played instead of South Korea’s, leading South Korea to protest and the organizing committee to apologize. The following day, the host, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), took the unusual step of temporarily suspending anthem performances across all events to prevent a repeat. It’s rare for a major international multi-sport event to halt anthem performances outside the opening ceremony across every discipline, and the apparent lack of advance notice to athletes seems to be what fueled much of the confusion. Reactions on 5ch split between those chalking the disruption up to simple staffing and preparation shortfalls, and those suspecting deliberate interference or political motives. That said, the original reporting frames the suspension strictly as an administrative precaution by the organizers, not something the committee has officially cast as a political statement. It’s also worth noting that broader grievances about the Games’ operations — staffing costs, temp hiring, cost-effectiveness — are being aired under cover of the anthem story, points this article alone doesn’t substantiate.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Aichi/Nagoya] National Anthem Skipped Again at Women’s Handball Match — Asian Games May Suspend Performances Across All Events.”

  • Nagoya Asian Games Hit by Housing Failures — Organizers Tell India’s Team Chief to “Figure It Out Yourselves”

    At the Asian Games being held in Japan for the first time in 32 years (Aichi/Nagoya), complaints over athletes’ housing conditions have been boiling over even before the opening ceremony. Citing soaring material costs, organizers skipped building a dedicated athletes’ village this time and instead scattered athletes across hotels, a cruise ship, and container-style temporary housing. India’s delegation reportedly waited 14 hours for their rooms to be readied, and Thailand’s team is said to have spent the night in the lobby. The operations are being run by a French company, which has also been linked to an unpaid-bills controversy at the Osaka Expo. Reactions on the forum split between criticism of the contracting decisions that led to this mess and broader skepticism about hosting international events like this at all.

    Sun, Sep 20, 6:30 AM

    With the Aichi/Nagoya Asian Games — held in Japan for the first time in 32 years — about to get fully underway, athletes’ complaints are boiling over.

    Athletes from overseas have exposed shortcomings in the host country’s preparations. The issue drawing the most criticism is the state of the housing that athletes and each country’s team officials are based in. This time, Japan’s organizing committee cited soaring construction material costs and chose not to build a conventional “athletes’ village.” Instead, it adopted a system spreading people across existing hotels, a cruise ship, and container-style temporary housing.

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

    13AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:12
    The French management company is the problem
    24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:15
    Re: #13
    They should've just let Dentsu or Hakuhodo handle it, but Governor Omura went out of his way to hand operations to some crappy French company.
    And the people of Aichi are the ones who re-elected that Governor Omura.
    122AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:30
    Re: #13
    Isn't that the same French company that caused the unpaid-bills scandal at the Osaka Expo?
    Can't believe they hired them again.
    20AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:15
    Stop holding international events for anything other than soccer, volleyball, basketball, rugby — that kind of stuff.
    We don't need this.
    23AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:15
    Who's actually running this event?
    28AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:16
    Re: #23
    A French event company — same one as the Osaka Expo.
    25AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:15
    OCA Says Asian Games Delegation Now "17,000 People" — Host City Says It Can't Cope
    August 26, 2026, 7:30 PM https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASV8V33Q0V8VOIPE008M.html
    That's because the Olympic Council of Asia just went ahead and added 3,000 more people on their own.

    Governor Omura addressed the question at his regular press conference on the 25th, saying, "The host city contract specifies 15,000 athletes. We haven't budgeted for more than that. There's physically nowhere for them to stay."


    He already threw up the white flag a month ago. There was no budget for it to begin with, and then they just tacked on extra people without asking.
    70AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:22
    How about the people complaining go take care of it themselves?

    Anyone would be stuck if they ended up in the situation in Re: #25.
    101AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:26
    Re: #1
    Re: #25
    Blame lies with the OCA, the French company GL events, and Governor Omura for outsourcing to GL in the first place.
    26AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:15
    Re: #1

    The container-style housing units are so cramped you can't even stretch your legs out.
    Foreign media are calling it a "refugee camp."
    On top of that, there's water leaking in.



    i.imgur.com/EXA34Bo.jpeg
    33AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:16
    Re: #26
    This reeks of contractors skimming money off the top (nakanuki — a common complaint about public-works graft).
    50AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:19
    Re: #26
    "Refugee camp" is kind of accurate, in a way —
    weren't these supposed to be repurposed as disaster-relief shelters after the Games?
    32AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:16
    Re: #1

    The beds are only 1.95m long.


    The container housing is leaking water.


    The bus the organizers arranged took people to the wrong hotel.
    i.imgur.com/qtcV4H9.jpg
    47AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:18
    Re: #1

    Thailand's team had no rooms and had to sleep rough on the lobby floor.


    India's team waited 14 hours for their rooms to be ready.


    India's delegation:
    "The rooms weren't ready."
    "There was no breakfast."
    "The team bus never showed up."
    "No nutritional food or fruit either."
    i.imgur.com/MGgsNwz.png
    48AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:18
    It used to be nothing but self-congratulatory "Japan is amazing" articles whenever Japan hosted an event.

    So why is this one suddenly getting absolutely trashed?
    Is the writer steering the narrative on purpose??
    56AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:20
    Re: #48
    Because honestly, both the management and the facilities are garbage —
    that's on Governor Omura for dumping the whole thing on a French company.
    60AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:20
    Re: #48
    Probably a sign of Japan's declining national strength…
    That "Japanese-ness" seems to be fading too.
    82AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:23
    Re: #48
    I mean, with the Olympics and the Expo, some savior usually shows up at the last minute and it ends with "glad we did it" — but there's no sign of that happening this time.
    53AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:19
    (･∀･;) Wait, aren't hotels something each country is supposed to arrange for themselves?
    61AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:20
    Re: #53
    Why would it be that way?? (a classic Kansai-style "c'mon, no way" retort — nande ya nen)
    57AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:20
    "Major ad agencies like Dentsu and Hakuhodo aren't involved in running this Asian Games. Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya City took the lead in forming the organizing committee, pulling together a wide range of people to prepare it.
    93AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:25
    Re: #57
    The Osaka Expo took a ton of coordinated criticism too, and it still ended up a huge success.
    So is Nagoya going to use that as an excuse? That's lame, come on lol
    69AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:22
    I wonder where all the budget went~
    76AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:23
    Re: #69
    Straight into the French company's pocket lol
    72AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:22
    Re: #1
    73AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:22
    Re: #60
    The budget is the biggest ever, actually.
    Governor Omura was an idiot for signing a contract with a French company that's been sued over and over for pulling scams.
    The problems were already flagged back in July last year, and Omura just ignored it.
    77AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:23
    Who's the head of the organizing committee?
    Why isn't anyone digging up who they are and calling them out?
    88AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:24
    Re: #77
    It's an Aichi Prefecture public project!
    Governor Omura is the chair of the organizing committee.
    83AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:23
    Since it's a French management company running things, Japan bears zero responsibility, technically.
    92AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:25
    Re: #83
    He went out of his way to sign with a French event company —
    Governor Omura must really hate Dentsu and Hakuhodo lol
    91AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:25
    The one about soccer players showing up at a baseball stadium had me laughing.
    They must've been shocked looking at the field.
    100AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:26
    Re: #91
    Wait, seriously?? (´・ω・`)
    95AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:26
    I don't buy that adding just two more events would bring in 2,000 more participants.
    104AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:27
    Re: #95
    Probably just a bunch of people tagging along to sightsee while they're at it.
    108AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:28
    Re: #1

    Women's Cricket: China's team forfeits without bowling a single ball, heads home — venue drainage couldn't keep up
    https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/378d064ba2167e2717a775f78f0cb02d68dd8f1e

    109AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:28
    They were told way in advance to get their paperwork done —
    this is just a case of them not booking anything themselves.
    116AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:30
    Re: #109
    Maybe it just wasn't properly communicated to them?
    119AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:30
    Re: #109
    Aichi Prefecture is the dumb one here — they told everyone they'd be staying in an athletes' village.
    The French company just doesn't keep its promises.

    Background and Key Issues

    Behind the decision not to build a dedicated athletes’ village for this Games lies a combination of factors: soaring construction material costs, and the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) later adding to the originally planned delegation size of 15,000. Aichi’s governor said a month before the opening that there was “physically nowhere to house them,” so the shortage isn’t something that surfaced suddenly at the last minute. As for the French company contracted to run operations, it was also embroiled in an unpaid-subcontractor controversy at the Osaka Expo, and the thread repeatedly raised doubts about its track record. What tends to get overlooked here is that responsibility is spread across multiple factors — inadequate preparation on the Japanese side, OCA’s after-the-fact increase in delegation numbers, and the contractor’s operational competence — so it isn’t a case that can be pinned on just one party. It’s also worth noting that the container-style housing is reportedly planned for reuse as emergency disaster housing after the Games, a design consideration that gets lost in the purely critical reactions.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Sports News+ board) thread “[Asian Games] India’s Team Chief Makes a Desperate Plea — Frustrated by Operational Failures, Japan’s Organizing Committee Reportedly Says ‘There’s No Housing, Figure It Out Yourselves’…“

  • Koji Kato Storms Out After Huge Fight With Wife Over “Bad Curry” — Her Parting Words Sting

    Koji Kato of the comedy duo Gokuraku Tombo appeared on TBS’s “Jinsei Saiko Restaurant” (Life’s Best Restaurant) on the 19th and revealed a marital spat over his wife’s home cooking. Back when their kids were small, the family curry was made mild to suit them, and Kato — who prefers his spicy — said he ate it while grumbling to himself, “Man, this is sweet.” The remark set off a wave of stories on 5ch about how different households handle curry, the hassle of making separate spicy and mild batches, and even leaning on store-bought retort pouches instead. Meanwhile, some posters voiced discomfort at airing marital matters on TV at all, and others sarcastically called making bad curry a “talent.”

    Sun, 9/20, 10:48 AM

    Koji Kato of Gokuraku Tombo appeared on TBS’s “Jinsei Saiko Restaurant” on the 19th, where he confessed to a huge fight over his wife’s home cooking.

    The episode featured former Japan national football team player Yoichiro Kakitani as a guest. When talk turned to dinner tables in households with young kids, Kato began, “When the kids are little, it turns sweet, you know — the curry. Because they can’t eat it spicy,” and admitted he used to eat it while thinking, “Man, this is so sweet,” gritting his teeth through it.

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

    2AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:35
    Sounds like Hama-chan's place made two batches — one just for the kids
    11AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:42
    Re: #2
    That's prodigy-tier dedication right there
    27AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:46
    Re: #2
    That's just normal, isn't it?
    38AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:50
    Re: #2
    You just split the pot before adding the roux, so it's not really that much extra work
    3AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:37
    If curry — wife — is really that bad, that's a genius, lol (word order's garbled in the original, misreadable as "curry equals wife")
    15AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:43
    Re: #3
    You doing okay with Japanese…?
    64AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:56
    Re: #3
    "Curry is wife"?
    So curry 🍛 = wife, huh
    90AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:00
    Re: #3
    I get what he means though —
    a wife who can make something as hard to ruin as curry taste bad is basically a genius
    4AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:38
    Re: #1
    Mild roux curry isn't even that sweet to begin with
    Just add some spice to it, done
    6AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:39
    My grandma was, unusually for her generation, chasing a hardcore career ("bari-kyari") and was a terrible cook, but my grandpa never once said it tasted bad.
    Though he had plenty of other issues, mind you
    7AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:40
    Is TV really just broadcasting the details of married couples' fights now?
    No wonder nobody watches it anymore.
    Classic old media
    36AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:50
    Re: #7
    This is just him bragging about his wife, honestly
    8AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:41
    It's wild that you can mess up curry when all you're doing is melting roux into water
    23AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:45
    Re: #8
    Actually, my mom's cooking was pretty rough too —
    there'd be lumps that never dissolved, and after she got fancy with the ingredients it ended up with this weird smell baked into it

    I remember being blown away the first time I had curry from a chain restaurant back in middle school
    65AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:57
    Re: #8
    My little sister was convinced you're supposed to add consommé stock when boiling the vegetables, and made disgustingly salty curry
    109AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:04
    Re: #8
    In Kato's case he just wanted spicy but got stuck eating mild — that's all he's calling "bad" here
    9AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:41
    He's been telling this exact same story for like 15 years now lol
    16AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:43
    Wasn't there some "meh curry" being sold at a summer event or something?
    26AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:46
    I used to like my curry spicy,
    but lately mild has started tasting better to me
    88AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:00
    Re: #26
    I get it.
    Up through my 20s I figured spicier was always better,
    but now in my mid-30s, not just curry but soups too taste better with less spice
    41AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:51
    Being able to make bad curry is a talent in itself
    when all you're doing is melting roux in, lol
    44AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:52
    Re: #41
    Nah, that's not it, lol
    56AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:54
    Kato's story keeps changing every time he tells it
    Before, he was furious that there was too much water and it tasted bad
    79AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:58
    Re: #56
    Too sweet, too watery — they probably fought over it more than once, not just this one time
    Just cooking while raising kids is hard enough as it is
    If he'd quietly bought her a slightly pricier retort curry pack instead of complaining, dinner would've been way easier on her too
    60AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:56
    People who can't cook don't even have the basics down, yet they still add their own twist anyway
    and it turns into unbelievably bad curry
    Maybe their sense of taste is just off
    They never just follow the recipe
    107AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:03
    Re: #60
    Like the guy in Re: #62, you mean
    62AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:56
    If you hate it being watery, finely mince some enoki mushrooms and simmer them in
    It'll taste like day-two curry on day one
    67AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:57
    Since the roux goes in last, making a spicy batch and a mild batch is easy — I bet the real problem wasn't the spice level, it just tasted bad in general
    108AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:03
    Re: #67
    Sauté the onions until soft, add the carrots and meat, pour in water, bring to a boil, add the potatoes, skim the scum while simmering 20 minutes, turn off the heat, then melt in the roux

    Isn't there basically nothing in there that could go wrong?
    99AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:02
    Honestly, I've never once thought food tasted bad.
    If you cook with ingredients available in Japan, most things turn out at least normal, don't they?
    110AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:05
    Re: #99
    It comes down to whether you actually care about wanting to eat something delicious
    111AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:05
    Re: #1
    Well, Noel from Oasis has apparently testified that out of all the curry he's eaten around the world, the only bad one was in Tokyo. Guess it can't be helped that Japanese curry is bad then
    120AnonymousSep 20, 2026 15:06
    Re: #111
    Since when is Noel's palate the world standard, lol

    Background and Discussion Points

    This isn’t the first time Kato has brought up his family’s curry situation — as one commenter on the thread pointed out, “he’s been telling this story for 15 years” — it’s said to be an anecdote he’s returned to in the media repeatedly over the years. The show itself is a talk program where celebrities reminisce about memorable meals, and this comment came as an extension of that format. Where the thread split was over whether airing this kind of marital exchange on TV is appropriate at all, with some dismissing it coolly as “just him bragging about his wife,” while the conversation also spun off into people swapping their own household tricks for making curry. Worth noting, as some replies that misread the original comment show, is that Kato never flatly said “my wife’s cooking is bad” — he was explaining that the curry was made mild for the kids’ sake, a nuance that’s easy to miss. The thread also gathered plenty of stories about how spice preferences shift with age, making it a thread that, in its own way, revealed some surprising depth behind something as ordinary as home-cooked curry.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “Koji Kato: “The Curry Was Bad” — Huge Fight Over Wife’s Home Cooking Leads Him to Storm Out Shouting “Shut Up!” — Her Parting Words Sting.”

  • 40-Year-Old VTuber Sees Under-24 Viewers Drop to a Tenth — 5ch: ‘Isn’t This Just Like Voice Actors?’

    VTuber “Nayo Nana” (5,500 subscribers) revealed on September 19 that her viewer demographics have shifted dramatically in the two months since she disclosed she’s 40 years old. The share of viewers aged 24 and under reportedly fell to less than a tenth of what it was, dropping from 14.4% to 1.3%. She debuted in 2023, moved her activities to Twitch in 2025, and had only just returned this past July after a long hiatus. Reaction on 5channel’s Entertainment/Sports News+ board was split: some said “caring about the performer’s real age is no different from voice actors,” while others questioned the disclosure itself, arguing “revealing what’s behind the character shatters the illusion.”

    September 20, 2026

    VTuber “Nayo Nana” (5,500 subscribers) revealed on September 19 that her viewer age demographics changed dramatically in the two months since she disclosed she was 40, drawing a wave of reactions. The share of viewers 24 and under reportedly fell from 14.4% to 1.3%.

    Nayo Nana is a VTuber who goes by “Daughter of Enma [King of Hell]” and debuted in 2023. In 2025 she moved her streaming activities to Twitch, then stepped away from streaming for roughly half a year before returning with a comeback stream on her birthday, July 7, 2026.

    Source: yutura.net / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:24
    Is this what Houshou Marine (a Hololive VTuber) will look like in 10 years?
    86AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:40
    Re: #3
    Different fans probably want different things from VTubers anyway, and the scale's different too, so who knows… She's got that comedian-type appeal too
    4AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:26
    People getting hung up on the performer's real age… that's so cringe lol
    6AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:26
    Keiko Kitagawa is 40.
    19AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:29
    Re: #6
    Even then, under-24s probably wouldn't bite that hard anyway
    7AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:27
    Guys obsessing over anime art are easy marks, huh
    9AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:27
    Isn't she embarrassed doing this kind of job at 40?
    25AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:30
    Re: #9
    Most VTubers are around 40 anyway
    30AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:32
    Re: #9
    If she's making money, who cares?
    Whether she can tell people about it or not is just up to how she personally feels.

    With VTubers you can't even tell if it's a guy or a girl,
    they can fake their age, might be seriously overweight,
    and they can probably change their voice too, so who really knows.
    10AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:27
    Why would you go and blow your own cover on age, in a world where "I'm eternally X years old, forever a cute girl character" is totally acceptable?
    11AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:27
    Basically everyone who's been doing VTubing since the early days — like the ones who "reincarnated" from old Niconico streamers — is around 40
    12AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:27
    If you care about the performer's real age, why not just watch face-reveal streamers instead?
    13AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:28
    This is a perfect example of why "just reveal everything" is the wrong attitude lol

    There are plenty of things in this world better left as illusions
    18AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:29
    No wonder young people have zero interest in 5ch, where old geezers pushing 50+ just camp out forever
    20AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:30
    Heard Masaharu Fukuyama's fanbase cratered when he announced his marriage too, so… guess that's just how it goes
    21AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:30
    40's still on the young side, honestly
    Aju-nee (a VTuber) is already elderly at this point
    59AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:36
    Re: #21
    Actually, 'elderly' (shoro) originally just meant 40 anyway…
    24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:30
    To a teenager, she's basically mom's age lol
    26AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:31
    5,500 subscribers, lmao
    Guess it's easy to get an article written about you these days
    29AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:31
    Well, at least it's not some old geezer lol
    31AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:32
    Fair enough
    Nobody wants to chat with their mom
    33AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:32
    Like, imagine during a Chiikawa (the popular cute mascot character) stage show, some guy climbs out of the costume and goes, "Sorry, I'll be honest — I'm actually a weird little 40-something guy." The kids would cry, right?
    Same thing here.
    Dreams should stay dreams.
    34AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:32
    Hiding behind a cartoon avatar to fool kids while funneling them into a digital hostess club isn't a good look
    40AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:33
    I don't really get it, but don't VTubers have character lore/settings?
    Are fans actually interested in the person behind it?
    44AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:33
    Re: #40
    Even with anime, the voice actors themselves get popular. Same thing here.
    60AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:36
    Well yeah, if you go and break your own character setting yourself, of course fans will leave.
    It's like an anime voice actor announcing their real age in the middle of the show.
    65AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:37
    Re: #60
    If you've been an otaku through the 2020s,
    you'd know caring about a voice actor's age is just uncool.
    66AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:37
    Re: #60
    If anything, her subscriber count seems to have gone up.
    The fanbase just shifted, that's all.
    67AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:37
    Is age really what you're all judging her on?!
    Isn't it about who she is as a person?!
    70AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:38
    Re: #67
    Then just stream bare-faced as yourself.
    73AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:38
    Does she think she's still young?
    You're elderly starting at 40.
    74AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:38
    A lot of the viewers are guys aged 35-54 who don't even realize they're 'old guys' themselves
    83AnonymousSep 20, 2026 14:40
    Re: #74
    And they're out there ragging on her as an 'old lady,' safe behind their screens

    Background and Points of Debate

    There’s no industry-wide rule on how closely a VTuber’s on-screen character must match the “person inside” — whether to disclose that information is left entirely up to individual streamers. Nayo Nana debuted in 2023, moved her activities to Twitch in 2025, and had been on a long hiatus before disclosing her age around the time of her comeback stream this past July. On the thread, opinions split between those who felt “caring about the performer’s age is no different from voice actors” and those who felt “there was no need for her to shatter the character’s illusion herself” — the divide essentially comes down to differing ideas about what viewers actually want from a VTuber. Note that the viewer age-demographic figures in this article were disclosed by the streamer herself, and details of the methodology or measurement period have not been made public.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “VTuber who revealed she’s 40 loses young viewers within two months — under-24s drop to a tenth.”

  • Akina Nakamori’s Live MC Banter Goes Viral: 5ch Reacts to Her Self-Introduction as “I’m Seiko Matsuda”

    A thread on 5ch’s Hello! Project board blew up over the MC segment from Akina Nakamori’s latest live show. Sparked by buzz over an MC that reportedly opened with the self-introduction bit “I’m Seiko Matsuda,” the thread dug into Nakamori’s past — including her reputation for having few close friends in the entertainment industry — and revisited the circumstances of the 1989 “Gold Screen Incident” involving Masahiko Kondo that drew huge attention at the time. Meanwhile, some posters testified that she remains close with Seiko Matsuda even now, and the thread filled up with a range of takes on what Nakamori is really like.

    1AnonymousSep 20, 2026 09:54
    @
    Today's live MC packed way too much destructive power 😂
    It started with the self-intro, "I'm Seiko Matsuda," and…
    2AnonymousSep 20, 2026 09:55
    Wait, she's still active?
    78AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:58
    Re: #2
    Don't you watch TV?
    3AnonymousSep 20, 2026 09:55
    KYON2 (Kyoko Koizumi's nickname): "Well, you don't even carry a phone."
    5AnonymousSep 20, 2026 09:56
    Chiemi Hori also said the only way to reach Akina is by bumping into her by chance — there's no other way to contact her.
    8AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:01
    She's talked a lot on Downtown's show about being the one idol who got frozen out by all the others.
    11AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:04
    For her to be kept at arm's length even by her peers in that era of showbiz, it must've been something serious.
    12AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:06
    When she was young she was soft and round-cheeked, and honestly just plain cute.
    13AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:06
    A former Bunshun editor-in-chief recently talked about that so-called "Gold Screen Incident" (the infamous 1989 press-conference scandal).
    Apparently the real story is that Nakamori thought she was going to announce her marriage to Match (nickname for Masahiko Kondo) that day, but got tricked.

    Is this already common knowledge?
    Is it known as established fact, not just a rumor?
    20AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:15
    Re: #13
    It's a famous story.
    It really is an insane story.
    37AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:30
    Re: #13
    That's been known forever.
    16AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:10
    Match's fire-prank stunt was hilarious, wasn't it.
    17AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:12
    Fumiya (the Checkers frontman) once made it sound like he liked Akina, so Akina got attacked by his fans too.
    On a show kind of like NHK's "Let's Go Young," Checkers and Akina alternated songs like a co-headlining act,
    and the crowd was packed with Checkers fans, so Akina looked uncomfortable performing.
    In the segment where she duetted with Fumiya, Akina sang like she had zero motivation, and when Fumiya smacked her arm telling her to actually sing properly,
    the Fumiya fans in the crowd kicked up a fuss again, and Akina had a "give me a break" look on her face.
    It shows up on YouTube sometimes, so it might still be up.
    32AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:27
    Re: #17
    Just went and watched it.
    Women are terrifying.
    18AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:12
    Ha ha ha, Vanilla, Vanilla, high income! (a nod to the famous jingle for Vanilla, a Japanese nightlife job-search app)
    19AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:12
    Top 3 legendary idols born in Kiyose City:

    Akina Nakamori
    Maki Horikita
    Aina Otsuka
    22AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:18
    Didn't Match get divorced? He should just marry Akina already and take responsibility.
    Though at this point Akina's probably long past caring about Match anyway.
    23AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:19
    Showa-era celebrity scandals were unhinged and way too entertaining.
    Everyone ate it up too.
    24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:21
    After the whole Match scandal, there probably weren't many guys who'd even dare talk to her.
    26AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:22
    (ヽ´ん`) "That's right. I'm Gomaki." (a well-known ASCII-art meme face impersonating idol Maki Goto)
    27AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:24
    If Akina comes across as intense, I'd hesitate to even ask for her contact info.
    Actually, I might even wonder if it's okay to ask at all.
    28AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:24
    Saw someone at Tokyo Station's Ginno Suzu meeting spot carrying Akina merch earlier — guess she was doing a live show.
    29AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:24
    Huh?
    Oh right, she's never actually been married.
    30AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:25
    31AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:26
    Wasn't it the case that she's not actually on bad terms with Matsuda?
    69AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:45
    Re: #31
    If anything, they're on good terms.
    It's true Akina has few close friends in the industry,
    but Seiko Matsuda is one of that small circle.
    40AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:31
    Well, with a venue like this, it's bound to look that way.

    42AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:32
    Re: #40
    This was New Year's Eve, right?
    50AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:35
    Mary (Johnny Kitagawa's sister) apparently wanted to marry off her own daughter Julie to Match.
    57AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:38
    Re: #50
    Class 3-B: Kinpachi Sensei (the classic school drama)

    53AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:36
    Setlist
    61AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:40
    Re: #53
    She can still sing this much?
    Well, honestly, unless you're a hardcore fan, you're better off just listening to the CD recordings.
    62AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:40
    Re: #53
    I went to see her at Hiroshima Yubin Chokin Hall back in 1985 when I was in 8th grade,
    and she barely sang any of the singles I knew — maybe just one song.
    73AnonymousSep 20, 2026 10:49
    Re: #53
    It's obviously a shortened set, but it's nice that she still sings the songs people actually want to hear.

    Background and key points of this topic

    The “Gold Screen Incident” refers to a 1989 scandal in which Akina Nakamori attempted suicide at Masahiko Kondo’s apartment; the press conference that followed — widely expected to announce their marriage — turned out to be an apology instead, and it has been retold repeatedly as one of the biggest scandals in Japanese entertainment history. In the thread, a broadcast featuring a former Bunshun editor-in-chief discussing the incident prompted some posters to ask whether it was really true, but it has been a widely reported fact since it happened, not mere rumor. At the same time, testimony that Nakamori maintained friendships with Seiko Matsuda and Chiemi Hori suggests the “few friends in the industry” image doesn’t tell the whole story. There are also references to power dynamics around the Johnny’s talent agency in the late Showa era — background that may need explaining for readers unfamiliar with entertainment reporting from that period.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Akina Nakamori’s live MC is being called incredible wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.”

  • Mina Tanaka: “Cockroaches Terrified Me So Much I Couldn’t Go Home, So I Moved” — Reveals on Radio

    Actress Mina Tanaka appeared on TBS Radio’s “Mina Tanaka’s Warm Time” on the 19th, and in conversation with guest Jin Katagiri, revealed that she once moved apartments because she was too terrified of cockroaches (“G”). She recalled that until the move was finished, she “couldn’t go home” and was “too scared.” The story sparked a wave of responses on 5ch, with users sharing firsthand accounts of how well products like Black Cap and Combat work, bringing up comedian Hiroyuki Miyazaki of Ame Agari Kesshitai (who also moved house over his own fear of cockroaches), and branching out into talk of living environments — like how the bugs are less likely to turn up on high floors.

    Mina Tanaka Reveals Why She Moved Over Her Extreme Hatred of Them: “I Couldn’t Go Home Until It Was Done. I Was Scared.”

    Actress Mina Tanaka (39) appeared on TBS Radio’s “Mina Tanaka’s Warm Time” (Saturdays, 6:30 p.m.), which aired on the 19th, and revealed the reason she once moved apartments.

    That day’s guest was actor and clay sculpture artist Jin Katagiri (52), also known for performing in the comedy duo Rahmens.

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

    2AnonymousSep 20, 2026 01:54
    Use Black Cap or Combat (bait-station roach killers).
    22AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:10
    Re: #2
    Black Cap works ridiculously well.
    They're gone in an instant.
    82AnonymousSep 20, 2026 04:51
    Re: #2
    Combat was amazing.

    Found one that must've climbed up through the pipes out on the balcony, so I set the bait there.
    Guess it wiped out the whole nest, because even the neighbors stopped seeing them after that.
    3AnonymousSep 20, 2026 01:55
    What's this middle-aged woman even going on about.
    24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:13
    Re: #3
    Miyazaki from Ame Agari Kesshitai — a grown man himself — hates them just as much as she does and moved for the same reason.
    Apparently he moved into a former hospital room just so he wouldn't have to see one lol
    4AnonymousSep 20, 2026 01:57
    Feels like one's gonna pop out while she's packing boxes for the move lol
    5AnonymousSep 20, 2026 01:58
    Minus the glow, they're basically fireflies.
    8AnonymousSep 20, 2026 01:59
    You won't get them on a high floor of a new-build condo, right?
    11AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:01
    Don't see them in my house, but I spot one outside every now and then.
    12AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:01
    "Ooh, she's rich, amazing, amazing" — yeah yeah, "so cute, so cute."
    34AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:41
    If you don't keep your place in check, they'll turn up anywhere.
    37AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:44
    Re: #27
    Guess you've never used it.
    They seriously disappear for good.
    39AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:50
    By the way, I have no idea who Mina Tanaka even is.
    42AnonymousSep 20, 2026 02:59
    Nothing compared to bed bugs.
    44AnonymousSep 20, 2026 03:01
    Doesn't matter how spotless you keep your own place — they're breeding at the house across the street or the restaurant down the block, so there's no escaping it.
    47AnonymousSep 20, 2026 03:11
    I'm a middle-aged guy but I get how she feels
    Unlike her, I just don't have the money to move out of where I live now
    Just the other day there was one flipped on its back on the kitchen floor, legs twitching, and it was so disgusting I actually yelled out loud
    49AnonymousSep 20, 2026 03:15
    They don't sting or bite so honestly they're fine
    They're just fast, that's all
    Snakes and centipedes are way worse
    51AnonymousSep 20, 2026 03:22
    Set off a Muhenda fogger (a smoke-type insecticide bomb) before you head out and it'll be dead by the time you're home.
    55AnonymousSep 20, 2026 03:45
    I get it
    That's exactly why I only live in new builds — I bought a brand-new condo
    58AnonymousSep 20, 2026 04:06
    Physical attacks are a bad idea — the insides come out. Spray it with parts cleaner to chill it and stop it moving, then soak it in bug spray to suffocate it.
    65AnonymousSep 20, 2026 04:19
    Maybe the roach moved right along with Mina Tanaka's luggage.
    88AnonymousSep 20, 2026 04:55
    Spiders are 100 times worse.
    94AnonymousSep 20, 2026 05:05
    Re: #88
    If you hate bugs, moving up north is your only option

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    Black Cap and Combat, the two products brought up as go-to roach killers, are bait-type insecticides: a roach that eats the poison carries it back to the nest, spreading it to the rest of the colony and wiping out the whole group — a mechanism several thread posters said they’d seen work firsthand. It’s also commonly said that roaches show up less on high floors or in tower condos, though some pointed out they can still get in through pipes, shared building spaces, or a nearby restaurant, meaning measures taken inside just one’s own unit only go so far. Both the original article and the thread avoid spelling out “gokiburi” (cockroach), using the abbreviation “G” instead — a common convention in 5ch posts and Japanese media alike. The thread also touched on whether it’s fair to weigh in so heavily on a celebrity’s personal gripe, and on how much people’s tolerance for bugs varies by region and living environment, with no real consensus reached.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Mina Tanaka Reveals She Hates Them So Much She Moved — “I Couldn’t Go Home Until It Was Done. I Was Scared.”“

  • TBS Skips Live Broadcast of Asian Games Opening Ceremony — Viewers Ask ‘What Happened to the Exclusive Coverage?’

    Viewers expressed surprise that TBS did not air the September 19 opening ceremony of the Asian Games, currently underway in Nagoya, live on terrestrial TV. The ceremony featured a live performance by violinist Taro Hakase, the national anthem sung by Keiko Toda, and the lighting of the cauldron by the father-and-son duo of the Murofushi family — yet only a small portion of it made it to terrestrial broadcast. While some in the thread expressed confusion (“Didn’t they say this was exclusive coverage?”), plenty of others were more indifferent, saying things like “Can’t expect ratings for this event, so it’s understandable” or “It’s actually better that the empty stands didn’t make it on camera.” Opinions were split, with some comparing it to NHK’s live coverage of the 1994 Hiroshima Games opening ceremony.

    [Asian Games] TBS Skips Live Broadcast of Opening Ceremony: “For a Network That Said ‘We’re Broadcasting Exclusively!’…” — Viewers Call It “Disappointing”

    The opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games was held on September 19 at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya.

    The ceremony opened in spectacular fashion, kicking off with a live performance by violinist and composer Taro Hakase and the national anthem sung by actress and singer Keiko Toda, a Nagoya, Aichi native.

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

    2AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:37
    Czech commentator:
    "Even though Hanyu is Japanese, his legs are as long and his figure as beautiful as a white person's."
    French newspaper:
    "You might not believe it, but this young man with the proportions of an eight-head-tall model is Japanese."
    Turkish announcer:
    "Hanyu is extraordinarily beautiful — he's overturned the common notion that 'Japanese athletes aren't good-looking.'"
    6AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:38
    Simple as that — they just can't get the ratings.
    Also, the stands were basically empty, so I think skipping the broadcast was the right call. I watched it on U-NEXT anyway.
    8AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:38
    Ratings must be brutal for the Asian Games.
    Maybe Toyota was stingy with the sponsorship money too —
    the weak yen's got everyone spooked right now.
    9AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:38
    The opening ceremony was genuinely great —
    like 10 times better than the Tokyo Olympics.
    And terrestrial TV won't even air it…
    15AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:39
    Re: #9
    Did you even watch the opening ceremony of the last Asian Games?
    I don't even know where it was held.
    11AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:38
    Honestly, this is the first time I've ever heard of the Asian Games.
    Bet you're all the same.
    87AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:15
    Re: #11
    It's the "Asian Games," I know that much lol

    No terrestrial broadcast of the opening ceremony meant no empty stands on camera — works out fine, doesn't it lol
    14AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:39
    I guess I just assumed they'd cover it nonstop, like they do for the swimming or track and field World Championships.
    16AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:40
    If it were a Tokyo Asian Games, they'd air it live.
    That's just how it goes —
    Nagoya's a tough sell.
    27AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:46
    Re: #16
    NHK aired the 1994 Hiroshima Asian Games opening ceremony live.
    I remember because I watched it.
    17AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:40
    For all the aggressive promotion, the actual broadcast slot is pretty tiny.
    21AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:41
    Re: #17
    They barely broadcast the Hangzhou Asian Games either.
    Last time it was all swimming, all the time.
    82AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:13
    Re: #17
    Just wait, tomorrow's going to be huge.
    19AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:40
    The Murofushi father-and-son cauldron lighting was great — I figured Koji Murofushi would be the final torchbearer, but then his dad showed up too. Total surprise.
    20AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:41
    At the very least they could've put it on BS or streamed it on TVer.
    22AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:42
    Who cares about the Asian Games opening ceremony, honestly.
    Do people think it's on the same level as the Olympics?
    23AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:42
    Wait, is the Asian Games also held every four years?
    98AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:22
    Re: #23
    The Olympics, the soccer World Cup, and the Asian Games — they all cycle through on the same leap-year, four-year rhythm.
    26AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:45
    They clearly have zero enthusiasm for this — they're just holding the big timeslot so they can phone it in.
    28AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:46
    Isn't Nino (Ninomiya of Arashi) just busy?
    72AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:04
    Re: #28
    He's probably still got drama filming left to finish, right?
    Using a guy like that as a "caster" (lol) is the real stupidity here.
    100AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:23
    Re: #72
    Filming for VIVANT wrapped completely before it even started airing.
    34AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:48
    Hard to get hyped up when you can't even watch the opening ceremony.
    35AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:49
    They're airing Job Tune in that same slot instead — that's the priority.
    36AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:49
    TBS spent so much on VIVANT and the Asian Games that they couldn't even afford the soccer World Cup broadcast rights.
    Lovit's budget has been slashed too — guest numbers are down to about half of what they were before March, and location shoots are basically gone.
    44AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:52
    Re: #36
    So that's why there's more of those middle-aged guys yelling in the studio for two hours first thing in the morning.
    37AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:49
    Rewatching it on U-NEXT right now.
    Cracked up at the "flying kabuki" bit.
    40AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:51
    Honestly, the Asian Games is a who-cares event to begin with.
    62AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:59
    Re: #1

    [Asian Games] Vegetables and Three Pieces of Chicken… Thailand's Teqball Coach Baffled by the Food: "Portions are too small. You only get to pick one vegetable side."
    https://lavender.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/news4plus/1789807037/


    i.imgur.com/J6BrNTk.jpg
    i.imgur.com/EG0oNx5.jpg
    77AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:07
    Re: #62
    Regarding padel and teqball, both newly added this year: "The arrangement is that each sport's governing body covers its own costs."
    https://www.sankei.com/article/20260825-JVL4TZAQMRIZZJ6S7BXVGVGOMA/
    81AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:12
    Re: #62
    Hard not to conclude that Japan's just gotten poorer.
    65AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:00
    Re: #1

    The container housing is just cramped, period —
    and on top of that, there's even water leaking.


    i.imgur.com/AAGpaXc.jpg
    67AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:01
    Re: #1

    They actually shuttled the national soccer team to a baseball stadium.
    91AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:17
    Do people even want to watch the opening ceremony that badly?
    96AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:20
    Re: #91
    The Paris Olympics opening ceremony was actually fun.
    The one before that was rough though.

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    The situation that raised eyebrows — a network touting its coverage as “exclusive” while not actually airing the opening ceremony on terrestrial TV — stems from the fact that terrestrial broadcast slots for the Asian Games were already limited to begin with. Commenters in the thread pointed out that NHK aired the 1994 Hiroshima Games opening ceremony live, contrasting that with the scaled-back treatment given to this year’s Nagoya Games. The debate breaks down into two main camps: a pragmatic one arguing that skipping the broadcast was the right call given poor expected ratings and sparse attendance, and a principled one arguing that having secured exclusive broadcast rights obligates the network to actually air it. Some posters speculated that TBS’s spending on the drama VIVANT and the Asian Games left it unable to secure World Cup broadcast rights, and that budgets for flagship programs have been cut as a result — though it’s worth noting these are viewer speculation, not an explanation from the network itself.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[TV] TBS Skips Live Broadcast of the ‘Asian Games Opening Ceremony’ — “For a Network That Said ‘We’re Broadcasting Exclusively!’…” and “Disappointing,” Say Viewers.”

  • Mana Ashida-Led “Attorney Minamida Minami Is a Genius” Trailer Drops — Reactions Pour In Over Korean Remake

    The trailer and poster visuals have been released for the new Kansai TV/Fuji TV drama “Attorney Minamida Minami Is a Genius,” starring Mana Ashida. A remake of the Korean drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” which became a worldwide Netflix hit, the series follows Ashida’s character Minami Minamida, a rookie lawyer with autism spectrum disorder who graduated top of her class from the University of Tokyo’s law faculty and passed the bar exam at the top of her cohort. On 5ch, reactions ranged widely — from jokes about the character’s name reading the same forwards and backwards, to comparisons with the original Korean lead actress’s performance, to debates over the casting itself.

    September 19, 2026

    The poster visual and trailer have arrived for the new Kansai TV/Fuji TV drama “Attorney Minamida Minami Is a Genius,” starring Mana Ashida. The band muque has been confirmed to perform the theme song.

    The series is a remake of the Korean drama “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” which streamed on Netflix and became a worldwide hit. Ashida plays the lead, Minami Minamida, who has autism spectrum disorder (ASD) yet graduated top of her class from the University of Tokyo’s law faculty and passed the bar exam at the top of her group. Repeatedly turned away by law firms due to social prejudice against autism spectrum disorder, she finally lands a job at the industry-leading Hirokawa & Howard law firm. As a rookie attorney, Minami runs into wall after wall, but tackles case after difficult case with her own unique perspective and flashes of insight. Fumiya Takahashi plays Minato Funai, the colleague for whom Minami develops her first crush, while Akihiro Kakuda (of the trio Tokyo 03) plays Minami’s father, Makoto Minamida.

    Source: natalie.mu / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 19, 2026 18:47
    So it's read 'nandanna'? (Kansai slang, roughly 'what now')
    39AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:30
    Re: #2
    No, it's 'nande nan' (Kansai for 'why though')
    5AnonymousSep 19, 2026 18:49
    Minamida Minami? Parents, stop turning your kid's name into a toy!
    20AnonymousSep 19, 2026 18:56
    Mana-chan's commercial is so cute
    https://youtu.be/S0wny_upWy8
    24AnonymousSep 19, 2026 18:56
    Re: #20
    kawaii
    25AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:00
    Re: #20
    A firm that hires you on the spot like that is shady (a 'black company' — Japanese slang for an exploitative employer)
    60AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:00
    Re: #31
    Isn't that a misread?
    Re: #20 looks fresh-faced
    21AnonymousSep 19, 2026 18:56
    Can you say 'Minamida Minami' three times fast?
    22AnonymousSep 19, 2026 18:56
    Come to think of it, wasn't there a singer named Danda Otoko?
    26AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:00
    I wonder if she'll do Woo Young-woo's little greeting dance? She probably will… that's gonna be rough to watch
    36AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:22
    Re: #26
    Doesn't seem like it'll top Woo Young-woo — not the acting, not the show itself
    41AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:32
    Just dub the Korean original and air that instead — it already covers issues Japan and Korea have in common, like LGBT rights, coexisting with the socially vulnerable, and excessive exam pressure. Plus it'd show everyone exactly how far apart Japan and Korea are in TV production skill right now. Great case study in how Japan loses hands-down on writing, direction, and acting.
    70AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:24
    Re: #41
    You can already binge Korean dramas on streaming till you're sick of them lol
    55AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:54
    Doesn't 'Minamida Minami' just sound clunky to say?
    57AnonymousSep 19, 2026 19:56
    Re: #55
    It's because she has a signature line in her self-introduction about how it reads the same forwards and backwards
    66AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:11
    Re: #55
    Re: #57
    'Momoi Momo' rolls off the tongue better, but 'Minamida Minami' has more punch
    64AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:06
    I watched the Korean version — if it's just about looking the part, Momoiro Clover Z's Kanako Momota fits; factoring in acting chops, I'd say Mayu Matsuoka. Can Mana Ashida actually pull off that kind of performance? Worth watching just to find out.
    67AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:12
    Re: #64
    Kanako Momota, 32
    Mayu Matsuoka, 31
    They're both 'aunties' at this point lol

    I don't think Mana Ashida's the right fit either, but come on, give us someone a bit fresher and younger
    80AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:59
    Re: #64
    If they were doing a remake, I always figured Kyoko Yoshine would've been the pick
    74AnonymousSep 19, 2026 20:29
    If my surname were Minamida, there's no way I'd name my daughter Minami.
    83AnonymousSep 19, 2026 21:05
    Re: #74
    Well, there's Den Fujita (McDonald's Japan founder) and Toru Kumon (founder of the Kumon method) — same kind of name quirk

    Background and Key Points of Discussion

    The original Korean drama, “Extraordinary Attorney Woo,” became a worldwide Netflix hit in 2022, earning widespread praise for lead actress Park Eun-bin’s portrayal of a rookie lawyer with autism spectrum disorder. With Japanese remakes of overseas hits, the strength of the source material’s image tends to invite comparisons over the new lead’s casting and acting — and that same pattern shows up here. In the thread, some voices spoke favorably of the impression Ashida gives in her commercials, while others pointed to an apparent height difference with co-stars or footage from her past roles to argue she now “looks more grown-up,” and others still offered harsh comparisons against the original lead’s performance. The character name “Minamida Minami,” built so it reads the same forwards and backwards, also drew plenty of attention, sparking a lot of back-and-forth over its rhythm and possible origin. Note that posts linking the casting decision to talent-agency politics are unsubstantiated speculation and are not covered in this article.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “Mana Ashida — Drama ‘Attorney Minamida Minami Is a Genius’ Trailer & Poster Revealed, ‘Reads the Same Forwards and Backwards: Minamida Minami’.”

  • Young People’s Favorite Meat Is Chicken, Not Beef or Pork — Matsuko Guessed Pork and Missed; 5ch: “Cheap but Tasty”

    On the September 18 broadcast of TV Asahi’s “Matsuko & Arihiro’s Temporary Paradise,” the talk turned to the popularity of beef, pork, and chicken, introducing survey results showing that the most popular meat among young people isn’t beef or pork, but chicken. Matsuko had predicted pork would win and reacted to the result with surprise: “What’s going on? What does everyone want?” On 5ch, users cited reasons for chicken’s popularity such as its low price, lower fat content, and the impact of reports linking red meat to cancer risk, sparking a wider discussion about preferences and cooking methods for beef, pork, and chicken.

    Matsuko Stunned by Young People’s Favorite Meat — Had Predicted Pork Herself: “What’s Going On? What Does Everyone Want?”

    TV personality Matsuko Deluxe (53) appeared on TV Asahi’s “Matsuko & Arihiro’s Temporary Paradise” (Fridays at 8:00 PM), aired on the 18th, and commented on the popularity of different types of meat.

    On the show, the hosts talked about the relative popularity of beef, pork, and chicken.

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

    2AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:13
    It's probably the generation that got fed nothing else because it's cheap
    101AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:55
    Re: #2
    Yeah, probably
    Their palates got dulled from not eating good food since childhood
    13AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:15
    Yakitori beats any other meat there is
    15AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:16
    Re: #13
    Yakitori's also easy on the stomach, that's a plus
    14AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:16
    Drumsticks, breast, tenderloin — all cheap, and there are tons of recipes for them
    16AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:17
    Because watching Showa-retro exploration videos on YouTube is more fun than watching Peace-kun (the peacock mascot at Omiya Park) do his thing
    17AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:17
    I'm an old guy, but chicken's my pick — it's the meat I've eaten the most my whole life
    18AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:17
    I think chicken's gotten pricier in recent years because of bird flu, so there's this weird sense that it's become something premium
    19AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:18
    It's psychological — they're mammals, so people probably don't want to eat cow or pig. Wouldn't be strange if Japanese people had some historical, hereditary aversion like that
    64AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:43
    Re: #19
    Well, chicken counts as a mammal too if you think about it
    20AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:19
    For lunch I eat 4 McChickens on their own — 760 yen for four, and that fills me right up
    22AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:20
    Got stalked by some idiot so I bailed to a new thread. Let's talk meat 👍
    23AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:20
    Beef and pork are expensive. Beef's basically just for gyudon or burgers at this point
    24AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:21
    Beef and pork smell. Beef tongue especially is downright insane
    25AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:22
    This is the effect of those reports saying red meat from mammals is carcinogenic. That's why I try to pick chicken whenever I can
    27AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:22
    There's no good food in Tokyo anyway. Why do people even live in a place like that
    28AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:23
    At a typical supermarket, per 100g: chicken 98 yen, pork 198 yen, beef 298 yen.

    Makes sense people pick chicken now that everyone's gotten poorer
    29AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:24
    Pork's not tasty. There's gyudon and KFC but nothing like that for pork
    31AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:25
    I eat 500 grams of salad chicken (a diet-friendly cooked chicken breast snack) every single day
    33AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:26
    Kids love karaage more than anything. Of course it'd turn out this way
    34AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:27
    Pork's fine even if it's from Canada, but chicken and beef aren't really domestic, are they
    35AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:27
    Liver and gizzard are cheap and tasty too, though I worry about purine content so I only eat them occasionally
    36AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:27
    Expensive beef is great, but the cheap stuff is tough and kind of meh.
    Chicken tastes decent even when it's cheap.
    If you're eating the cheap stuff, chicken's the better call.
    Maybe that's exactly why it's popular with young people?

    Pork feels like it's somewhere in between
    37AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:27
    Honestly I think chicken's the tastiest.
    It even works in mild-flavored dishes like mizutaki (chicken hot pot)
    51AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:37
    Beef and chicken have a higher rate of you getting a smelly cut, don't they
    60AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:41
    Re: #51
    If you're picking properly, that shouldn't really happen
    71AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:45
    For me it's pork.
    Pork belly especially.

    Fried: Beef△ Pork◎ Chicken◎
    Grilled: Beef◎ Pork◯ Chicken◎
    Simmered: Beef◎ Pork◯ Chicken△
    Stir-fried: Beef◯ Pork◎ Chicken△

    I'll take objections
    73AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:47
    Re: #66
    And on top of that, of course, chicken's basically a mammal too, right?
    83AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:50
    Re: #73
    Why would that be, lol
    91AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:53
    Re: #73
    "Mammal" means "one that drinks mother's milk" (in English, mammal comes from mamma, meaning breast/mother). Have you ever seen a chicken nurse its young?
    77AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:48
    Out of those three, pork's the bottom for me too.
    Pretty much matches the survey — beef's on top, chicken's a close second, pork feels a notch below.
    Tonkatsu's about the only thing I'd specifically crave it for — not that I dislike it, and of course I'll eat it if it's there
    88AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:52
    Re: #77
    There's tonkatsu, shogayaki (ginger pork), and char siu too, so like Matsuko, I'd rank pork number one as well.
    Chinese dishes like gyoza are great too
    92AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:53
    Such a waste not to eat beef while you're young — you're bound to lose your tolerance for beef fat once you get older
    99AnonymousSep 20, 2026 00:55
    Re: #92
    Seriously can't eat it anymore… I wish they'd dry it out more and cut the fat…
    Whenever I have wagyu these days I regret it afterward

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Retail prices for beef, pork, and chicken tend to run highest for beef and lowest for chicken, and thread posters cited rough per-100g prices to argue that people are choosing chicken because they’ve gotten poorer. Per-capita chicken consumption in Japan is said to have been rising in recent years, and this survey result fits that trend. There have also been research reports linking red meat consumption to colorectal cancer risk, and some posters said they choose chicken for health reasons. On the other hand, chicken prices themselves have risen since the bird flu outbreaks, so “chicken because it’s cheap” doesn’t fully explain things. Posters in the thread also noted that beef, pork, and chicken each suit different cooking methods, making this less a simple ranking than a topic that splits along personal preference.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geisports Sokuho+) thread “[Entertainment] Young People’s Favorite Meat Is “Chicken” — Matsuko Stunned, Had Predicted Pork: “What’s Going On? What Does Everyone Want?”.”