Japan Reacts

Category: Lifestyle

  • Woman: “I wish someone had told me sooner that marriage and childbirth get harder once you hit your late 30s”

    A woman’s post reading “I wish someone had told me sooner that marriage and childbirth get harder once you hit your late 30s” went viral on a thread in 5ch’s “Livegalileo” (a general live-commentary board). Commenters brought up singer Koda Kumi, who was once publicly slammed for making a similar remark, with some saying sarcastically “she said it and people just attacked her for it,” while others argued this kind of information should really come from family. Meanwhile, some pointed out that the marriage rate for men in their 30s is already around 50%, questioning why late marriage gets framed as a women-only issue.

    7AnonymousSep 14, 2026 20:55
    Did some guy from J-board (a 2ch/5ch sports-and-news board) sneak into Girls Channel (a women's gossip forum) and spam "women really shine in their 40s" as a psy-op, and did it actually work?
    9AnonymousSep 14, 2026 20:56
    Re: #7
    This was going on way before that.
    16AnonymousSep 14, 2026 20:59
    Re: #7
    I sometimes go on Girls Channel and give advice like "women are happier staying single" and "men are trash, don't bother marrying one." I'm not lying, so it's fine, right? 🤔
    25AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:02
    Koda Kumi said this exact thing and everyone just piled on and criticized her for it. This is basically the Galileo Galilei of the Heisei era (persecuted for telling an inconvenient truth).
    30AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:05
    Re: #25
    Same with the "Christmas cake theory" (a 1990s saying likening women past 25 to unsold Christmas cake) — stuff old folks just took for granted back then.
    32AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:07
    You say "I wish someone had told me," but normally someone in your family tells you this. Your mom or grandma should've said something — if you didn't listen, that's on you.
    38AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:09
    Re: #32
    🦉 How to undo a bra hook 🦉
    Bet a lot of people here don't even know that one. Not really in a position to call others clueless.
    37AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:08
    Grandma: "Aren't you going to get married? Grandma's worried about you."
    Woman: "Uh… can't hear you, can't hear you."
    That's basically how it really goes.
    40AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:10
    Re: #37
    Too busy with work every day to even see grandma.
    45AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:11
    Honestly, living alone costs more than raising kids does, so real estate companies and the women's fashion industry ran campaigns promoting it, and it worked way too well — to the point the country's now past the point of fixing it.
    48AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:12
    Re: #45
    Yeah, that's basically it.
    47AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:12
    Re: #40
    I got an earful from relatives at a funeral. You're bound to hear something whenever relatives gather, whether it's New Year's or a funeral. Grandma, uncles, aunts — they'll definitely say something.
    51AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:13
    Re: #47
    Do you know how to undo a bra hook?
    50AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:13
    I wonder how, 100–200 years from now, people will look back on today's countries that worship free love above all and end up childless and shrinking because of it.
    53AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:14
    Re: #50
    Artificial wombs are about to hit the market, so anyone with money will just have kids even in old age.
    60AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:17
    So it's going to become an era where any old man or woman without personality or intelligence issues can have kids — including lesbian and gay couples, of course.
    63AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:19
    Re: #60
    Artificial wombs won't work for old women even so — donor sperm or not, there's no way for a woman that age to have her own biological child.
    61AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:18
    What about you guys? If you're getting up there in years and still single, you're not exactly one to talk about that woman.
    67AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:20
    Re: #61
    Stop.
    Just stop, please.
    62AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:19
    If you just live a normal life you'd naturally pick up on info like that, though.
    70AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:22
    Re: #62
    That's because women who live a normal life end up getting married…
    74AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:23
    Re: #70
    Men who live a normal life end up getting married too, you know.
    76AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:24
    Re: #74
    The marriage rate for men in their 30s is already down to half these days.
    89AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:30
    Every guy knows this, so why don't women? Shouldn't it normally be the other way around?
    91AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:31
    Re: #89
    Men are the ones being evaluated, so we know full well that once you hit 35 or so, you're basically written off. Women, though, seem to think all the attention they got when young will last forever. It's the same with men's physical stamina — it declines and you don't notice until it's already happened, you just can't tell in advance.
    96AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:34
    Even if she had been told, pretty sure she still wouldn't have done anything about it.
    99AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:36
    Re: #96
    Once you start living alone, you stop having people around you for long stretches of time — you go from being surrounded by family to being around only coworkers.
    98AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:35
    She's a victim of mass media, honestly. Magazines and dramas used to be full of stuff glorifying career women while looking down on stay-at-home wives.
    100AnonymousSep 14, 2026 21:37
    Re: #98
    Yeah, that's exactly how the Heisei era (1989–2019) felt.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The “Christmas cake theory” mentioned in the thread is a phrase from the 1990s that crudely compared a woman’s “marriageable age” to unsold Christmas cake, and it has been brought up again and again in debates over attitudes toward the ideal age for marriage and childbirth ever since. Medically, it’s well established that egg count and quality decline with age, and the statistical probability of natural conception drops after the late 30s — but exactly when and from whom this knowledge should be passed on varies greatly depending on family environment and upbringing, so it’s not something that can be reduced to simple blame based solely on one person saying “I didn’t know.” The thread also brought up Koda Kumi’s past remarks and the “marriage rate among men in their 30s,” but it’s easy to overlook that marriage rate is the result of social choices, whereas declining fertility is a biological change tied to age — two issues that really should be discussed on separate terms.

    ※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (Livegalileo) thread “[Sad News] Woman: “I wish someone had told me sooner that marriage and childbirth get harder once you hit your late 30s”.”

  • Married Men Outlive Bachelors? Marriage’s Life-Extending Effect Is Stark for Men

    According to a survey featured by Forbes Japan, marriage has a far bigger impact on life expectancy for men than for women. Married men tend to live longer, healthier lives, but the same benefit is hard to find for women. On 5ch, a thread debated the reasons behind this gap: some pointed to lifestyle and “someone’s watching over you” effects — “if you live with someone, they’ll notice quickly if you collapse,” “single men have no one to rein them in, so their drinking and diet go downhill” — while others argued it’s really an economic effect (“higher-earning men are just more likely to get married”), and still others pushed back, saying “if you can manage yourself, being single shouldn’t matter.” The thread never settled on a single, simple explanation for marriage’s benefits.

    Forbes Japan — 2026.09.08

    A certain set of statistics has recently caused a lot of surprise, confusion, and even anger online. It found that when it comes to life expectancy, men benefit far more from marriage than women do. In other words, men can live longer, healthier lives with a spouse’s support, but women don’t seem to get the same boost to their lifespan or quality of life.

    That said, the idea that husbands are draining life out of their wives and tacking it onto their own isn’t backed up by research on the subject. Even so, there does seem to be a real difference in how being married or not shapes men’s and women’s lives.

    Source: forbesjapan.com / Read the original article here

    11AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:40
    Isn't it just that if you live with someone, there's a higher chance they'll find you quickly if you collapse from illness?
    173AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:06
    Re: #11
    Also, if you have kids, they'll keep you on life support.
    Whether that's good or bad is another question.
    189AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Re: #11
    That's a huge benefit for society too — if you're alone, you end up being a burden on neighbors, relatives, the government, your landlord, everyone.
    20AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:41
    Single men's happiness levels are pretty low.
    164AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:04
    Re: #20
    Depends on the person, I guess. Like in the rakugo story "Onaoshi" (about a down-and-out man rebuilding his life through remarriage) — if you're lonely, marriage might not be a bad option. Though if there's no one around, there's not much you can do about it.
    22AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:42
    It's probably just that men who can get married earn more, so they can afford better food and healthcare.
    26AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:43
    Re: #22
    I don't think pricier food is necessarily healthier though.
    101AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:54
    Re: #22
    That's part of it, but also people suffer less when they're living for someone else.
    55AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:47
    All the married guys I know have died before 60.
    57AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:47
    If most people around me were happily married, I'd feel more pressure to hurry up, but all I hear is complaints about divorce and child-support court battles,
    so my impression is that marriage sounds like a lot of trouble.
    67AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:48
    Re: #55　What world are you living in?
    72AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:49
    Re: #55
    Re: #57
    Funny how the married guys around single men always seem to be miserable and pathetic, lol
    75AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:50
    If you marry someone you genuinely, truly think is great, it might make you happy
    — but a calculated marriage seems more likely to end in misery.
    84AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:51
    Re: #75
    Aren't pretty much all the couples who meet through matchmaking activities or dating apps these days calculating?
    Especially the women.
    I wonder if those couples end up divorcing once the kids leave the nest.
    86AnonymousSep 13, 2026 20:51
    Re: #75
    Someone like that will never show up, so just settle for whoever's decent enough.
    165AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:05
    Re: #1
    If you can take care of yourself properly, a single man's lifespan shouldn't be any different.
    It's the guys who can't even cook a proper meal who wreck their health and die.
    193AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Re: #165
    True enough.
    195AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:09
    Re: #165
    If a single guy actually cooks properly, his healthy-life-expectancy might be fine too.
    But once his healthy years run out, being single until death probably gets rough in all sorts of ways — that's probably why singles don't outlive married people after that point.
    187AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Being old and single is brutal.
    Just remember that.
    190AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Re: #187
    Wait, so what, you're supposed to double-suicide once you're old?
    192AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:08
    Re: #187
    Single people just drop dead quickly.
    It's married people who awkwardly live long and suffer.
    308AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:23
    Re: #187
    I don't know if it's a single guy or someone caring for a senile old woman, but I often see men around 80 with a backpack on,
    out shopping at the supermarket.
    If you can keep living a normal life like that, it doesn't matter whether you're single or married.
    197AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:09
    Haven't read the article, but I'd bet food is what shortens lifespans.
    If you're eating what you love, that's a happy life.
    225AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:13
    Re: #197
    Can't you eat what you like once you're married?
    That's not really true, is it?
    242AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:15
    Re: #225
    If you have surgery and end up living longer, there tend to be all sorts of dietary restrictions too.
    My dad had two-thirds of his stomach removed and can't eat what he likes anymore.
    248AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:16
    Re: #197　Re: #225
    I think it's half-true that marriage stops you from eating what you like.
    Even when picking a restaurant, you often end up prioritizing your wife's preferences.

    I'm not picky, so it doesn't bother me.
    And I do feel like it's broadened the range of things I like and eat.
    When I was on my own, I just avoided things and never chose them.
    203AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:10
    I wonder how many men actually seriously want to live a long life.
    Once you hit 50, married or single, there's not much left to do, is there?
    It'll probably just be work.
    234AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:14
    Re: #203
    My dad died at 60, and I think it must have been hard for him to accept.
    He probably wanted some time to relax after retiring.
    He seemed to want to play with his grandkids, but he didn't even make it that far.
    245AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:16
    Re: #234
    Same here — my dad passed before his grandchild was born, so I get it.
    Still, that's just fate, I guess.
    258AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:17
    Re: #234
    There are a few people like that at my workplace.
    I have no way of knowing how they felt about their own lives, but bluntly put, I just want to fully collect the pension I paid into and enjoy it.
    211AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:11
    Re: #195
    It's the same either way once one spouse passes first.
    You can't exactly tie your kids down with caregiving duties.
    What everyone needs, married or not, is decent social connections and building up assets so you don't become a burden.
    221AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:12
    Re: #211
    Keep saying stuff like that and people will call it sour grapes, lol
    237AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:14
    Re: #211
    I mean, being called that again doesn't feel great, but…
    wouldn't even someone with kids think about that stuff normally?
    Being a burden on your wife and kids is just the worst.
    260AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:17
    For single men, the number one thing that shortens your life is alcohol.
    Without anyone to stop them, men drink like crazy.
    Next up is unhealthy food — ramen, fried stuff, meat.
    281AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:20
    Re: #260
    Men left on their own tend to be self-destructive, or rather, their urges don't stop, so they just do whatever they want.
    Maybe that's a valid way to live too.
    303AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:23
    Re: #260
    I'm married, but on a day off like today I've been drinking at home since 11am.
    My snack is a 1kg bag of Aogappa from Gyomu Super (a discount supermarket chain).
    Yeah, I'm not living long.
    285AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:20
    I'm 45 and single.
    I look like I'm stuck at 25.
    No sun exposure, exercise regularly, crush stress immediately,
    no ramen or snacks — I've kept this up since I was 16.
    My checkups always come back A, and my health age reads as 29.
    293AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:21
    Re: #285
    For most people, not eating ramen or snacks would be stressful in itself.
    304AnonymousSep 13, 2026 21:23
    Re: #285
    What actually makes you happy? What do you enjoy doing?

    Background and talking points

    Surveys linking marriage and life expectancy like this one have been reported repeatedly across various countries, but it’s worth noting that most are observational studies — they don’t prove that marriage itself causally extends life. What’s likely happening instead is a selection effect: men who are already healthy and financially stable tend to be the ones who get married in the first place (healthier people are more likely to remain in the marriage market). Some in the thread raised the income angle, but this selection-bias perspective barely came up. It’s also easy to overlook that the original article itself rejects the folk theory that “wives are draining their husbands’ lifespan.” The more mundane — and probably more accurate — conclusion is that lifestyle habits and self-care, not marital status itself, are what really drive lifespan differences.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Society] Are married people happier than singles? Marriage tends to extend average lifespan, especially for men.”

  • ‘Marriage Is Life’s Graveyard’ Debate Erupts Into Married-vs-Single Flame War — 5ch Users Whip Out ‘Certificates of Registration,’ LOL

    The thread kicked off with a simple question: “Old-school netizens always used to call marriage ‘life’s graveyard’ — but was that actually a lie?” The discussion quickly spiraled into a slap-fight over who’s really better off, singles or married people, and it hit a full boil when a poster claiming to be married posted a photo of a property registration certificate as “proof” he was really married. The single camp fired back that he was just an unmarried guy still living with his parents, borrowing his niece’s or nephew’s stuff to troll. From there it turned into an escalating duel of “proof” screenshots. Posters also split over a more fundamental question: is getting married down to luck, or to effort?

    1Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 09:32:04.45
    So what happens to all the older singles who believed that back in the day?
    6Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 09:38:14.02
    I mean, you can always become single again by getting married and divorced — might as well try it once.
    7Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 09:39:36.08
    Re: #6
    Exactly this.
    If you're going to argue single life is better, you need at least one divorce (a "batsu-ichi," literally "one X mark" — 5ch slang for a divorcé) under your belt, or it's not convincing.
    27Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:11:28.71
    Re: #6
    Nah, that just wrecks your finances and burns your time — no thanks.
    99Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:50:36.14
    Re: #6
    I know a guy whose life fell apart after his divorce, so I can't say that so lightly.
    He spent years fighting it out in divorce mediation and ended up paying 150,000 yen a month in child support.

    Reality check: one in three married couples gets divorced.
    19Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:01:47.44
    It's a mystery what keeps older singles motivated to get through each day.
    20Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:02:23.29
    Re: #19
    Probably patrolling the Yahoo! News comment section (a notorious hangout for lonely middle-aged men in Japanese internet culture).
    21Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:06:01.47
    Re: #19
    Can you not see yourself, posting on NanJ (the sports/live-commentary board this very thread is on)?
    22Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:06:43.69
    Re: #21
    Actually, I'm married with kids.
    23Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:07:34.58
    Re: #22
    Anyone can just say they're married.
    26Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:10:53.69
    Re: #23
    You lose, old single guy.
    29Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:13:30.65
    Re: #26
    Too bad for you.
    41Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:19:58.72
    Re: #26
    That's just a single guy still living with his parents, using his niece's and nephew's stuff to troll.
    57Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:28:56.85
    The kodo-oji ("child-uncle" — mocking slang for a grown man who still lives with his parents) is losing it, lol.

    This is the custom-built single-story house I had put up, by the way, lol.
    61Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:32:04.59
    Re: #57
    Pathetic kodo-oji screeching, lol.
    67Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:35:52.49
    Re: #57
    You built a house and you've got a wife and kids, and yet this thread is the only place you belong — isn't that a bit too sad?
    59Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:30:28.52
    Re: #26
    Don't stick your kid in front of an educational TV show! 😡
    69Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:36:24.99
    Re: #59
    Good eye.
    Actually, my kid won that from a crane game.
    Anyway, here's my certificate of registration completion (proof issued after a property's ownership is officially recorded), lolol.


    Bet the kodo-oji doesn't even know what this is, lol.
    76Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:39:16.94
    Re: #69
    Don't let a baby operate a crane game! 😡
    84Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:45:03.01
    Re: #69
    The kodo-oji's furious "certificate of registration" comeback, lol.
    62Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:33:14.47
    Marriage is just luck, you shouldn't troll people over it.
    65Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:34:40.49
    Re: #62
    There's a surplus of women these days, so it's less about luck and more about how much time and effort you put in.
    68Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:36:11.32
    Re: #65
    It's luck.
    Though sure, you gotta spin the roulette wheel to get anything started.
    77Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:40:15.33
    Re: #69
    Lol, he brought out his sibling's property register.
    81Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:43:28.01
    Re: #77
    A-a "property register"?? lolol
    The register itself is kept at the Legal Affairs Bureau, lol — there's no way you could take that out.

    Totally busted as someone who's never actually owned a house ("air-play," 5ch slang for faking experience you don't have).
    93Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:47:36.93
    Re: #84
    The idea that your family home was built in Reiwa 5 (2023, the current Japanese imperial era year) is hilarious, lol.
    94Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:48:24.10
    Re: #93
    But that's your sibling's, isn't it, lol
    98Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:49:45.65
    It's wild how hard "proof of marriage" hits the older singles on this board.
    Kind of not normal, honestly.

    Re: #94
    The idea in your head that people just hand documents you'd normally lock in a safe over to their siblings, lol.
    107Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:52:24.98
    Re: #98
    Says the guy uploading "safe-level" documents to the internet.
    108Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:52:56.10
    Re: #98
    The guy living with his sibling getting worked up, lol.
    105Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:51:59.00
    Sorry, but I'm also a married guy who got married in Reiwa 5.
    109Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:53:01.52
    Re: #107
    What is this guy even saying.
    Are you seriously clueless about real estate?
    113Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:54:08.53
    Re: #109
    So worked up, lol.
    118Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:55:55.64
    Re: #113
    Ha, that landed, lol.
    Messing with older singles is fun, lol.
    125Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:57:59.05
    Re: #118
    But that's your nephew, isn't it, lol
    129Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 10:59:13.56
    Getting married but skipping the kids means you can still do whatever you want — that's the fun way to go.
    132Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 11:00:20.38
    Re: #129
    If you hate kids there's no point getting married.
    There's no way you'd ever become a hands-on, kid-loving dad like me.
    134Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 11:00:46.26
    Re: #129
    You really just want to spend all your time on yourself, huh, lol
    136Anonymous2026/09/13 (Sun) 11:01:32.08
    Re: #129
    From the government's point of view you're just exploiting it for tax breaks — that's actually the worst kind, lol.

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    The phrase “marriage is life’s graveyard” has long been used online by single people to justify their status — but this thread starts from the opposite position, arguing that saying was never true. In practice, divorce is common enough that pushback appeared too: posters pointed out that “one in three married couples divorces,” and cited an acquaintance whose divorce mediation dragged on for years and ended with 150,000 yen a month in child-support payments, suggesting marriage isn’t always a rose garden. The debate also split over whether getting married comes down to luck or to effort, with one side citing Japan’s current surplus of women to argue that time and effort matter more, and the other insisting luck is still the deciding factor. Notably, the “proof” documents that became the centerpiece of the argument — registers (登記簿) — are legally kept in original form only at the Legal Affairs Bureau and can’t be physically taken out by individuals, a technicality other posters were quick to call out.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (NanJ / “Whatever’s on Live” board) thread: “[Sad News] Old-school netizens’ claim that ‘marriage is life’s graveyard’ turns out to be a lie, lol”.

  • Kentaro Sakaguchi’s “Secret Marriage” Hit with Two-Timing Allegations — 5ch Users Cry “Sounds Made Up”

    On September 6, actor Kentaro Sakaguchi (35) announced on his paid fan club website that he had married a non-celebrity woman. In response, Bunshun Online reported allegations that Sakaguchi’s relationship with actress Mei Nagano had overlapped with the period he was dating his now-wife, splitting opinion on the 5ch Geinō Supo Sokuhō+ board over what’s true and who’s really at fault. While some suspect the story “reeks of fiction,” others argue Nagano shares the blame for the alleged two-timing, and some are dredging up Sakaguchi’s own dating history.

    “Stay Away From My Boyfriend!” — The Full Inside Story of Kentaro Sakaguchi’s “Secret Marriage,” From the Mei Nagano Two-Timing Scandal to Overcoming Opposition

    “This is a personal matter, but I wanted to share that I have married a non-celebrity woman I’ve been seeing.”

    On the night of September 6, actor Kentaro Sakaguchi (35) announced his marriage on his paid fan club website.

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

    2AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:22
    Either way, this doesn't look like it'll last…
    3AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:22
    Did something that dramatic actually happen, seriously?
    24AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:37
    Re: #3
    Kind of reeks of fiction, doesn't it?
    26AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:39
    Re: #3
    It's the kind of thing you'd only know if you were there, so it's probably made up.
    4AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:22
    So he ended up marrying the other woman from that love-triangle mess with Nagano, lol
    5AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:23
    The guy's the one at fault here.
    He'll just do it again.
    49AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:12
    Re: #5
    So Mei Nagano, who causes trouble every single time, bears no responsibility at all?
    6AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:23
    What's the point of writing an article like this?
    Nobody comes out of it happy.
    30AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:42
    Re: #6
    Kendo Watanabe: "Ain't that the truth" (the comedian infamous for his own cheating scandal)
    7AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:24
    The idea that Bunshun articles are all "lies, exaggeration, and misleading" — I already learned that well enough from the Isa and Sugio stories (past Bunshun reports about people by those names that turned out to be off-base)
    8AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:24
    The fact that they threw in "Matt" as a palate-cleanser is seriously hilarious (lol)
    12AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:26
    Re: #8
    Wasn't that Gaasy? (the YouTuber known for leaking celebrity dirt)
    9AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:25
    Sure, Mei Nagano did something wrong.
    But when it comes to this Kentaro Sakaguchi business, isn't she actually the victim?
    Dredging this up again seems like it can only hurt Sakaguchi and Ms. A's side.
    19AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:34
    Re: #9
    Bunshun's never going to publish an article for someone else's benefit.
    67AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:46
    Re: #9
    "Dredging it up," lol — it's not like it's a disease that flares back up.
    10AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:25
    Isn't Mei-chan kind of the victim here?
    There's a chance she didn't even know he was living with someone.
    80AnonymousSep 13, 2026 02:08
    Re: #10
    Kei Tanaka: "You think so?" (the actor from Nagano's earlier affair scandal)
    16AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:27
    No, Nagano was the better choice — why'd he go with a hair-and-makeup artist?
    Was he threatened into it?
    17AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:29
    Shouldn't this so-called "Ms. A" be mad at Sakaguchi for two-timing her?
    20AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:35
    These tabloids think they can write whatever they want as long as it's about Mei Nagano.
    21AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:35
    A guy who's careless with women will keep doing it again and again.
    22AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:35
    Wasn't this actually a four-way tangle, including Mitsuki Takahata?
    53AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:19
    Re: #22
    Didn't Mitsuki Takahata and Haru overlap too?
    23AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:37
    No way a guy admits to two-timing on his own.
    He obviously just got caught and cornered about it.
    25AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:39
    Hmm, so-and-so & so-and-so & so-and-so & me — I've completely lost track.
    27AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:40
    Who exactly did Bunshun hear this from?
    28AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:41
    Is this from a different time period than the affair with Kei Tanaka?
    29AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:41
    Writing a hit piece around a private citizen who has no way to speak up for herself is just low, Bunshun.
    31AnonymousSep 13, 2026 00:42
    I'm actually about to break up with my own 35-year-old girlfriend of 6 years too, so this could get messy for me.
    54AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:19
    If it weren't for the affair, she'd just be seen as someone who's dated a lot.
    Yui Aoi and Erika Toda had plenty of rumors too, but since there was no affair involved, they've kept working steadily.
    63AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:34
    Sakaguchi's the trash one here.
    Even after a betrayal like that, he still went and got married?
    73AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:52
    Re: #63
    Same with male idol fans — when a dating scandal breaks, they go after the woman.
    Guess the logic is that the cheating guy isn't at fault, the woman is.
    71AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:49
    Re: #53
    Good for both of them, marrying other good-looking guys instead.
    76AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:54
    Re: #71
    Sakaguchi's really been through a string of actresses — and that's just the ones we know about.
    77AnonymousSep 13, 2026 01:57
    Maybe Nagano could still survive in showbiz if she rebrands herself as a "femme fatale" type, like Yuki Saito did.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Bunshun Online’s report came out just one week after Sakaguchi announced his marriage, and the announcement itself — made via a paid fan club site — had already drawn attention. Mei Nagano was previously reported in 2024 to have had an affair with actor Kei Tanaka, and in the thread this new two-timing allegation is at times conflated with that earlier scandal. Per the Bunshun article, the woman identified as his marriage partner is not a celebrity but a “private citizen,” and it should be noted that there is no source for this beyond that article. Some posts also speculate about the relationships by naming other actresses such as Mitsuki Takahata, Haru, and Yui Aoi, but these are unrelated to this particular report and remain unconfirmed speculation rather than established fact.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinō Supo Sokuhō+) thread “[Bunshun] Called Mei Nagano Directly and Scolded Her! “Stay Away From My Boyfriend!” — Kentaro Sakaguchi’s Two-Timing Scandal With Mei Nagano and His Marriage Partner… The Full Inside Story.”

  • Pre-Built House or Custom-Built Home? 5ch: ‘The Building Itself Is Worth Zero After 30 Years Anyway’

    A thread on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo” board blew up over the choice of buying a pre-built house (“tateuri”) instead of a custom-built one. It kicked off with a post from someone who picked a pre-built home for its prime location, and from there the discussion spread into the nuts and bolts of home buying: renovation costs after 30 years, a raffle for a newly built house going for just 5.8 million yen, and headaches around foreclosed properties. One poster also reported seeing a pre-built house under construction being left exposed to weeks of rain, sparking a split between those worried about construction quality and those pushing back on that concern.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:32
    That's literally me
    3AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:33
    If the pre-built house has the floor plan you actually wanted anyway, I think that's fine
    8AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:36
    Re: #3
    Honestly, more than the floor plan, the location was just amazing
    13AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:38
    What are you gonna do about renovations?
    I don't want to sink 10 million yen into renovating a house whose structure originally cost less than 15 million, so once it hits 30 years old I'm thinking I'll skip renovating, tear it down, and just rebuild something sized for me and my spouse instead
    19AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:41
    Re: #13
    Depends on the situation at the time
    There's inheritance coming in too, and if the kids want the land for their own place I'd hand it over and move elsewhere
    24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:45
    Re: #13
    You don't need a full 10-million-yen renovation
    If you're just redoing the plumbing/bathroom and the wallpaper, that can be as cheap as 3 million
    14AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:38
    Those raffles for a brand-new house at 5.8 million yen? Good luck actually winning one
    97AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:53
    Re: #14
    Wait, those actually exist?
    16AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:40
    Re: #11
    It's a prefectural capital, but it's a total car-dependent town
    Being near the station doesn't add any value here
    Though my place does happen to be near both the station and a bus stop
    36AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:51
    Re: #16
    There are places where the strip along the national highway is more built-up than the area around the station
    17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:40
    Are there any pre-built houses that end up going to auction after foreclosure?
    74AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:36
    Re: #17
    Foreclosed pre-built houses usually need serious repairs
    Even replacing every last bit of wallpaper won't get rid of it
    Dog smell or cigarette smell basically comes standard
    20AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:42
    With foreclosure properties, it's the winning bidder who has to actually evict whoever's still living there
    23AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:45
    Re: #20
    If I were the one being evicted, I'd probably trash the whole place first
    25AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:45
    Re: #20
    Oh really? I assumed the bank handled that when they enforced the mortgage lol
    30AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:47
    If you tried to build a custom house on the same land as a pre-built one, land included, it'd cost close to 1.5x as much — that's a tough sell
    35AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:50
    Re: #30
    The budget's tight enough as it is, and good lots basically never come up for sale anyway
    34AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:49
    What's actually wrong with pre-built houses?
    Can't you just buy from a well-regarded builder like Sekisui House or Sumitomo Forestry?
    42AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:55
    Re: #34
    The pre-built houses from those big builders are only ever out in the middle of nowhere though
    44AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:56
    Is land actually going to get cheaper from here?
    47AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:59
    Re: #44
    I'd guess it's going to polarize more
    48AnonymousSep 12, 2026 08:59
    Re: #44
    Rural areas keep losing population, so they'll just keep depopulating and losing value
    54AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:03
    Pre-built houses out in the countryside are seriously baffling to me
    Just buy used
    55AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:04
    Re: #54
    Feels like more people in rural areas insist it has to be brand new
    56AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:11
    Re: #54
    Out in the countryside, recently-built houses barely change hands
    Even after an early divorce, both spouses are usually locals, so one of them just keeps living there in lieu of alimony/child support. Not many people work for companies with a transfer culture either, and even when there is a transfer, they're more likely to go alone and leave the family behind
    And for older properties, once you factor in a full renovation, a pre-built house can end up cheaper anyway
    68AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:30
    On my commute there's a well-known online real-estate company that knocked down 2 houses and is building 3 pre-built houses in their place
    Even through this stretch of endless rain they've kept building all day
    and after they pack up in the evening they don't even cover anything — it's left completely exposed to the rain, pillars and interior walls soaked
    And since it's been raining day after day, there's no time for it to dry out either
    The wood's gotta be getting weaker (worse earthquake resistance), and mold's probably already growing
    Once it gets sandwiched between the wallpaper and the exterior wall, it'll just keep cultivating in there
    you know how sometimes you see a house where the wallpaper's completely covered in mold
    or you tear one down and the insulation is caked in mold — this is exactly how that happens
    Respect to anyone who actually buys a pre-built house
    76AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:42
    Re: #68
    With custom builds there are seriously a ton of "landmine" clients like this too, wish someone would do something about it
    It doesn't matter if kiln-dried lumber pillars or flooring get a little wet, but the builder's sales reps just go along with whatever the client says anyway
    104AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:56
    Re: #76
    Normal rain wouldn't be a problem, but with a ridiculous amount of rain over this many days like right now, yeah, it'll flat-out rot and mold 😅
    69AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:31
    I went custom-built because my wife wanted to, but honestly you're better off putting the money that would go into the building itself toward the land instead and building somewhere with a great location
    89AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:51
    Re: #69
    That's exactly what we did — 40 million yen on the land, 15 million on the building
    The building itself will be worth zero in 30 years, but as long as inflation keeps going, the land should keep appreciating — that's my thinking
    78AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:44
    Re: #76
    They really should let it dry for a few days at least, but yeah, that's rough
    114AnonymousSep 12, 2026 09:59
    If you already own the land, could you build a small one-person house for around 5 million yen?
    119AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:03
    Re: #114
    If you go with a home builder, it starts at 35 million
    120AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:03
    Re: #114
    Even a tiny single-story house starts at 10 million, so with that budget a used container house is about the best you'll manage
    121AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:04
    Re: #114
    Up until around the COVID era you could build one for 10 million
    Now the same house would cost you 20 million
    122AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:04
    Where's good in Saitama?
    Omiya?
    124AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:04
    Re: #122
    Is there even any land there an ordinary person could afford?
    125AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:04
    Re: #122
    Probably the highland side of Asaka
    The eastern half is all low-lying land

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Both custom-built and pre-built houses ultimately mean owning a detached house, but they differ greatly in how much freedom you have over acquiring land and in how the total cost breaks down. In the thread, some pointed out that because a pre-built house’s price is fixed together with the land, it’s easier to end up in a good location, whereas pre-built houses from major home builders tend to cluster in the suburbs. Opinions split over how rain exposure during construction affects materials: one side argued it’s fine once it dries out, while the other argued that moisture that has soaked into the wood’s interior or joints can’t escape without tearing the structure down, leading to mold and reduced earthquake resistance — the back-and-forth got fairly technical. The thread also touched on the structural backdrop in rural areas, where the secondhand market is thin and a strong preference for new construction persists, highlighting regional differences in the housing market that city-dwellers’ assumptions alone don’t capture.

    ※This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Guys who buy pre-built houses instead of custom-built ones wwwwww.”

  • “Not Wanting to Marry” Just Means You’re Immature? 5ch Users Split

    A thread titled “I get it if you want to marry but can’t — but not wanting to marry just means you’re immature” was posted on the Nanji Jikkyō (V) board and drew 42 replies.

    While some argued that choosing not to have children reflects “a lack of instinct” or “running from responsibility,” plenty of others pushed back, saying “being alone is comfortable” or “I’m choosing this precisely because I understand responsibility comes with it.” The debate over whether married or single people are more “emotionally mature” never quite converged, and some questioned the whole premise of judging someone’s character based on their marital status.

    1AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:13
    Or a weirdo.
    4AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:14
    Saying you don't want kids means you're lacking basic biological instinct.
    5AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:14
    Re: #4
    Exactly. Their sex drive stops right at… sex drive, and never goes anywhere beyond it.
    10AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:17
    Sorry, I just like being alone. Even getting called immature over it beats living every day stressed out.
    77AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:04
    Re: #10
    Well, family members make up about half of all murder cases, so I guess that "stress" builds up plenty too (lol)
    16AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:20
    Raising kids lets you relive your own life all over again, it's fun.
    17AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:21
    Re: #16
    Babies are cute.
    21AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:26
    Re: #16
    This. Watching my kid play the Famicom version of Mario brings back old memories.
    18AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:22
    By the way, 80% of people who marry young, around age 20, end up divorced.
    23AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:30
    Re: #18
    Remarriage rates are actually higher for divorcees, you know.
    24AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:30
    Re: #18
    Idiots probably believe that and use it as an emotional crutch.
    30AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:35
    The fact that every reason singles give for not marrying is selfish says it all.
    31AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:36
    Re: #30
    Because the real reason is wanting their own time (scrolling on their phone, anime, manga, games). No purpose in life.
    49AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:47
    Getting married but not wanting kids, not having kids ← either immature or a weirdo.
    52AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:48
    Re: #49
    Feels like they're running from responsibility.
    57AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:49
    If anything, it's the immature ones living on pure instinct who marry without a second thought and just keep having kids without a second thought. Look at any delinquent (yankī) — the contestants on Break Down (a delinquent-culture amateur fighting event) are almost all parents, it's hilarious.
    61AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:52
    Re: #57
    Immature people run away instead of marrying.
    62AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:54
    Re: #57
    Says the unmarried, emotionally immature middle-aged guy.
    63AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:55
    But by this logic, people in developed countries would be the immature ones, and people in developing countries the mature ones.
    66AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:56
    Re: #63
    Outside the big cities, Japan is basically turning into a developing country anyway.
    65AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:56
    People who are better-looking than average and don't overthink life tend to end up in a shotgun marriage young, whether they're a guy or a girl. Just like animals.
    68AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:57
    Re: #65
    Looks alone won't get you to marriage. There's real resolve involved, plus relationships with both families — you can't pull that off if you're immature.
    70AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:58
    Everyone who says they don't want to marry is, without exception, unpopular with the opposite sex.
    72AnonymousSep 12, 2026 10:59
    Re: #70
    Not only unpopular, but their standards are absurdly high — they're seriously gunning for idol-tier partners.
    80AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:06
    This is where running from responsibility forever gets you.
    84AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:09
    Re: #80
    Ironically, running away means you're aware responsibility comes with it, so that's actually a sign of some maturity. Plenty of people out there marry and pop out kids casually precisely because they feel no sense of responsibility at all.
    89AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:12
    Re: #84
    We're laughing at the immaturity of not being able to shoulder responsibility. A half-formed adult for life.
    93AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:16
    Re: #89
    You keep saying "responsibility, responsibility," but what do you actually get out of fulfilling it?
    109AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:26
    Things you can only do by marrying, you can't do single. Things you can do single, you can also do married.
    110AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:27
    Here we go again, singles trash-talking each other. Just get along.
    112AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:28
    Re: #110
    Why do people end up thinking this way, I wonder. Does saying that actually protect them somehow?
    116AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:31
    Re: #112
    People who want to hold themselves together make sweeping statements like this to convince themselves it's true.
    119AnonymousSep 12, 2026 11:32
    Re: #112
    Married guys who bash singles on Nanji-G (a 5ch sports-turned-general board) are even sadder, so honestly I'd rather they were single too.

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    Threads like this keep popping up because Japan’s rising unmarried rate and trend toward later marriage have long been hot topics. But this particular thread isn’t really about statistics — it’s a value judgment about how to interpret people’s reasons for not marrying, and true to a live-discussion board, it quickly turned into an emotional back-and-forth.

    The biggest sticking point is the definition of “immature” itself. Those defending the original claim link marriage and childbearing to “instinct” and “responsibility,” treating avoidance of them as immaturity. Those pushing back counter that choosing to keep your distance precisely because you’re aware responsibility comes with it is itself a sign of maturity, and ask whether it’s fair to call singles selfish while assuming every married person’s motives are purely selfless — exposing the double standard in the logic.

    One thing readers shouldn’t take at face value: the claim floated in the thread that “80% of people who marry around age 20 end up divorced” is just an anonymous post on 5ch, with no source or evidence behind it. Even within the thread itself, this kind of sweeping claim was mocked as something “idiots believe and use as an emotional crutch” — it shouldn’t be treated as established fact.

    ※This article is an excerpt and summary based on the 5ch (Nanji G) thread ““I get it if you want to marry but can’t” — but “not wanting to marry” just means you’re immature.”

  • Rats Squeal ‘Delicious!’ While Eating Chocolate

    Giving rats a piece of chocolate reportedly changes their ultrasonic vocalizations — a shift that might reflect a feeling of “deliciousness,” according to an article from Nazology that became a hot topic on 5ch. Rats’ ultrasonic calls have long been thought to shift with context and reflect their emotional state, but this piece drew attention for zeroing in on their reaction to sweetness specifically. On the thread, opinion split between reading the calls as an expression of deliciousness and dismissing them as mere alertness or a plain physiological reflex, with the discussion ultimately centering on just how hard it is to translate an animal’s feelings into human words.

    Rats squealed “delicious” while eating chocolate

    It’s one of those nights — you pop a square of chocolate into your mouth during a break from overtime, and an involuntary “mmm, good” slips out.

    Rats’ ultrasonic calls are known to change depending on the situation, and are thought to reflect their emotional state.

    Source: nazology.kusuguru.co.jp / Read the original article here

    2AnonymousSep 11, 2026 01:05
    Besides cats, dogs, birds, rabbits, and ferrets can all get poisoned by the compound in cacao too — is it really fine for rats?
    5AnonymousSep 11, 2026 02:18
    Dewicious!! (a cutesy, lisped way of saying "oishii," delicious)
    6AnonymousSep 11, 2026 02:35
    What about animals other than rats?
    7AnonymousSep 11, 2026 02:50
    Mmm, mmm, mmm.
    I could go for seconds too!
    8AnonymousSep 11, 2026 03:03
    Wouldn't sugar or honey work better than chocolate?
    Might be beside the point, but I bet it's squealing just because there's sugar in there making it sweet — I doubt it actually likes the bitterness or flavor of the cacao itself.
    11AnonymousSep 11, 2026 04:46
    Re: #8
    Rat: "What's this guy on about. Fine, then YOU go lick plain sugar from now on."
    9AnonymousSep 11, 2026 04:19
    Is it actually safe for them to eat?
    10AnonymousSep 11, 2026 04:23
    I once threw a net over my tomatoes, and a crow screeched what sounded like "kuwasero!" (a caw resembling 食わせろ, "feed me!") before flying off.
    14AnonymousSep 11, 2026 07:01
    Give a cat some eel and it eats it going "nom nom nom."
    16AnonymousSep 11, 2026 07:12
    Re: #14
    They're happier with meat. Maybe, like their ancestors, deep down they think rat is the tastiest thing of all lol
    15AnonymousSep 11, 2026 07:09
    Re: #11
    What are you on about. Unlike you, a lowly creature, we humans have the refined palate to enjoy bitterness and flavor. We think plain sweetness alone is monotonous and boring — we're nothing like some rat.
    39AnonymousSep 11, 2026 21:51
    Re: #15
    You're the lowly creature here lol, your own post contradicts itself.
    17AnonymousSep 11, 2026 07:16
    Snake's reaction to eating a Calorie Mate bar (Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid; Calorie Mate is a popular Japanese nutrition bar)
    21AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:12
    Re: #17
    There were stray dogs hanging around some ruins in Egypt, so I gave one a Calorie Mate bar I had on me. It seemed wary of the unfamiliar smell — kept sniffing it but never actually ate it. Maybe it sensed something was off.
    18AnonymousSep 11, 2026 07:18
    Re: #16
    My two tabby sister cats never once fought over canned cat food, but the moment I gave them KFC chicken they were growling and wrestling over it.
    19AnonymousSep 11, 2026 07:49
    Even between humans, it's only ever an assumption that what someone else feels is similar to what we ourselves feel. And when it comes to other species, there's no way to know at all.
    23AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:19
    That cat sound "han-nyan-nya" is a classic go-to sound effect on YouTube.
    24AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:26
    Chocolate is basically a lump of caffeine — are rats even okay with that?
    25AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:31
    If it'd been a sea otter (rakko) instead of a rat (ratto) — similar-sounding words in Japanese — I'd have let this slide.
    27AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:57
    Chocolate is delicious, after all.
    I eat a little bit every day myself.
    28AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:51
    Chocolate technically counts as a fermented food, so it might actually be good for your gut bacteria.
    30AnonymousSep 11, 2026 17:27
    Cats make that "nya-nya" mumbling sound when eating something tasty, but apparently that's really them guarding it, worried it'll get taken away.
    33AnonymousSep 11, 2026 20:02
    Re: #30
    Nah, however you slice it, that's clearly "yum, yum." Sounds like some researcher's study with a weird bias baked in.
    31AnonymousSep 11, 2026 18:26
    Choco-rat (a pun blending チョコレート "chocolate" and ラット "rat")
    32AnonymousSep 11, 2026 19:10
    So now we're getting rat-to-human translators?
    34AnonymousSep 11, 2026 20:22
    Saying "delicious" when you eat something tasty is a distinctly human sensation and habit — I doubt animals really have that same sense or behavior. Sure, they probably have preferences, and probably feel happy eating something they like, but whether they're actually vocalizing that as "this is delicious" is a whole different question.
    36AnonymousSep 11, 2026 20:42
    Re: #34
    Isn't the point more that involuntarily making a sound when you feel happy about something tasty might not be a habit unique to humans?
    35AnonymousSep 11, 2026 20:23
    Well hold on, it's kind of weird that humans say "yum, yum" when eating something tasty in the first place. What purpose does that word even serve coming out of your mouth?
    37AnonymousSep 11, 2026 21:13
    Besides the possibility that inner happiness is turning into vocalization, I wondered if it might also serve a role in informing others ("hey, there's some high-nutrition food over here!").

    Also, they're running this experiment in a smaller space than I expected.
    38AnonymousSep 11, 2026 21:26
    Re: #36
    > involuntarily making a sound when you feel happy about something tasty
    Nah, that could well be a habit unique to humans. Even among humans, some people just don't do it — if it's not a habit you have, you won't say it.
    41AnonymousSep 11, 2026 22:22
    Re: #38
    > could be a habit unique to humans
    > if it's not a habit, you won't say it
    Exactly. And isn't this study likewise suggesting that "some animals also have individuals with a similar habit"?
    40AnonymousSep 11, 2026 22:19
    You're not looking at this objectively at all…

    Background and Discussion Points

    Theobromine, the main compound in chocolate, is known to cause toxicity in dogs, cats, birds, and rabbits, and this point came up as a question on the thread too. The amount given in this experiment appears to have been very small, and toxicity itself isn’t really the article’s focus. Research treating animal ultrasonic vocalizations as indicators of emotion has been advancing in recent years, and methods for estimating pleasure or displeasure from the frequency and pattern of calls are becoming established in behavioral science. That said, the phrase “squealing deliciously” is itself a kind of anthropomorphism — what’s actually been observed is simply a change in vocalization patterns. The split in opinion on the thread ultimately comes down to a single question: how far are we willing to accept that anthropomorphism — do we read the calls as an emotional expression, or as nothing more than a physiological reflex or alert signal?

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Science News+) thread “[Nazology] Rats Squealed “Delicious” While Eating Chocolate.”

  • Eating Tomato Paste for 3 Months Changes the Brain — 5ch: “So Ketchup Is the Ultimate Condiment”

    A new study reports that a group who ate tomato paste every day for three months showed changes in both cognitive test scores and fMRI brain scans. Antioxidants found in tomatoes, such as lycopene, are thought to be involved. On 5ch, some praised the popularity of high-lycopene drinks and their fit with the Mediterranean diet, while others raised doubts about the study’s design — including the small number of participants and whether there was a proper control group — leaving opinions on the effect divided.

    Study finds that eating tomato paste continuously for three months produces changes in cognitive function and brain scan images

    Tomatoes are a popular food eaten worldwide, rich in nutrients including lycopene, the compound behind their red color.

    A new study has reported that eating tomato paste continuously for three months leads to changes in cognitive function and brain scan images.

    Source: mdpi.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 10, 2026 23:48
    Which way will this go?
    3AnonymousSep 11, 2026 00:17
    Kagome, Heinz, Del Monte: "So there you have it."
    4AnonymousSep 11, 2026 01:40
    Red yeast rice supplements: "If a specific product turns out contaminated, the effects can be fatal" (a nod to Japan's 2024 beni-koji supplement scandal)
    5AnonymousSep 11, 2026 04:25
    I'd get sick of eating it every single day
    6AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:06
    Pair low-salt Japanese food with Mediterranean-style tomatoes and seafood and you'd have the ultimate diet
    7AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:31
    I actually had a stroke once because my blood was too sludgy. So I asked my doctor, 'If I load up on lycopene, will my blood thin out and I'll get healthy?' He just flat-out laughed and said, 'Ha ha, no way — if it were that easy, nobody would need doctors.'
    21AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:57
    Re: #7
    The doctor was laughing at the simplistic idea of 'just eat this and you're fine.' A healthy diet should really be thought of as just a preventive habit.
    26AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:21
    Re: #7
    …'load up on it'!? Wait, do you still have aftereffects from the stroke…?
    8AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:47
    Tomatoes are so expensive though
    9AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:52
    Some regular folks have already caught on to this. The 200ml carton of high-lycopene tomato juice is always sold out — because it's priced the same as regular tomato juice, so the smart shoppers grab the high-lycopene one.
    20AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:45
    Re: #9
    Guess lycopene just has more marketing pull than other health claims? Though lately a lot of tomato juices are pushing GABA instead.

    What bugs me is this paper doesn't touch on cholesterol at all — that's usually the first thing you'd expect them to mention. Makes me wonder if the results there just weren't great. A lot of other papers show pretty lukewarm effects on that front too.
    10AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:56
    So is tomato stuff actually good for the brain or not?
    11AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:57
    Re: #10
    Even if it's a struggle on the wallet, it's worth it if it makes something you're not that fond of easier to get down.
    12AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:58
    Lycopene's a hydrocarbon, so it's fat-soluble. Wouldn't that just turn your body fat red?
    14AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:04
    If lycopene's so great, does that mean I got smarter over the summer from eating a ton of watermelon?
    15AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:14
    Cells are made of fat, and without antioxidants they just keep deteriorating.

    A diet like the Mediterranean one, which supplies good-quality oils and antioxidants, is genuinely great — it's effective against stroke too.

    But you can't eat nothing but tomatoes and olive oil year-round, so the real question becomes how you keep getting non-hexane-extracted oils and antioxidants into your diet.

    Honestly, just using good-quality oil and good-quality salt in traditional Japanese cooking already makes it pretty healthy. Add something that gives you polyphenols as an occasional treat, and your diet has nothing to worry about.

    If you don't build health up from the cellular level as a foundation, patching things up with medication later just leads to polypharmacy problems.
    17AnonymousSep 11, 2026 10:21
    Re: #15
    Japanese people should strictly avoid overdoing it on fat, no matter what kind.
    16AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:18
    Not quite a predatory journal, but definitely second-tier.
    A sample of just 42 people is way too small.
    No placebo group or dietary controls, so other factors aren't ruled out.
    The cognitive tests did show a significant difference, but it's nowhere near dramatic rejuvenation or an IQ boost.

    They're using blood tests and fMRI to probe cognition, but that alone can't confirm the effect.
    And the source is GIGAZINE (lol) — classic clickbait headline.
    18AnonymousSep 11, 2026 11:24
    Does ketchup count too?
    22AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:02
    By that logic, Spaniards' and Italians' brains should be significantly different from other countries' — but I've never heard of anything like that.
    23AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:05
    As plants go, tomatoes are especially high in glutamic acid
    24AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:06
    Re: #20
    I think if you do a straight taste test, the high-lycopene one just tastes better, so people keep buying it again.
    27AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:32
    Eat tomato-stewed oily fish like sardines, saury, and mackerel every day, and you get DHA/EPA on top of the lycopene — even better for your brain.
    28AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:33
    Re: #1
    Just post the whole thing, that'll make it clear!! Post it pretending to be someone else.
    29AnonymousSep 11, 2026 12:47
    So that means ketchup is the ultimate condiment, huh
    30AnonymousSep 11, 2026 13:09
    So if you get taurine and tomatoes, that turns you into a baby, huh
    31AnonymousSep 11, 2026 13:14
    Re: #30
    You eat it right now! Eat a whole heap of it! It works wonders on the brain!
    32AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:28
    I mean, if you actually like tomato juice or unsweetened vegetable juice, you can just drink it for the price or the taste — that's fine. But the people buying the little bottles touting GABA or lycopene, choosing it for that reason rather than the taste, are probably people who don't actually like tomatoes to begin with. They're basically drinking it like medicine out of obligation, which is kind of sad in a way.
    33AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:53
    It's pointless. Your mortality rate is 100%.
    34AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:58
    Is that the toxin they say will kill you if you eat a whole drum's worth of it every day?
    40AnonymousSep 11, 2026 18:09
    The English spelling is 'lycopene,' and since Japan generally uses Latin-style readings for such terms, it should technically be called 'rikopen' — not 'rikopin.'

    Background and Key Points of Debate

    The underlying paper was published in a journal put out by MDPI, a major open-access publisher also known for divided opinions on the rigor of its peer review. The main point of contention in the thread was the scale of the study — many raised doubts about the small number of participants and whether control conditions, such as a placebo group or dietary restrictions, were clearly specified. At the same time, some posts noted that many tomato juice buyers actively seek out high-lycopene products, pointing to real consumer interest in the topic. Commenters also noted that a news headline alone can’t tell you whether a “change” is good or bad — a reminder that topics like this can spread widely on the strength of a headline alone, without anyone checking the primary source, the paper itself.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Science News+) thread “[Health] Study Finds Changes in Cognitive Function and Brain Scans After Eating Tomato Paste Daily for Three Months.”

  • ‘I Never Plan to Marry’ Tops 20% for the First Time — 5ch Asks: ‘Will You Still Feel That Way in 10 Years?’

    In the 2025 “Basic Survey on Birth Trends,” released on the 11th by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, 24.0% of unmarried men and 21.5% of unmarried women aged 18–34 said they “never plan to marry.” Both figures topped 20% for the first time since the survey began, marking new record highs. The results are being reported as evidence of an accelerating shift away from marriage, seen as one factor behind Japan’s falling birthrate.

    On 5ch, opinions split over whether these numbers should be taken at face value as a preview of the future non-marriage rate. Some voiced skepticism about the survey’s reliability (“Everyone says that when they’re young — who knows how they’ll feel in 10 years”), while others shared firsthand accounts of marriage and divorce, the burden of dual-income households, and the gender imbalance in the matchmaking market as concrete factors behind the shift away from marriage.

    Fri, Sep 11, 14:00 JST

    Mainichi Shimbun

    When asked whether they intended to ever marry, unmarried men and women (aged 18–34) who said they “never plan to marry” came to 24.0% of men and 21.5% of women. Both exceeded 20% for the first time and marked record highs. This was revealed in the 2025 “Basic Survey on Birth Trends,” published on the 11th by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research (IPSS). The findings highlighted an accelerating shift away from marriage, cited as one factor behind the falling birthrate.

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

    4AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:55
    Sure, that's what everyone thinks when they're young.

    The real question is whether you still feel that way in 10 years.
    This survey's pointless.
    173AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:23
    Re: #4
    For women, a lot of them want to marry as students, but once they enter the workforce it becomes ‘dual income and raising kids? No way lol,’ so the number actually goes down.

    Source: my own daughter.
    Since I was a stay-at-home mom, she apparently planned to be one too — but she gave up because she couldn't even meet a high-earning guy in the first place.
    195AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:28
    Re: #4
    Never wanted to marry, but I did anyway and got divorced in my 40s.
    The time I spent married was wasted — I really do think I shouldn't have married.
    If I could go back, I wouldn't do it again.
    9AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:56
    Re: #1
    With fewer births, there aren't enough workers or people to sustain the social security system, so we're heading toward a world where you work until you die.

    If you don't want to work until you die, then:

    working-age people need to have three or more kids,

    today's elderly need to keep working until their healthy life expectancy runs out,

    and society needs to stop letting NEETs get away with coasting.
    11AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:56
    All that negative PR campaign against marriage finally paid off.
    Not sure what the point was, lol.
    14AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:57
    Even if you think that, you'll end up marrying anyway if you meet the right person.
    205AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:29
    Re: #14
    Ugly guys like me aren't even qualified to fall for a woman, let alone talk to one or say hello, so I get zero good encounters with women — not even bad ones.
    Since I'm banned from communicating with women, it's flat-out impossible for me to ever meet one.
    28AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:59
    It's fine while you're young — it gets pathetic once you're old.
    54AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:05
    Re: #28
    Depends on the person's lifestyle, doesn't it.
    Once I hit retirement, I'll barely leave the house except to buy food and live a rosy life buried in online games — I doubt I'll feel pathetic at all.
    That ‘pathetic’ talk only applies to guys who wanted to marry but couldn't.
    29AnonymousSep 11, 2026 14:59
    Why would anyone give birth to a parasite like a kid in the first place??
    You're way too swept up by instinct, huh?
    Is there actually any upside?
    If you have kids, do you get to be reincarnated as them when you die?
    Or if you have a daughter, can she take care of your sex drive for you?
    Or do kids sell for a lot of money?

    Seriously, why have kids at all?
    You'd definitely live better off without them.
    33AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:01
    Re: #29
    Bluntly put, they're your future caregivers.
    101AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:12
    Re: #29
    I've never once thought of kids as parasites. They're pure treasure. Did your own parents treat you like a parasite?
    51AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:05
    In a 100-year life, having to spend the rest of it with someone you just happened to fall for during two or three years in your 20s is, by the laws of nature, simply unreasonable — that's what someone was arguing.

    Their conclusion: ‘It only works if you pile endurance on endurance, patience on patience, give up your freedom, and throw away your money, time, mental health, and pretty much every other kind of richness.’


    They also said your happiness index tanks if you're supporting an unemployed partner, like a stay-at-home spouse.
    It's true that after 10 years, most couples have lost the love between them.
    Maybe a life spent gritting your teeth and seething with irritation while living together forever really is the unhappiest life there is.
    115AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:14
    Re: #51
    Yeah, that really is unreasonable when you put it that way.
    154AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:20
    Re: #51
    If life were only about 50 years, marriage would be fine, but spending 80 years with one person is basically a punishment game.
    58AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:06
    ‘I Don't Feel Like I Could Ever Get Married’ Also Tops 20% for the First Time
    112AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:14
    Re: #58
    If you seriously think everyone wants to get married, you're way behind the times.
    74AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:09
    There was a time I thought I could get married anytime, no girlfriend or not, if I just went all in for real.
    84AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:10
    There was a survey saying 86% of people married 6+ years ‘would get divorced if they could.’

    Of those, 82% said ‘it's painful being together, but money keeps us from divorcing.’
    Apparently it's because they couldn't get by on reduced income after divorce, or because of the mortgage.
    I think the next biggest reason was kids.

    In the end, most people are just staying in a painful marriage for the money.
    142AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:18
    Re: #84
    That's exactly us.
    Can't move because of the mortgage.
    I want to start my life over.
    227AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:32
    Re: #84
    Had someone look into it — no such survey exists.
    90AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:10
    This is the result of everyone obsessing so hard over ‘individuality!’ ‘diversity!’ ‘discrimination!’ ‘coexistence!’ that it mass-produced self-centered singles.

    Rather than spending their time and money on marriage and raising kids, they'd rather spend it on their own pleasure.

    Go ahead, keep raising that singles tax — become nutrients for society.
    126AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:17
    Re: #90
    You're the one who's going to be the nutrients for society (well, technically your kids will be).
    I wonder how many grandpas and grandmas each one of your kids will end up supporting.
    Impressive that you had them knowing that.
    As an antinatalist myself, I can't even imagine it.
    That said, seriously, thank you.
    Feel free to keep having more, lol.
    98AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:12
    Rather than getting married, you'd do a lot more good for society — and for yourself — by just getting a Level 2 bookkeeping certification (lol).

    Marriage is nothing but getting exploited.
    113AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:14
    Re: #98
    Office jobs have a job-openings-to-applicants ratio of 0.2. You're in more demand as a marriage partner.
    121AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:15
    Signed up for Pairs (a dating app) and there are overwhelmingly few women, lol.
    It's all men.
    133AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:17
    Re: #121
    Well, obviously, lol.
    What are you even saying — this is an app where 90% of the guys are supposedly just looking for hookups, lol.
    125AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:16
    Re: #1
    Someone graph the post-marriage divorce rate by generation, broken down by how many years after the wedding it happens.
    129AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:17
    Re: #125
    By the way, the divorce rate is overwhelmingly highest for people who married in their teens.
    140AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:18
    People should be made more aware of just how many middle-aged and older people are suffering from loneliness.
    151AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:19
    Re: #140
    Don't need to take care of some partner I can't stand~
    252AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:34
    30% of marriages end in divorce, right?
    Way too risky a gamble.
    258AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:35
    Re: #252
    Not a single person ever gets rewarded from oshi-katsu (obsessively supporting your favorite idol/celebrity) — that's not even a gamble.
    277AnonymousSep 11, 2026 15:38
    Re: #252
    That's exactly why you study hard, get into a good university and company, and then pick who you date.

    Background and Key Points of Debate

    The latest figures come from the 2025 edition of the “Basic Survey on Birth Trends,” which the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research conducts every five years, covering unmarried men and women aged 18–34. The share answering “I never plan to marry” topped 20% for both sexes for the first time, setting new record highs. This survey has long been watched as an indicator of the shift away from marriage, seen as one factor behind the falling birthrate, and this jump shows the existing trend accelerating.

    What split opinion in the thread was how to interpret these numbers. Some pointed out that the survey itself can’t predict the future (“everyone feels that way when they’re young — who knows in 10 years”), while others who had actually gone through divorce shared stories along the lines of “I wish I’d never married.” On the subject of divorce rates and surveys of married people’s attitudes, the thread saw both posts citing figures with no clear source and posts correcting them, highlighting the mixed reliability of information about “what marriage is really like” that circulates online.

    One point readers can easily misread: this question only measures a stated intention — “do you plan to ever marry” — which is a different metric from the actual share of people who end up never marrying in their lifetime (the lifetime unmarried rate).

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Survey] ‘I never plan to marry’ tops 20% for the first time — no benefits seen in marriage.”

  • 10 Years of Governor Koike: ¥15 Trillion on Child-Rearing Support — 5ch Reacts: ‘You’re Poaching People from Other Prefectures, So Pay Up’

    Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has marked 10 years in office. She has rolled out one childbirth and child-rearing support policy after another, and in June it was announced that Tokyo’s birth rate had risen for the first time in a decade. The generous benefits and free services made possible by the capital’s abundant tax revenue are envied by other prefectures, but there’s also persistent backlash over the idea that “only Tokyo benefits.” On 5ch, users debated the issue from multiple angles — the fairness of how the support is funded, concerns that budgets keep swelling without any real scrutiny of what the programs actually deliver, and the growing gap between child-rearing households concentrated in central Tokyo and low-income singles.

    Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike marked 10 years in office this past August. She has continued to roll out one childbirth and child-rearing policy after another, but the benefits and free services funded by the capital’s abundant tax revenue have also drawn criticism and skepticism from governors and residents of other prefectures. We take a look at where Governor Koike’s administration stands today.

    “I believe this is a result of our policies. I want to keep building on this seamlessly, so that it continues to resonate with Tokyo residents in various ways,” she said.

    On June 3, when it was announced that Tokyo’s birth count had risen for the first time in a decade, Koike spoke to reporters with evident pride.

    Source: mainichi.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:53
    You're poaching people from other prefectures, so
    hand some money back to them too
    43AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:05
    Re: #2
    What kind of life experience leads to
    that kind of logic?
    97AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:15
    Re: #2
    That's literally what furusato nozei (hometown tax donation program) is for
    118AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:19
    Re: #2
    If we're keeping the current tax system as is, central Tokyo should be placed under direct national control, with most of its tax revenue redirected to infrastructure for regional hub cities
    4AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:54
    That's Koike for you.

    This is supposed to be the national government's job, you know?
    10AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:55
    Re: #4
    There are almost no state-run daycare or elementary education facilities
    What an idiot
    30AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:01
    Re: #10
    This is about fighting the falling birthrate.

    As a share of GDP, Japan's still dead last among developed countries — and this is the most critical situation of all
    34AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:03
    Re: #30
    South Korea has the worst birthrate, not Japan
    Oh wait, is it not a developed country?
    41AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:04
    Re: #30
    Other countries just have immigrants having the kids for them
    18AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:59
    Gather all the child-rearing generation into Tokyo
    and everyone else can get out
    Is that really okay?
    A uniform nationwide policy just isn't realistic
    21AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:59
    Re: #18
    It's a nuisance for Tokyo residents too.
    People in the regions should just raise their kids in the regions, right?
    19AnonymousSep 11, 2026 08:59
    For some reason the number of foreign kids just keeps climbing
    28AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:01
    Here we go with the middleman skimming again
    These tax thieves never learn
    141AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:26
    Re: #28
    Once you slap the "child-rearing support" label on it, it's hard to complain
    And under that get-out-of-jail-free card, it'll turn into a vested interest without anyone ever checking what's actually inside the programs
    67AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:09
    Bet like 13 out of those 15 trillion yen ends up handed to ad agencies and shady NPOs. We all know how this goes
    73AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:11
    Re: #67
    Exactly, it's just like UNICEF or those Africa charity drives — it's just an easy way to collect money
    Truly garbage
    72AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:11
    Re: #65
    Just scrap the Children and Families Agency and that'd be easy to achieve
    90AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:14
    The legacy media
    Criticizes Trump's handout schemes
    But gives Koike's handouts a pass

    Way too convenient
    109AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:18
    Tokyo really is polarized, isn't it — wealthy families raising kids on one side, poor singles on the other
    117AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:19
    Re: #109
    Child-rearing couples, if say one spouse's family home is in Chiba, Saitama, or Kanagawa,
    tend to move out there instead
    160AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:31
    If Tokyo's abundant tax revenue were redirected to the national government, funding shortages would just disappear, wouldn't they
    197AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:39
    Your child just received a support payment.
    What do you do?

    – Put it into savings for the kid
    – Spend it on the kid's expenses
    – Have a BBQ
    205AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:41
    Re: #197
    Even when the support money comes in, it just disappears into rent and utility bills — same as when insurance payouts came in
    my premium just got raised because my grade went up, all I could do was laugh
    That's just how it is in Tokyo
    210AnonymousSep 11, 2026 09:42
    Re: #197
    Child-rearing support is basically designed to reduce the burden on parents, so I think a BBQ is fine too
    even the child allowance itself is paid out to the parents anyway

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    Tokyo is one of the few local governments that doesn’t receive local allocation tax grants, making it one of the rare municipalities able to fund child-rearing support entirely out of its own tax revenue. This gap in fiscal strength makes the disparity with other prefectures highly visible, feeding a structural backlash of “it’s not fair that only Tokyo gets this.” Within the thread, opinions split between those questioning the fairness of it and those who argued it’s only natural for Tokyo to spend the tax revenue it earns. Another recurring point was transparency in how the funds are used — commenters repeatedly raised concerns that, under the banner of “child-rearing support,” budgets keep growing without the substance of the programs ever being properly scrutinized. At the same time, central Tokyo is also grappling with its own polarization, between an influx of child-rearing households and a population of low-income singles, and the original Mainichi Shimbun article this piece is based on doesn’t dig deeply into which groups are actually benefiting from the support. It’s worth noting that a simple argument about redistributing tax revenue isn’t, on its own, a meaningful measure of Tokyo’s over-concentration or of how effective birthrate policy is overall.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “10 Years of Governor Koike: ¥15 Trillion for Child-Rearing Support, Envy and Backlash from Other Prefectures.”