Category: Society

On the 28th in Hachioji, Tokyo, an adult Asian black bear was caught in a snare trap set by a private organization, and an emergency shooting was carried out with the approval of Mayor Kazuo Soyado. This marks the first time an emergency bear shooting has been carried out for an Asian black bear within Tokyo. Most of Hachioji’s area is covered by mountains and forest, and there are areas where villages and farmland lie just a short distance from the built-up parts of the city. Reactions on 5ch threads ranged widely, from glib jokes like “who’s going to protect the bear’s human rights?” to questions like “why didn’t they use some method other than shooting?” to geography riffs casting Hachioji and the neighboring Tachikawa/Kichijoji area as a “line of defense against bears.”

Emergency shooting of Asian black bear in Hachioji, Tokyo, a first for the city — mayor approves to prevent harm to people – Sankei News

2026/9/28 20:51

Hachioji City in Tokyo announced on the 28th that an adult Asian black bear had been caught in a snare trap set by a private organization in the city’s Odzu-machi area, and that an emergency shooting was carried out based on the approval of Mayor Kazuo Soyado. This is the first time an emergency bear shooting has taken place within Tokyo.

Source: sankei.com / Original article here

50AnonymousSep 28, 2026 21:28

Tokyo Metropolis should mean just the 23 wards — the outlying cities don't count, so stop calling yourselves 'Tokyo.'

66AnonymousSep 28, 2026 21:34

Re: #50
Like I posted before, here's a photo from Kamionkata, which is technically still Hachioji City.

Yeah, calling this 'Tokyo' is a stretch.

*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5channel (Breaking News+) thread “Emergency shooting of Asian black bear in Hachioji, Tokyo, a first for the city — mayor approves to prevent harm to people.”

According to the Japan Financial Literacy and Education Corporation’s (J-FLEC) “2025 Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Behavior,” the median savings for people in their 50s shows a stark divide: just ¥1.2 million for single-person households versus ¥7 million for households with two or more people. On 5ch’s News Express+ (Newsplus) thread, reactions ranged from shock — “Why would a single person have no savings?” — to pointed remarks about the gap between averages and medians. Users also debated how NISA investment assets are counted and how single people’s spending habits factor in.

(Excerpt)

Savings for people in their 40s to 70s: “What’s the difference between the average and the median?”

Let’s take a look at savings by age group, based on J-FLEC’s (Japan Financial Literacy and Education Corporation) “2025 Public Opinion Survey on Household Financial Behavior.”

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

*This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “Median Savings for People in Their 50s: ¥1.2 Million for Singles, ¥7 Million for Two-or-More-Person Households — Comparing Savings by “Household Type” for Ages 40 to 70.”

At a hotel in Hakuba Village, Nagano Prefecture, a Singaporean woman staying as a guest reported to the front desk that she had “scorched the room,” but the hotel let her check out without ever inspecting it — and by the time staff went to look, she had already left the country, leaving police unable to question her. The scorched items were the bed sheets and a duvet, apparently ignited by a headlamp that had been left charging in the room. On 5ch, users questioned why the hotel didn’t check the room right away despite the report, sparking debate over the part-time staff’s handling of it and where the responsibility lies.

Singaporean Guest Reported “I Scorched the Room” to Hotel — Sheets and Duvet Burned, Guest Already Checked Out… Police Unable to Question Her — Possibly Ignited by Charging Headlamp — Hakuba Village, Nagano

Mon, 9/28, 14:27 JST

NBS Nagano Broadcasting

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

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Nagano] Singaporean Female Guest Reports to Hotel “I Scorched the Room” — Guest Already Checked Out… Police Unable to Question Her — Hakuba Village.”

Kanagawa Prefecture has effectively shelved its plan to build, as a standalone first-phase project, just the roughly 3km stretch of the Sotetsu Izumino Line from Shonandai to the area near Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC), and will instead reconsider the entire roughly 8km line all the way to its terminus at Kuramino. The reversal comes down to the difficulty of securing profitability, effectively sending back to square one a plan that had been laid out in the 2016 Council for Transport Policy report. On the 5ch thread, discussion centered less on the rail plan itself and more on side topics: the push to attract a new Tokaido Shinkansen station to the Kuramino area at the line’s endpoint, and debates over SFC’s reputation and its AO (admissions-office) entrance exam system.

Kanagawa Prefecture has announced it will move forward studying the extension of the Sotetsu Izumino Line across the entire Shonandai–Kuramino section. Until now, the stretch from Shonandai to the area near Keio University’s Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) had been designated the first-phase section, but since profitability could not be secured there, the study area is being expanded to cover the full line through to Kuramino.

The Sotetsu Izumino Line extension plan calls for connecting the current terminus, Shonandai Station, to the Kuramino district of Samukawa Town — home to JR Sagami Line’s Kuramino Station — a distance of roughly 8km. It was also included in the 2016 Council for Transport Policy report.

Kanagawa Prefecture had, until now, been studying the roughly 3km stretch to the area near Keio University’s SFC — where a certain level of ridership could be expected — as the first-phase section, with plans for a Station A near Akihadai Park in Fujisawa City and a Station B near SFC. The remaining roughly 5km on to the Kuramino district had been designated the second-phase section.

Source: tabiris.com / original article here

47AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:41

Still no Hiratsuka extension?

53AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:46

Re: #47
Apparently the Samukawa branch line still even exists.

70AnonymousSep 28, 2026 13:04

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “[Kanagawa] Sotetsu Izumino Line effectively scraps early opening to Keio SFC, to be reconsidered as full-line construction to Kuramino.”

Saga Prefecture’s Yoshinogari Town is hosting a special exhibition, “Yamataikoku Reborn: The Lands of Toyo and Tango,” comparing the Yoshinogari ruins with archaeological sites in Buzen/Bungo and Tango, running through November 8. The exhibit focuses on the Yayoi through early Kofun periods — the era surrounding the Yamataikoku described in the Chinese chronicle “Records of Wei: Account of the Wa” — displaying jar coffins, bronze spearheads, and other artifacts from various regions that reveal both traces of exchange and distinct local cultures. In response, 5ch threads reignited the perennial debate over Yamataikoku’s location. Alongside the Kinai theory (based on the Makimuku ruins and Hashihaka Tomb) and the Kyushu theory (which emphasizes the Wei chronicle’s account), discussion expanded to cover genome analysis results and the origin of the name “Yamato,” with no resolution in sight.

A special exhibition, “Yamataikoku Reborn: The Lands of Toyo and Tango,” comparing the nationally designated special historic site Yoshinogari Ruins (Kanzaki City and Yoshinogari Town, Saga Prefecture) with archaeological sites from the Buzen/Bungo region and the Tango region of northern Kyoto Prefecture, is being held through November 8 at the Yoshinogari Hills Historical Park east entrance and the History Park Center’s “Multipurpose Room,” among other venues. (By Mei Tateyama)

This is the 18th installment of the “Yamataikoku Reborn” special exhibition series. This time, the focus is on the period from the Yayoi era through the early Kofun period — the era in which the “Records of Wei: Account of the Wa” places Yamataikoku.

The “Land of Toyo” display shows that, while there is evidence of exchange with northern Kyushu, a culture distinct from that of the Yoshinogari ruins developed there, as seen in differences such as jar coffins (kamekan) and settlement layouts. A pair of “medium-wide bronze spearheads,” about 80cm and 70cm long, are analyzed as having been used in rituals.

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

29AnonymousSep 27, 2026 01:02

Ainu (excluding Hokkaido settlers), Ryukyu, and Kyushu people show a higher concentration of Jomon ancestry, while Kinai (the Kansai region) leans more toward continental-immigrant (Yayoi/Toraijin) ancestry.

BBJ Contemporary Japanese Genome Sequencing, published in Nature on November 12, 2024 (171,287 people)

104AnonymousSep 27, 2026 12:19

143AnonymousSep 27, 2026 13:59

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Saga] Reflecting on Yamataikoku: Comparing the archaeological sites of “Yoshinogari,” “Buzen/Bungo,” and “Tango” — artifacts showing traces of exchange and different cultures” on 5ch.

France’s new-vintage wine, Beaujolais Nouveau, arrived at Haneda Airport on September 28 for its traditional unveiling. France was hit by a record-breaking heatwave this year, pushing the grape harvest up by about a month, but the release date remains unchanged at November 19. On 5ch threads, this perennial seasonal topic drew the usual buzz — though the conversation focused less on the wine’s taste and more on distribution and business angles: rising prices in recent years, accusations of “marketing over substance,” and price/satisfaction comparisons with other imported wines and Japanese sake.

9/28 (Mon) 9:09

Kyodo News

Beaujolais Nouveau, France’s new-vintage wine, arrived at Haneda Airport on the 28th, where an unveiling event was held. France was hit by record-breaking heat from a heatwave this year, pushing this year’s grape harvest earlier than usual. The wine arrived about a month ahead of schedule, but the release date remains unchanged at November 19.

Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Read the original article here

12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 09:56

Tashiro Masashi used to do the commercials for this (a comedian now better known for repeated drug busts than his old ad work).

55AnonymousSep 28, 2026 10:16

Re: #12

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Wine] Beaujolais Nouveau Arrives at Haneda — Heatwave Pushes Harvest a Month Early, Release Date Unchanged.”

The thread kicks off from an article reporting that the Nippori-Toneri Liner’s congestion rate hit 177%, the worst in the country for the fifth year running. The original article laid out three barriers explaining why “just add more trains” doesn’t work, but posters on the thread kept circling back to a structural problem rather than the technical constraints (the limits of keeping cars light on rubber tires, and the difficulty of adding service given its driverless automated operation): there’s almost no demand in the reverse direction during the morning rush, so running more trains wouldn’t pay off anyway. The thread also lit up over the contrast between Europe, where pouring tax money into public transit is taken for granted, and Japan, where that’s avoided, plus regional banter about riders commuting in from Chiba and Saitama.

Congestion Rate 177% — Worst in Japan for the 5th Year Running! The Three Barriers Standing in the Way of “Just Add More Trains”

Sun, Sep 27, 7:42 AM JST

Norimono News

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

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “[Railways] Congestion Rate 177% — Worst in Japan for the 5th Year Running! The Three Barriers Standing in the Way of “Just Add More Trains” — Nippori-Toneri Liner.”

A survey conducted by Professor Megumi Ohashi (social psychology) of Tokyo Future University on people who took middle school entrance exams found that while exam-takers go on to university at higher rates, there was no notable difference in their income once they reached adulthood — a finding reported by the Asahi Shimbun. On 5ch, some questioned the small sample size and the academic ranking of the university that conducted the study, while a stream of comments argued that “the real benefit of middle school entrance exams isn’t income, it’s avoiding the rough environment of public schools,” developing into a debate over the difference in environment between private integrated junior-senior high schools and public middle schools.

Published 9/27 (Sun) 13:00

Asahi Shimbun

People who took middle school entrance exams go on to university at higher rates — but that doesn’t necessarily mean they earn more once they reach adulthood. That’s the picture that emerged from a survey of middle-school-exam takers conducted by Professor Megumi Ohashi of Tokyo Future University (social psychology) and others.

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

53AnonymousSep 27, 2026 16:33

Tokyo Future University

Hensachi
35.0 – 37.5

62AnonymousSep 27, 2026 16:41

Re: #53
A bottom-tier school like this ('F-rank') shouldn't even exist.
Waste of tax money.

74AnonymousSep 27, 2026 16:50

Re: #53
A low-hensachi school on par with Japan University of Economics.
Even from an F-rank like this, graduating still technically makes you a college grad.

79AnonymousSep 27, 2026 17:01

Re: #53
Tokyo Future University might be a bottom-tier school,
but Professor Ohashi, who ran the study, is a Tokyo University grad.

※This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Middle School Exams] Whether or Not You Took Middle School Entrance Exams Has ‘No Effect’ on Future Income — University Professor’s Survey“.

In a Toyo Keizai Online article, a 35-year-old, 58kg reporter’s project to recreate “the diet of a middle-aged single man” for one week became a hot topic on 5channel’s News Express+ board. The article’s premise cites a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey showing that 34.0% of men in their 20s to 60s are obese, while only 23.4% of men in their 30s and 40s have regular exercise habits. The thread split widely — from the practical argument that “cooking for yourself doesn’t even suit living alone,” to personal accounts that “past 40, you gain or lose weight no matter what you do,” to criticism that the article’s headline phrasing “the reason why…” is typical of a “made-up filler piece” that never actually reveals its reasoning.

Is your waistline doing okay?

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s “Overview of the FY2024 National Health and Nutrition Survey Results,” 34.0% of men in their 20s to 60s are obese (BMI of 25 or higher). The proportion with regular exercise habits was 23.4% for men in their 30s, 23.4% for men in their 40s, and 30.4% for men in their 50s.

An unbalanced diet, lack of exercise… full-time salaried employees live in an environment where it’s easy to gain weight. At the same time, obesity sharply raises the risk of serious, life-threatening illnesses and severely lowers healthy life expectancy and quality of life.

Source: topics.smt.docomo.ne.jp / Read the original article here

72AnonymousSep 27, 2026 17:25

Age 36


Now, age 72

126AnonymousSep 27, 2026 17:54

Re: #72
Your hair texture changed.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (News Express+) thread ““Banning Home Cooking for a Week” “Will My Weight Change?”… 35-Year-Old, 58kg Man Recreates “The Diet of a Middle-Aged Bachelor” → The Reason His Mind and Body Were Left Stunned.”

Against the backdrop of soaring coffee bean prices and the “2050 problem” — the concern that climate change will shrink the land suitable for growing coffee in the future — companies have been rolling out alternative drinks aimed at capturing a coffee-like taste, one after another. The idea is to drum up demand with affordably priced products while also preparing for a future in which coffee beans become harder to source. On the thread, posters brought up existing substitutes like dandelion coffee, brown rice coffee, and coffee made from civet cat or elephant droppings, speculated that Japan might eventually become suitable for growing coffee itself, and pointed out that the weak yen has driven up prices for everything from coffee beans to orange juice — the discussion ranged from the merits of alternative coffee to climate change and currency exchange rates.

As a new development in the soft drink market this year, alternative (substitute) coffee drinks have been announced one after another.

With coffee bean prices soaring and doubts growing over the sustainability of coffee bean production, the aim is twofold: to drum up demand with affordably priced products that still deliver a coffee-like taste, and to prepare for a future in which cost and sourcing issues make it harder to build product lineups around actual coffee beans.

Behind this lies the “coffee 2050 problem” — a warning that even as global coffee consumption rises, the land suitable for growing coffee may shrink due to the effects of climate change.

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

*This article is composed from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (News Express+) thread “A wave of alternative coffee drinks — products offering a coffee-like taste aim to ‘stimulate demand,’ against the backdrop of the world’s ‘coffee 2050 problem’.”