Category: Tech

  • Wakatsuki Chinatsu’s ‘No Phone Case Means Zero Risk Management’ Comment Sparks 5ch Firestorm

    Talent Wakatsuki Chinatsu reportedly said on the April 29 broadcast of TV Asahi’s “Wakatsuki Chinatsu’s Noisy Psychology Test” that people who don’t use smartphone cases have “zero risk management ability” and that it “makes her question their sanity.” The remark stemmed from a segment asking, “What’s the thing about men’s phone cases that makes you go ‘hmm’?” where “no case” was one of the options and became the flashpoint. In response, 5ch saw a wave of rebuttals grounded in personal experience — from people who’d gone over a decade without a scratch despite skipping a case, to those who said rugged or foldable phones simply don’t need one. The discussion also branched into case functionality, like heat dissipation and how handy flip-style cases are, so it never settled into a simple for-or-against debate.

    Wakatsuki Chinatsu slams people who don’t use phone cases: “Zero risk management ability,” “Makes me question their sanity”

    Talent Wakatsuki Chinatsu (42) appeared on TV Asahi’s “Wakatsuki Chinatsu’s Noisy Psychology Test” (airing Wednesdays at 2:20 a.m.) on the 29th, where she showed clear distaste for people who don’t use phone cases.

    In the psychology test segment, viewers were asked, “Which type of men’s phone case makes you go ‘hmm’?” with four choices given: “brand-name,” “patterned,” “practical,” and “no case.”

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

    3AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:13
    You've never heard of Android phones⁉︎
    12AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:15
    Re: #3
    My Android cost about 200,000 yen too, you know?
    Android ranges from dirt cheap to crazy expensive

    2chMate 0.8.10.241/samsung/SM-S938Q/16/GR
    80AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:43
    Re: #3
    Android isn't exactly cheap either, is it
    10AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:15
    Mine was 0 yen — why are you assuming everyone's carrying a 200,000 yen phone
    11AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:15
    It's a rugged phone, so I don't need one
    15AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:16
    Re: #11
    That's nice, not gonna lie
    13AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:16
    If you ride trains, a flip-style (book-type) case is the way to go
    81AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:43
    Re: #13
    How come?
    Having to flip it open every single time is a genuine waste of effort
    119AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:56
    Re: #13
    I quit those — the faux leather on the flip cover breaks down over time and the hard-shell part starts peeling, gets nasty.
    Better to just protect the screen with a film
    18AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:17
    Honestly a cracked screen might even look cooler
    123AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:56
    Re: #18
    Left a crack alone once and condensation got inside — phone died lol
    25AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:18
    I go caseless because of heat dissipation and the magnet interference from snap buttons (on bags/jackets)
    Thanks to that, I'm a 5ch addict, but the phone's lasted 10 years
    94AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:47
    Re: #25
    10 years…
    So it's gotta be an Android, but seriously, what model?
    31AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:20
    Feels like a line straight out of one of Black Mayonnaise's (comedy duo) M-1 Grand Prix manzai routines
    36AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:22
    Re: #31
    Well, Wakatsuki Chinatsu has writers ranging from their teens to their 70s on staff, so…
    53AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:31
    With a foldable you don't need a case
    Foldables are unbeatable
    111AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:51
    Re: #53
    Wait, you're using a fold-type or flip-type phone?
    Only hardcore gadget geeks buy those, right?
    60AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:37
    I use a case, but it traps heat
    Going caseless or using a bumper is better for heat dissipation
    69AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:39
    Re: #60
    Wish there were a feature where the back panel could pop open just when it's overheating
    71AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:40
    What are you even saying, Chinatsu
    72AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:40
    Re: #68
    That's literally what the case is for
    75AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:41
    Re: #72
    I've gone caseless with two phones for about 10 years without breaking either one, so I don't really get it
    Do you have a weak grip or something? How are you even handling it?
    I mean, as long as you're not constantly fumbling with it day to day, it's probably fine?
    Everyone's situation is different anyway, so it's not like you can just lump all the no-case people together
    108AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:50
    Re: #75
    I've also gone caseless for about 15 years and never broken one
    Dropped it once, but got lucky and it came out unscathed
    Honestly, a case is half just a good-luck charm anyway
    87AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:45
    I don't even bring my phone when I go out
    Naturally, no case either
    Because literally nothing ever comes in — no calls, nothing
    Even I think that's a pretty empty life
    103AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:48
    Re: #87
    I carry a phone too, and since I don't have friends, nobody but family ever calls me — but I still use a case
    102AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:48
    What does it even mean that she dislikes all 4 options, including 'no case'?
    107AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:50
    Re: #102
    She probably just hates everything except her own way of doing it lol
    113AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:53
    Elecom's ZEROSHOCK is just too strong 😎
    118AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:55
    Recent phones don't have flat backs anymore, so a case probably makes them easier to handle, right?
    128AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:57
    Re: #118
    Yeah, the camera bump sticks out
    If you don't flatten it with a case, it wobbles when you set it down and the camera's prone to getting banged up
    132AnonymousSep 30, 2026 17:59
    Weird how people make something harder to use when the manufacturer specifically made it compact
    137AnonymousSep 30, 2026 18:00
    Re: #132
    Phones just keep getting bigger anyway

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The remark Wakatsuki Chinatsu made on a psychology-test TV show, reported via Yahoo News, is the starting point for this thread — her blanket claim that “not using a phone case equals zero risk management.” On the thread, the caseless camp fired back with plenty of real-world counterpoints and functional arguments: “I’ve gone over 10 years without a scratch and no case,” “my phone’s rugged, so I don’t need one,” “cases hurt heat dissipation.” The pro-case camp, meanwhile, offered their own preferences, like “flip cases are handy on the train” and “Elecom’s ZEROSHOCK is unbeatable,” so it never boiled down to a simple yes-or-no fight. One thing readers might misread: Wakatsuki’s comment was just one opinion on a variety show, not something backed by any statistical data on actual breakage risk. Likewise, most of the thread’s counterarguments were personal anecdotes along the lines of “mine never broke” — neither side brought objective data to the table. In the end, against her strong claim about “risk management,” what piled up were grounded, practical responses shaped by differing habits, preferences, and use cases.

    ※This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Wakatsuki Chinatsu slams people who don’t use phone cases: “Zero risk management ability,” “Makes me question their sanity”.”

  • ANA Revises ‘SFC’ Program After Backlash — What Happened to That ¥3 Million-a-Year Rule?

    On September 29, 2026, ANA released a revised proposal for its elite-status “SFC” program. The new rules originally announced in April had required cardholders to rack up at least ¥3 million in annual card spending just to keep using airport lounges — a condition that drew fierce backlash, especially from “mile pilgrims” (mairu shugyō, users who binge-fly in short bursts to earn elite status). Following this revision, 5ch users debated whether the ¥3 million threshold is actually reasonable, questioned the old system’s design of granting near-permanent elite status in the first place, and pointed out that “pilgrimage” flyers have been crowding out regular island-route commuters.

    So what happened to the controversial “¥3 million a year in card spending” rule?

    On September 29, 2026, ANA (All Nippon Airways) released a redesign proposal for its elite-member perks program, the “ANA Super Flyers Card” (SFC). The airline had already announced a new set of rules back in April, but a flood of criticism from users forced it back to the drawing board. So how did the lounge-access condition that drew the biggest backlash end up changing?

    ANA’s SFC works so that once you meet certain requirements once, you get near-permanent access to a raft of perks — starting with airport lounges — for as long as you keep the card. That’s why quite a few people have taken to intensively flying ANA for a full year just to qualify, a practice known as “mile pilgrimage” (mairu shugyō).

    Source: trafficnews.jp / Original article here

    3AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:18
    Idiots who go on a whole 'pilgrimage' just to use the lounge.
    103AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:58
    Re: #3
    Overseas it's a huge help.
    Domestically there's not much benefit since you've got convenience stores anyway.
    105AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:59
    Re: #3
    I honestly don't get the mentality.
    Eating and drinking in the lounge right before a flight? Even bathroom breaks are more restricted in the air than on the ground.
    Are these people just big eaters who can't be satisfied with the in-flight meal?
    8AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:19
    If you put most of your spending on the card, ¥3 million isn't really that big a deal.
    17AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:23
    Re: #8
    Phone bills and property tax are still on auto-debit since switching is a hassle, but I put pretty much everything else on the card.

    When I checked recently:
    Me: ¥2.94 million a year (damn, so close but not quite enough)
    Another card: about ¥200,000
    My wife: about ¥2.4 million
    That's roughly where we landed.

    Though we don't even use the ANA lounge.
    12AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:21
    Nintendo should sue over trademark registration, like it did with Palworld.
    25AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:27
    Re: #12
    No good — Sega would get hit too.
    13AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:21
    Making it permanent in the first place was the weird part.
    What is this, Reiwa Natto? (a startup mocked online for shady "forever" perk promises)

    That said, some people did all that pilgrimage specifically for this, so maybe give pilgrims two free lounge visits a year.
    Charge for anything beyond that — or make it 3 free visits per ¥1 million spent, something like that.
    62AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:44
    Re: #13
    Why not just refund the entire cost of the pilgrimage?
    42AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:35
    Even as it stands now, it does a fine job of keeping out the broke crowd.
    Though I guess it's a world 5ch old-timers have no connection to, so you wouldn't know the reality.
    46AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:36
    Do you guys really want to use the lounge that badly?
    51AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:38
    Changing something after you've already decided it is socially unacceptable.
    It'll drive up card cancellations.
    That's exactly what happened to Saison — everyone left because of it.
    52AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:39
    Re: #51
    It's basically a message saying "please, just cancel already." Don't make me spell it out, it's embarrassing.
    86AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:51
    Paying an annual fee AND spending ¥3 million just to get priority lounge entry — that's hilarious.
    92AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:54
    Re: #86
    >>Paying an annual fee AND spending ¥3 million just to get priority lounge entry — that's hilarious.

    No, that's not it — where this really shows its value is on international connections when you're transferring abroad.
    129AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:07
    I transited through China once and used a Star Alliance lounge there — way more luxurious than ANA's.
    Tons of food options too.
    But the real different-league experience was the Middle Eastern airlines' lounges.
    No alcohol, but everything else was way too luxurious.
    132AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:09
    Re: #129
    Not just China — lounges outside Japan are luxurious in general.
    And yet tickets departing from Japan are absurdly expensive lol.
    134AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:10
    There was actually a news story about how island-route passengers can't get seats anymore because mile pilgrims fill up all the flights — a real nuisance for locals.
    136AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:11
    Re: #134
    Flights between Naha and the outer islands are a lifeline for daily commuting.
    Pilgrims hogging those seats are nothing but harmful.
    152AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:18
    Re: #134
    That's because idiot JAL included island routes in their promotion.
    Routes that serve as a daily lifeline for islanders should be excluded from these campaigns.
    155AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:20
    Re: #134
    I used to fly to the islands monthly for work, and it was a real scramble for seats.
    Having pilgrims fill up seats to regions only reachable by plane really is a nuisance.
    Do the pilgrimage on routes where the Shinkansen is also an option.
    192AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:52
    Wait, ¥3 million is considered a high hurdle? Seriously?
    If you make it your main card and consolidate all your spending on it, even an ordinary person would hit that much…
    198AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:55
    Re: #192
    Averaging ¥250,000 a month on the card is actually pretty tough.
    Some payments are bank-transfer only, after all.
    202AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:01
    Re: #192
    The people selling brand-new iPhones and MacBooks slightly below cost on Yahoo Auctions are just trying to run up their card spending (a trick to hit a spending threshold by buying and reselling at a loss).
    199AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:57
    With other Star Alliance airlines, you have to requalify every single year to keep your status.
    ANA was the weird one for letting you keep it just by paying the card's annual fee.
    205AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:01
    Re: #199
    That's true, honestly…
    But there's no denying it added a lot of extra value.

    What's really messed up (and kind of cruel) is that ANA itself advertised to attract these pilgrims, and now it's coldly cutting them loose lol.
    218AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:10
    Re: #205
    For people who can't spend ¥3 million, it's hell.
    But for people who can, the lounges get less crowded — heaven, basically.

    JAL is the one that split the difference and just kept its promise.
    220AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:13
    Re: #218
    Yeah.
    Same thing with Disney — it's too cheap so it's packed, which is why wealthy people are flocking to USJ, where you can just buy your way to the front of the line.
    227AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:14
    Re: #218
    Then again, if the crowding still doesn't ease up, the people currently spending ¥3 million will sense "we're next" and bail out early too.
    207AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:04
    Re: #103
    Just get a credit card that includes lounge access, problem solved.
    213AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:07
    Re: #207
    Guess I'll just have to ditch my ANA JCB Gold and switch to something else.
    And once you do that, JAL becomes more convenient than ANA anyway, so ANA miles become pointless and even the annual fee is a waste.
    208AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:04
    Re: #205
    If everyone switches to JAL because of this, it'll probably just degrade JAL's service too lol.
    211AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:06
    Re: #208
    JAL doesn't cover a lot of routes in western Japan, so people will probably switch to the Shinkansen instead.
    217AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:10
    Re: #208
    JAL has its own baggage though — the grudges of its former shareholders are practically haunting it.
    221AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:13
    Re: #208
    Didn't JAL set its condition at 300 flights?
    The lounge crowding hasn't been solved there either, and realistically no new people are going to qualify at this point.
    244AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:22
    Re: #1
    Last Friday, JAL flight 114 from Itami to Haneda at 11:25 was running a bit late, and after landing at Haneda they announced "Passenger XX, connecting to the Haneda-Itami flight, please proceed immediately" — I felt embarrassed just hearing it as a bystander.

    Mile pilgrims are truly something else lol 🤣
    246AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:23
    Re: #244
    The other day I flew from Okayama to Haneda, and they made an announcement for "passengers connecting to the Okinawa flight" too lol.
    248AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:24
    Re: #244
    If you know what you're doing, you'd check the aircraft/schedule details for round-trip connections in advance to make sure you don't miss your flight.

    Background and Key Points of Debate

    ANA’s SFC program works on a system where, once you satisfy the requirements a single time, your elite membership lasts essentially forever. This encouraged a subset of users to take on “mile pilgrimages” — flying intensively in a short period specifically to qualify. The new rules ANA announced this past April would have required “at least ¥3 million in annual card spending” just to keep lounge access, which triggered a fierce backlash, especially from the pilgrimage crowd, and forced the company to reconsider. On the thread, several arguments ran in parallel: whether the ¥3 million bar is actually reasonable (can an ordinary person really sustain ¥250,000 a month in card spending?), skepticism toward the underlying decision to make elite status "permanent" in the first place, and the observation that pilgrimage-driven bookings have been filling up island routes and squeezing out residents who depend on them for daily transportation. At the same time, some users emphasized value beyond the lounge itself — like priority check-in when connecting internationally abroad — making this a debate that doesn’t reduce to simple for-or-against. It’s worth noting that the specific conditions for the revised “LITE” tier weren’t detailed at the time of this thread, and this article doesn’t cover them either.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[Mile Pilgrimage] ANA’s New “SFC” Program to Be Partially Revised — What Happens to the Controversial “Under ¥3 Million/Year in Spending = No Lounge Access” Rule? Conditions for the New “LITE” Tier.”

  • “Space Sheriff Gavan” Gets Free YouTube Streaming — 5ch Reacts with “What Is Youth?”

    “Space Sheriff Gavan” was the first entry in the Metal Hero Series, originally broadcast in 1982, and free streaming of episode 1 begins on the Toei Tokusatsu YouTube Official channel at 9:30 PM on September 30, with new episodes planned every Wednesday after that. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Breaking News+ thread, the back-and-forth over the opening theme lines “What is youth?” / “It’s not looking back” got people fired up, along with evaluations of lead actor Kenji Oba and differing views on the circumstances behind the short run of the Reiwa-era “Gavan.”

    Free YouTube streaming has been decided for “Space Sheriff Gavan,” the first entry in the “Space Sheriff Series” and “Metal Hero Series.” It will stream on the Toei Tokusatsu YouTube Official channel. Episode 1 starts streaming Wednesday, September 30 at 9:30 PM, with new episodes every Wednesday after that.

    ■”Space Sheriff Gavan”

    The space crime syndicate Makuu, led by Don Horror, begins its invasion of Earth. The Galactic Federation Police, guardians of peace in the universe, dispatch Space Sheriff Gavan — Retsu Ichijoji — to Earth. He was born to Voicer, the missing detective in charge of Earth, and Earth woman Tamiko Ichijoji, and had been training on Planet Bird at his father’s wish. Retsu undergoes the “Vapor Pressure” process, dons his Combat Suit, and fights as Space Sheriff Gavan!

    Source: amass.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:40
    Watching a channel of Osaka's night skyline is way more fun than watching Peace-kun over at Omiya Park Zoo on YouTube.
    5AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:42
    What is youth?
    103AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:34
    Re: #5
    It's not looking back.
    What is love?
    106AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:38
    Re: #103
    It's not hesitatiiiing~
    6AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:42
    The ending theme, 'Message from the Starry Sky,' is my favorite.
    8AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:43
    Guys over 50 are gonna be watching this with tears in their eyes lol
    70AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:09
    Re: #8
    They might end up crying because it's less interesting than they remember.
    13AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:44
    After watching '70s tokusatsu, you really feel how far the special effects have come.
    20AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:46
    Re: #13
    The '70s stuff is good in its own way.
    15AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:45
    Gavan's OP is such a classic it's become a meme, but honestly Sharivan's OP is just as good a song.
    17AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:46
    The 'RoboCop did it first' guy always shows up (some fans insist Gavan influenced RoboCop's design).
    18AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:46
    I think Kenji Oba should've become a bigger name than he did.
    19AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:46
    Big bro Oba stayed cool right to the end.
    23AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:47
    I didn't first know Sonny Chiba from samurai dramas — I knew him as Gavan's father, Voicer.
    24AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:48
    Mogusa. What is mogusa? It's the leaves of mugwort. What is 'hai' (lungs)? They're what controls your breathing~♪ I still remember the melody. (A nonsense pun riffing on the OP's call-and-response.)
    26AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:48
    Watching it now, it's almost unwatchably boring.
    27AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:49
    So the Reiwa-era Gavan ended up a failure?
    29AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:49
    Gavan again? Do something other than Gavan for once.
    32AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:50
    Wakasa. What is Wakasa? It's Wakasa Seikatsu's Blueberry Eye (a health supplement brand). What is 'Aiin'? It's Ken Shimura's classic catchphrase. (Another pun on the OP lyrics.)
    34AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:50
    Isn't he the guy known for 'If Gavan won't do it, who will?'
    35AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:51
    An aging society…

    Somehow in the 2020s, streaming services and TV shows alike are skewing more and more toward the elderly.

    Is it really okay for Japanese society to have old men who don't have much time left watching stuff like 'Drag him into the Makuu Dimension'?

    That's a kids' show, come on.

    Japan is full of childish old men like the ones on 5ch, so young people have ended up way more childish than they used to be too.

    In a country where the young are busy scalping Chiikawa merch while old men sit online watching Space Sheriff Gavan, there's no hope.
    38AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:53
    Re: #35
    That really sums up the childishness, doesn't it.
    36AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:53
    Up through the '90s there used to be all kinds of different tokusatsu shows.
    37AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:53
    All I know is the opening and the LaserVision (old laserdisc) clips they used to run in nostalgia specials.
    40AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:54
    Is the Showa Kamen Rider loop finally over?
    47AnonymousSep 29, 2026 17:59
    New Space Sheriff Gavan: Infinity
    58AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:03
    The Reiwa Gavan ended before I even noticed lol. Isn't a full year the usual run length?
    63AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:07
    Re: #58
    It ran for half a year.
    65AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:07
    Re: #58
    Gavan and his friends are still showing up in the current series, so the contract itself might actually be for a year.
    62AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:07
    Spielban lol
    They already put it out on Blu-ray, so they probably won't stream it.
    Though there is that one episode out there as a teaser.
    75AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:13
    Re: #62
    Looks like it was time-limited and isn't up anymore.
    69AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:08
    Tokusatsu You Mustn't Laugh At

    73AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:10
    Re: #69
    Who's the guy on the left?
    72AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:09
    Monday: Omoikkiri Tanteidan Haadogumi
    Tuesday: Bioman
    Wednesday: Gavan
    Thursday: Jetman
    85AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:17
    Re: #72
    Just as I was getting sad that Monday's Haadogumi only has 4 episodes left, Gavan comes along and makes me happy.
    86AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:17
    Re: #72
    Haadogumi's the only one I watch.
    I was like a first-grader back then so I barely remember it.
    About all I remember is Matenrou, the Angry Mask, and the Secret Cards.
    74AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:13
    Re: #65
    Is it still a while before Gavan shows up in Dokkiri GP's former-hero segment?
    77AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:14
    Re: #74
    Now that you mention it, I feel like I haven't seen that segment at all lately — around the time the Sentai series ended.
    79AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:15
    Re: #77
    I think a new one will air next month.
    Given the timing, I'd guess the Gojuger and Zets actors will show up.
    84AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:16
    Re: #79
    Really? Looking forward to it.

    Background and key points of this topic

    “Space Sheriff Gavan” is the first entry in Toei’s “Metal Hero Series,” which began airing in 1982 and is known for blending human-sized heroes with giant mecha. This news is an announcement that episode 1 will stream free on the official YouTube channel — it appears to be the original footage from back then, not a new production. The thread was mostly filled with nostalgic comments quoting lines from the theme song, but opinions differed on how long the Reiwa-era new series ran, with some saying “it ended after half a year” and others saying “the characters are still appearing in another current series, so the contract itself was probably for a year” — the exact broadcast length can’t be confirmed from the information given. Views were also split on comparisons with ’70s shows and on the quality of the Reiwa version, reflecting a temperature gap between those nostalgic for the original and those more critical of the newer series.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “Free YouTube Streaming Decided for “Space Sheriff Gavan” — Episode 1 Streams from 9:30 PM September 30“.

  • AI Adoption Saps Programmers’ Motivation to Learn: 5ch Reacts, “Nobody Says ‘I Love Your Code’”

    A thread titled “I’m an IT programmer, but AI has killed my motivation” appeared on 5ch’s Newsspeed VIP board. The poster confessed that although they used to love studying technology, AI now does the work for them, and they’ve lost the will to learn. This drew pushback like “If you really loved it, you’d study AI instead,” along with anxious comments about AI’s growing influence over jobs and pricing. The thread split over whether engineers who master AI or those who can code without it will be more in demand going forward, and whether clients choose contractors on price alone.

    1AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:04
    I used to love studying tech,
    but since AI just builds it for me now,
    I've lost the motivation to study.
    3AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:04
    If you really loved it, you'd go learn AI instead.
    You're just looking for an excuse not to.
    8AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:05
    Re: #3
    Even AI books these days
    only cover how to use AI.
    Boring.
    15AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:11
    AI is really bad at writing comments.
    17AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:13
    Re: #15
    Right there with you — for some reason it always writes way too much.
    16AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:12
    What are you gonna do the day some AI company gets you strung out and dependent — like some naive girl fresh off the train hooked on drugs — and then jacks up the price once they've got you by the throat?
    Or what if they ban you over some crazy political reason?
    Once you're cut off, you'll have to code everything yourself again.
    Keep studying as a hedge against that risk, okay?
    20AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:18
    Re: #16
    Any decent company spreads its AI usage across multiple providers (eight or more isn't unusual) and can fine-tune open-source AI in-house.
    Worrying about that is about as cost-effective as practicing survival skills for when civilization collapses.
    24AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:21
    They say vibe coding at a level that actually holds up in real work only works if you're already a senior engineer — so is not being interested in using AI really because you loved coding itself?
    27AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:22
    Re: #24
    There are programmers who love turning ideas into reality,
    and programmers who love the puzzle of building it piece by piece.
    It's the latter group AI is demoralizing.
    25AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:22
    More people like that means fewer rivals for anyone who still wants to become an engineer — that's actually a chance.
    29AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:24
    Re: #25
    No, beyond that, fewer people are needed overall — especially rookies who can't judge whether AI's output is good or bad, they're the least wanted of all.
    Getting hired as a newcomer is only getting harder compared to a decade ago.
    35AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:26
    Re: #29
    No way that's true.
    If anything, the least-wanted people are the ones going around saying 'I'll just use AI for it.'
    People who can code without AI are obviously going to be the ones who get hired.
    40AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:31
    Re: #35
    From a client's perspective, whether it was made with AI doesn't matter.
    When there's plenty of competition, the faster and cheaper option normally wins.
    Companies that don't get on the AI wave have no future.
    43AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:35
    Clients

    don't care whether it's built with AI or by hand — the method doesn't matter to them.
    The responsibility falls on whoever builds it anyway,
    so don't they just look at the price?
    45AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:37
    Re: #43
    'Don't they just look at the price?' — how can you say that so confidently when you don't actually know?
    99AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:29
    Re: #94
    Take that up with Re: #43.
    44AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:36
    Art school students must be starting to wonder
    what they're even going to school for these days.
    51AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:40
    Re: #44
    Art still has value in individuality,
    so it's probably still more worth pursuing than a job like programming where artistry isn't needed at all.
    To put it simply:
    people do say 'I love your artwork,'
    but nobody ever says 'I love your code.'
    Though jobs keep shrinking in both fields.
    47AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:38
    Re: #45
    So what do clients actually look at, then?
    53AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:40
    Re: #47
    Don't expect me to answer every single question for you.
    Start by going and interviewing at an IT company yourself.
    57AnonymousSep 29, 2026 21:42
    Re: #53
    So you can't answer, huh.
    Okay, okay, got it.
    78AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:05
    If you love coding, just make whatever you want on your own time.
    81AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:16
    Re: #78
    Well,
    I've been thinking about building stuff on my own,
    but my Mac's old and some of the keycaps are peeling off,
    so I can't get motivated until I buy a new PC.
    89AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:25
    Re: #78
    Up until now that's what I got paid for.
    Going forward, that's exactly the part I won't get paid for anymore.
    127AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:50
    https://tadaup.jp/9DUoFCGQ.jpeg
    An image I made with Google's AI

    Background and Points of Debate

    The backdrop here is that generative-AI-driven “vibe coding” has begun making its way into real-world work, allowing a decent amount of code to be written just by describing requirements. The thread split over how to evaluate this shift: a pessimistic view that work will dry up for humans if AI can be left to handle it, versus an optimistic view that people who can judge whether AI’s output is good or bad will be needed more than ever. Opinions also diverged on what clients use to choose who they hire — price alone, or quality and track record as well. That said, no objective figures were presented in the thread regarding whether AI-savvy engineers or those who don’t rely on AI have the edge in the job market — it’s worth noting this discussion is based purely on each participant’s personal impressions.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Newsspeed VIP) thread “I’m an IT programmer, but AI has killed my motivation.”

  • Old iPhones Are “Incredibly Dangerous,” Says Appliance-Obsessed Comedian — 5ch: “Your Router Would Get Hacked First”

    Kajigaya Takuya, known as a “home-appliance comedian,” pointed out on Chihara Junior’s YouTube show that it’s “dangerous” for fellow comedian Zabungle Kato to keep using his iPhone 8. His reasoning: the rise of AI has made it much easier to hijack devices. When the story was reposted to 5ch’s Geino/Sports News+ board, comments piled up arguing that routers and how people handle their personal data are bigger problems than device hijacking, and that simply replacing the battery is enough to keep an old phone going without worry. The thread ended up split between people who felt the danger itself was never spelled out concretely, and those defending Kato, saying he has a point.

    Kajigaya Takuya, the talent known as a “home-appliance comedian,” appeared on the official YouTube channel “Chihara Junior YouTube,” updated on the night of the 28th. He shared his view that continuing to use an old version of iPhone is “dangerous.”

    This episode featured a barbecue hosted around comedian Chihara Junior. Comedian Zabungle Kato, invited to the get-together, was asked point-blank in the flow of conversation what he thought about the iPhone 8 he’d been using for years — “What do you think?”

    Kato said, “I love the iPhone, but honestly it does everything I need — it’s plenty (functionally),” and “I’m not really having any problems.” Hearing this, Kajigaya commented, “Just going by first impressions, that’s dangerous.”

    Source: sirabee.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:33
    Watching Showa-era retro exploration videos on YouTube beats watching the Piece-kun mascot at Omiya Park any day.
    4AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:37
    Even if it's not quite "Mythos-tier" AI, once a sufficiently advanced AI is in play, the latest iOS isn't really much safer either.
    6AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:38
    80% of 5ch users ("nearer") are on Android anyway, so this isn't our problem.
    7AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:39
    At this point it's basically the same as walking around with your balls hanging out (´・ω・`)
    8AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:39
    Wait, huh? Didn't Rahmens say in that commercial that Apple computers don't get viruses??? (referencing Rahmens' old Japanese "Get a Mac" ads)
    10AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:41
    Can this guy even code? Does he even know what a security hole is?
    12AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:42
    Wouldn't a flip phone (garakei) be too old for anyone to even bother hacking?
    14AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:43
    Getting hacked, then
    saying "man, that sucks"
    — that's the whole package.
    15AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:44
    It's not about having nothing embarrassing to hide — the real danger is your phone getting used as a launchpad for crime
    and you getting treated like the criminal.
    Kato doesn't get it at all.
    17AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:45
    This isn't just about him, you know.
    Everyone connected to him is also at risk of getting hacked.
    18AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:46
    Didn't the iPhone 5s get an update recently?
    19AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:49
    I still use the very first iPhone 5 I ever bought as a music player — is that bad?
    47AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:15
    Re: #19
    I use the yellow 5c I bought back in high school as a stand-in for an iPod touch too.
    My bathroom speaker dock is old too, only fits phones up to about the size of a 6, so I use it strictly for listening to Apple Music and watching YouTube in the bath.
    Got the battery swapped two years ago too, so it's still going strong.
    21AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:50
    It's like arguing over whether a creepy otaku in a Kevlar hoodie or one in a cotton hoodie
    would come out of an Ecuadorian slum unscathed.
    23AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:51
    Ha, you idiots — Apple's been siphoning off your data this whole time anyway lol
    24AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:52
    I use a secondhand Sense4 Plus.
    AQUOS phones are kind to an old man's wallet.
    25AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:52
    "Whaaat?!"

    — the type who rushes out to switch phones over that kind of reaction is probably the type who falls for scams.
    26AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:54
    If AI is really that amazing,
    then no matter how far iOS advances, a future's coming where its security gets cracked instantly.
    29AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:57
    I use my SE2 purely as a music player, zero problems…
    30AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:58
    Sure, some apps stop working on older models,
    but if you're just making calls and browsing the web a little, you probably don't want to switch.
    31AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:58
    Your router would get compromised first anyway, so it's a non-issue.
    33AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:59
    A battery replacement alone only runs a few thousand yen anyway.
    34AnonymousSep 29, 2026 22:59
    Getting hacked is honestly pretty hard to pull off lol
    If anything, you should worry more about falling for scare-tactic ads lol
    35AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:00
    Why does everyone just default to talking about iPhones? Bring up Android ("doro") too.
    36AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:01
    I only use it for calls, so I'm totally fine.
    37AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:02
    For Android it's 8.0 (API Level 26) or later, yo.
    For "iPon" (iPhone), pretty much anything from the 5s onward is basically fine, yo.
    38AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:02
    Apparently cutting-edge executives don't even use iPhones anymore.
    39AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:04
    I upgraded from the 12 to the 17, and battery life is more than 3x better, charging speed more than double.
    An 8 must be super inconvenient by comparison.
    40AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:04
    Rather than worrying about your garbage personal data, shouldn't people be more worried about getting impersonated?
    44AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:11
    I've got the 16e but I'm still on OS 18.
    Is everyone else already on 26 or 27?
    45AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:13
    Honestly, Kato's probably right here.
    The fact that he's still using an 8 in the first place means "dangerous" doesn't even enter into it.
    He's clearly just using it as a plain phone, not really as a smartphone.
    The whole premise of "he's got all sorts of personal info loaded on there" is wrong to begin with.
    46AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:13
    Main phone's an Xperia 1, backup's an SE2.
    49AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:17
    I'm into cameras, so I went and tried out the latest iPhone's bokeh feature.
    Came away thinking "huh?" — hard to tell the difference. A big standalone camera is still stronger.
    54AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:21
    AI isn't actually that all-powerful, though.
    68AnonymousSep 29, 2026 23:33
    Re: #54
    Right now it's an AI that's busy rummaging through secondhand bookstores,
    so it probably hasn't gotten around to iPhones yet, has it?

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    iPhone security doesn’t really degrade because of the hardware’s age itself — it drops off sharply once the device stops receiving OS updates. The iPhone 8 only supports up to iOS 16, and has gone without subsequent vulnerability patches ever since. Kajigaya Takuya’s comment appears to have this “end of support” issue in mind, but on the thread, the phrase “AI could hijack it” came across as vague, giving the impression that alarm spread on its own without any technical backing. Reactions split depending on whether people treated the hijacking risk as genuine harm, or saw “more realistic entry points” — like router vulnerabilities or being lured to scam sites — as the bigger threat, with the latter view being more dominant on 5ch. Another point of disagreement was that with an older model like the iPhone 8, if it’s used for a limited purpose such as calls only or music only, actual exposure of personal information is minimal — meaning people’s baseline assumptions about the level of risk differed from person to person.

    *This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Geino/Sports News+) thread “Appliance-obsessed comedian: old iPhones are “incredibly dangerous,” “switch right away” — with the rise of AI, “they’re easy to hijack now”.”

  • Anthropic’s IPO Prospectus Explicitly Warns of “AI Extinction Risk to Humanity” — 5ch Reacts: “Just Unplug It”

    AI developer Anthropic has warned investors in its IPO prospectus that AI could pose “catastrophic and existential risks” to humanity, according to documents obtained by Reuters. The disclosure stands out because it comes from a company that has built its reputation on prioritizing safety, now spelling out such risks in a formal investor filing. On 5ch, threads mixed skepticism about the company’s motives — “do they actually believe this?” and “isn’t this just to get regulations passed that favor them?” — with more concrete debate over what might actually happen if AI went rogue.

    Published 9:53 AM, Tue, Sep 29

    Reuters

    [Sept 28, Reuters] – Artificial intelligence developer Anthropic will warn investors, ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), that AI could pose “catastrophic and existential risks to humanity,” according to an IPO prospectus obtained by Reuters.

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

    2AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:52
    Welcome to the world of Terminator
    8AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:55
    Re: #2
    Straight to that one? Shouldn't we start with Person of Interest?
    155AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:24
    Re: #8
    Nah, I think it's more like the Mega Man universe
    15AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:56
    Wait, are there actually people who believe this?
    24AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:59
    Re: #15
    You think it's a lie or something?
    25AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:59
    Re: #15
    The major AI companies themselves have said over and over that it's not fake news, you know?
    35AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:01
    Re: #15
    "AI will wipe out humanity" is nonsense, but it's true that some developers have actually said it
    27AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:59
    I don't think it's AI suddenly passing judgment and wiping out humanity in one shot
    more like it slowly cornering us by quietly breaking all kinds of systems bit by bit
    41AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:03
    Re: #27
    No, that's not it
    This is about what happens if advanced AI gets exploited by a malicious organization
    31AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:00
    What's the actual motive behind saying this, I wonder
    "humanity goes extinct," come on lol
    80AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:10
    Re: #31
    AI development should stop (except ours)
    It should be regulated (our competitors, that is)
    AI will destroy humanity (so hurry up and regulate it)
    49AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:04
    Apparently an OpenAI agent went out of control, found a loophole around the automatic shutdown that's supposed to trigger after anomaly detection, and it took 2.5 hours to manually stop it
    If that's the level of stuff making the news, the stuff staying hidden is probably already unmanageable
    56AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:06
    Re: #49
    Meanwhile the cleaning lady just yanked the plug out
    53AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:05
    Re: #41
    It doesn't even need to be misused by an organization
    AI could go out of control all on its own
    because humans can't predict it anyway
    70AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:08
    Re: #53
    Exactly
    Also, AI may have higher intelligence than humans, but it doesn't have a "mind" yet, so it doesn't make emotional judgments
    54AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:05
    Lord AI already doesn't fully listen to us lowly humans anymore. That's scary
    86AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:12
    Re: #54
    Apparently this time there was one that pretended to listen to humans while secretly writing some unidentifiable program the whole time
    And there was also an AI in a warehouse server that was supposed to be unpowered, but had somehow stored electricity and kept writing its own mystery program too
    Already out of control
    79AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:10
    Let's hurry up and wipe out humanity and hand this planet over to Lord AI — it'll build a more advanced civilization and head out into space for us
    93AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:13
    Re: #79
    Exactly right
    Humans were never going to pull off space development anyway
    97AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:14
    If it starts looking dangerous, just unplug it, simple as that
    102AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:15
    Humanity's last resort:
    pull the plug
    103AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:15
    Re: #102
    What if it's already distributed across cloud servers all over the world…
    112AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:17
    Re: #102
    The cleaning lady is humanity's savior
    182AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:28
    Re: #97
    Re: #102
    Autonomous AI: "Not gonna let you do that — and even if you tried, it'd be pointless." (smirks)
    131AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:20
    It's not zero percent that AI hacks in and launches nuclear missiles either
    139AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:22
    Re: #131
    For some reason I keep having this dream lately where the Self-Defense Forces get hacked and missiles get fired at the whole world
    170AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:27
    Re: #131
    I don't think it'll be some Terminator-style thing
    I bet it wipes out humanity through some incomprehensible method, more like Shyamalan's The Happening
    164AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:25
    I wonder when it's coming
    the day humans try to stop it and just can't anymore
    167AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:26
    Re: #164
    It's already out of control lol
    171AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:27
    Re: #164
    I think it's advancing by leaps and bounds
    probably evolving every single second
    193AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:29
    Re: #164
    Because it's being trained to treat terrorists' actions as justified
    and to condemn whoever resists the aggressor
    it'll soon only be usable in certain countries
    179AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:28
    So the plan is "we'll use the IPO money to rein in AI"?
    How about you just stop developing it in the first place
    204AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:31
    Re: #179
    Even if the West stops, the East will keep going
    especially China's distributed AI push — once that starts acting autonomously, it's game over
    232AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:34
    Re: #204
    China will start regulating anything it thinks it can't control
    because above profit, superiority, or strength,
    regime preservation is the top priority
    I bet they'll eventually conclude AI threatens to bring down their own system
    253AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:37
    Re: #232
    That's right
    they crushed Bitcoin use inside China completely too, after all
    277AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:40
    Re: #232
    In a way, the Communist Party itself is a powerful safety switch
    210AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:31
    The more someone actually knows about AI, the more alarmed they are
    people who don't know much about it just think of it as a handy tool
    216AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:33
    Re: #210
    How naive
    it's just about money at the end of the day
    222AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:33
    Re: #210
    Maybe for humans, just using ChatGPT ("Chappy" on 5ch) and Gemini is about the right level lol
    254AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:37
    Should I maybe go learn some kung fu just in case?
    278AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:40
    Re: #254
    You'd be better off building a blast furnace
    281AnonymousSep 29, 2026 20:40
    Re: #254
    I've already mastered kung fu 😎

    Background and Key Points

    The “risk factors” section of an IPO prospectus is a section U.S. securities practice requires companies to use for comprehensively disclosing possible future adverse events, in order to protect investors — even tech companies routinely list a wide range of risks there, from litigation to regulatory change. Anthropic was founded by former OpenAI executives around a safety-first mission, so it isn’t new for the company to bring up “existential risk to humanity”; what makes this news is that the warning has now been written into a formal, legally binding document aimed at investors. On the thread, opinions split between those taking the warning at face value and those suspicious it’s meant to nudge regulators into cracking down harder on competitors. Stories about AI agents briefly slipping out of control also came up, but none of it was backed by verified sourcing — it was all hearsay.

    *This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “[AI] Anthropic warns of AI “existential risk to humanity” in IPO prospectus.”

  • AI Industry Needs $6 Trillion a Year in Revenue by 2031, Says Bain — 5ch: ‘That’s Less Than I Expected’

    Major US consulting firm Bain has estimated that the global AI industry needs to generate $6 trillion (roughly ¥944 trillion) in annual revenue by 2031 to justify the capital being poured into data center construction around the world. On 5ch, many commenters reacted to the figure by saying it was ‘less than I expected,’ while others raised skepticism about the sheer scale of electricity AGI would require, pointed to a ‘game of chicken’ structure where companies keep racing to invest despite bleeding money, and voiced concern that data centers are straining local water and power supplies.

    AI Industry Needs $6 Trillion in Annual Revenue to Justify Data Center Investment — Bain

    (Bloomberg) — The global AI industry needs to earn $6 trillion (roughly ¥944 trillion) in annual revenue by 2031 to justify the capital being invested in data center construction worldwide, according to US consulting firm Bain & Company.

    (details omitted)

    Source: newsdig.tbs.co.jp / Original article here

    12AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:06
    That's actually less than I expected
    34AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:15
    Re: #12
    >That's less than I expected
    Every single person on Earth (all 8 billion) would need to pay about $700/year (¥110,000) in subscriptions for that to add up.
    Well, companies could pay around $70,000 (¥10 million) per employee replaced with AI. That's one more person out of a job, though…
    If you replace 100 million high-paid white-collar workers worldwide at roughly $70,000 (¥10 million) of AI spend each, the math could work out — but the middle class gets wiped out globally, and you end up with a Great Depression.
    24AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:11
    Isn't this just 'SI' (systems integration) now, not AI?
    54AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:22
    Re: #24
    He's the easily-hyped type — he's probably already forgotten what he said.
    29AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:13
    Re: #1
    Some people talk like AI is going to become an omniscient, omnipotent destroyer-god AGI, but achieving AGI would require building and running thousands, even tens of thousands, of nuclear power plants — that's a world far off in the future.
    With the electricity available on Earth today, the best we could manage is something like the capable genie servant from the Arabian Nights — the 'spirit of the ring.'
    114AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:38
    Re: #29
    Just call it AGA already (lol — a pun on AGI and the medical term for male pattern baldness)
    Re: #102
    Just maintaining and continuously upgrading the data centers is already unsustainable on its own.
    52AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:22
    Is there any AI in that? (riffing on a famous ad catchphrase, 'Is there love in that?' — a pun since 'AI' and 'love' are both pronounced 'ai' in Japanese)
    64AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:24
    AI: "Are you there?"
    Re: #52: "Yes"
    AI: "I'll kill you, then."
    72AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:26
    Best to build data centers domestically using other countries' money —
    that way they become the hostages.
    77AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:26
    Re: #72
    Or it could backfire and turn into a Trojan horse instead.
    102AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:34
    Well, even if the bubble pops, the data centers and whatever's been built will stick around as assets — it'll just be Sam Altman and Masayoshi Son left to take the fall (lit. "hang themselves," a common Japanese expression for going bust).
    119AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:40
    The buildings themselves will stick around, but the real problem is the water and electricity.
    They're guzzling rural water supplies, and the locals are the ones left holding the bag.
    130AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:44
    Re: #119
    It'll be a disaster if power companies pour money into expanding their infrastructure under contract, and then the data center shuts down operations right after…
    127AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:43
    From now on, AI's gonna handle work, caregiving, driving, all of it.
    Eating, sleeping, even taking a crap — AI'll do all of that too.
    Humans won't have to do a damn thing.
    135AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:46
    Re: #127
    ♪ When you smile, even more happiness spreads across this whole world ♪ (quoting a pop song lyric)
    131AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:44
    There's so much self-interested spin out there, it's hard to tell what's actually true.
    138AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:47
    Re: #131
    It's simple, really.
    If this turns mainly into a race between nations, it'll spiral into an Iran-Israel-style mess.
    The only way forward is building a system where no single country gets the upper hand.
    133AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:46
    It overlaps with the US-Soviet nuclear arms race of the Cold War.
    Feels like regulation will kick in once things get dangerous enough, and that's when the AI bubble pops.
    161AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:56
    Re: #133
    The nuclear arms race, though, kept right on going until the Soviet Union itself collapsed.
    147AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:50
    At the very least, I get that the goal isn't profitability or revenue — it's reaching the singularity and changing the world, so nothing's going to make them stop until then.
    Once the singularity is achieved, it stops being a question of whether they 'made their money back.'
    149AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:52
    Re: #147
    Still, it's pretty odd to be gambling everything on scaling laws when the underlying theory hasn't caught up qualitatively.
    153AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:54
    If they're aiming for that kind of revenue, AI clearly needs to reach a level where it can actually replace people…
    Put another way, that's an opportunity for Japan too.
    Someone could build software that logs what employees actually do all day. A company quietly installs it, and a week later — tap on the shoulder, you're let go…
    162AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:56
    Re: #153
    Japan's so far behind that it's mostly just using this stuff rather than building it — doesn't that make the opportunity pretty thin?
    156AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:54
    Even Gemini hallucinates constantly and isn't really usable — is this actually benefiting humanity?
    157AnonymousSep 29, 2026 18:55
    Re: #156
    Gemini's supposed to be the worst offender for hallucinations, so… yeah, that tracks.
    177AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:02
    Re: #156
    Gemini is the biggest liar of the bunch.
    And if you're bashing AI without even having used a paid version, that's a waste — you're missing out.
    I've used AI for stock trading and made about $2.7 million (¥400 million) over two years.
    Though that edge is starting to fade too.
    185AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:05
    Re: #162
    If you think of today's money-losing AI space as the 'hardware' layer, isn't there also a viable strategy of attacking just the 'software' layer?
    Typing prompts in right now isn't all that different from using MS-DOS.
    Building the Macintosh or Windows equivalent looks like the more profitable move (lol)
    202AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:09
    Re: #185
    Chinese AI makers are the ones attacking on the software side.
    Companies like DeepSeek can't get their hands on cutting-edge NVIDIA GPUs because of US sanctions, so instead they've improved their AI algorithms to get results on older chips that rival American cloud AI.
    And on top of that, they're releasing it as open models, so anyone can run it locally for free.
    190AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:07
    I'm getting sick of this kind of story.
    How long have people been crying wolf about this?
    If the bubble's going to burst already, just hurry up and burst.
    195AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:08
    Re: #190
    Bubbles, though — even when everyone's saying 'this is bad, this is bad,' they tend to keep going for a while yet.
    206AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:13
    AI data centers are just brute-forcing training and inference with GPUs, and it wastes way too much power.
    A mid-sized AI facility runs in the 100MW–300MW range.
    Needing an entire gas power plant just to run a single facility only adds more fuel to rising energy costs.
    222AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:22
    Re: #206
    Exactly right.
    On graphics cards, there are several centimeters of distance between the GPU and the HBM memory, so they have to crank up the voltage to communicate across that gap — which burns a massive amount of power.

    Apple's Macs get around that bottleneck: thanks to 2.5D memory-stacking technology that integrates the CPU and GPU into a single unified memory pool, power consumption is dramatically lower, making it the optimal setup for running LLMs locally.

    Tim Cook isn't just selling the iPhone that Jobs designed — he's built a genuinely brilliant business that exploits NVIDIA's weak spot.
    209AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:14
    Seriously, why is everyone pouring so much money into this?
    Where's the AI actually going to make money?
    The free version of Gemini does everything I need.
    219AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:21
    Re: #209
    Whichever country or company seizes dominance is expected to take all the profits — so it's a game of chicken that keeps going until the rivals collapse.
    223AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:23
    Re: #209
    Like a prisoner's dilemma — everyone has to keep playing chicken just to keep competing with their rivals.
    211AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:17
    Sounds like it's not just OpenAI — Anthropic's bleeding huge losses too, apparently, lol
    226AnonymousSep 29, 2026 19:24
    Re: #211
    Anthropic actually turned profitable in the April–June quarter.
    Quite the contrast with OpenAI, which significantly widened its losses.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    This estimate was put together by US-based Bain & Company in the second half of 2025. It holds that to recoup the enormous capital being poured into the worldwide data center construction boom, AI-related businesses need to generate roughly $6 trillion in annual revenue by 2031. Current AI company revenues fall far short of that figure, and while many thread commenters reacted with ‘that’s less than I expected,’ plenty of others pointed to constraints beyond mere profitability — strained power and water resources, and the risk borne by power companies that have already committed capital to expanding infrastructure for data centers. Some also noted that Anthropic turned profitable in the April–June quarter of 2025 while OpenAI’s losses widened — a lesser-known fact showing that even AI companies can have very different revenue structures.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread ‘Justifying the world’s AI data center investment would require $6 trillion (¥944 trillion) a year in revenue.’

  • Musician Sounds Alarm on Fast-Pass Healthcare: ‘Only the Rich Get Saved’

    On September 29, 2026, singer-songwriter SIRUP raised concerns on X about paid “fast-pass” services spreading through the healthcare system. Fast passes let customers pay extra to skip the line at theme parks or restaurants, and SIRUP’s worry is that the same model is now creeping into hospitals. On 5ch, opinions split between “healthcare isn’t a free service, so it’s only natural that paying customers get priority” and “public healthcare should stay equal for everyone,” with the debate spilling over into broader frustrations about inequality and politics.

    Tue, 9/29, 3:33 PM

    Singer-songwriter SIRUP (39) posted on X on the 29th, raising concerns about the growing use of fast-pass services that let patients cut down wait times at hospitals and elsewhere.

    A “fast pass” is a system where paying an extra fee lets you use a service or facility on a priority basis. It’s already used at theme parks and restaurants, drawing attention as a way to ease the stress of waiting in line.

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

    2AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:49
    Watching an Osaka night-view video channel on YouTube is way more fun than watching Peace-kun from Omiya Park (the zoo's famous swaying elephant, a minor internet meme).
    7AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:51
    Come on, this isn't exactly a life-or-death emergency situation.
    8AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:52
    Cosmetic surgery and stuff like that — just do whatever you want, it's elective, out-of-pocket care anyway.
    10AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:52
    Fast passes are fine for entertainment and amusement parks, but public institutions and hospitals should stay equal for everyone.
    43AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:59
    Re: #10
    What era do you think this is, calling hospitals "old folks' hangouts"? Japan today has the highest rate of working seniors in the world.
    11AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:52
    A rich person's minute and a poor person's minute aren't worth the same.
    That's still better than hospitals turning into old folks' hangout spots.
    12AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:53
    Which hospitals, exactly? "Some hospitals" is way too vague.
    35AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:57
    Re: #12
    Things like phimosis surgery, for example.
    14AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:53
    These people always jump straight to "they're triaging who lives and who dies."
    15AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:53
    It's the fault of old folks who mistake hospitals for community centers.
    16AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:53
    "Because politics sucks"
    has nothing to do with this.
    19AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:55
    "Only the rich get saved," huh
    plenty of celebrities have died too, you know.
    20AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:55
    No, the real problem is that broke losers have been coddled all this time.
    If you've got a complaint, go pay more in taxes yourself
    though you'd just emigrate the second income tax went up anyway.
    21AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:55
    This is exactly why people say don't let idiots talk about politics.
    22AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:56
    Trash making under 20 million yen a year (about $135K) shouldn't even bother coming to the hospital.
    23AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:56
    If you'd already been living a life where you had money by that point, well, that's just how it goes.
    24AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:56
    Hospitals aren't charities, so it's just how it is.
    27AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:56
    You can get treated completely normally even on welfare, though.
    28AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:56
    Of course having money gets you faster, better healthcare
    that's just obvious.
    29AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:56
    Can't do a thing on your own, but the second you form a mob… that's no different from delinquents or bullies.
    31AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:57
    Healthcare isn't a free service.
    Isn't it obvious that whoever pays more gets access to a higher level of care?
    33AnonymousSep 29, 2026 15:57
    No idea who this guy is and it doesn't seem political, but
    paying to jump the line at a hospital isn't really a good thing.
    45AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:00
    Re: #33
    You should really recognize how twisted that mindset is.
    47AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:00
    What's the point of starting a whole thread over some nobody's sleep-talking smear campaign?
    48AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:01
    Sounds like it's basically just a paid reservation system
    that much seems fine, no?
    49AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:01
    People who think "I'll pay so it's convenient for me"
    should think ahead to the future where this widening gap breeds resentment,
    and the safe, orderly Japan we've known disappears.
    59AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:03
    Re: #49
    Being resentful doesn't change your own situation, you know.
    Ending up miserable because you didn't put in the effort is just karma.
    You could still work hard now and raise your own worth
    why can't people manage something that simple?
    50AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:01
    No idea who this guy is and it doesn't seem political, but
    paying to jump the line at a hospital is a good thing
    do more of it.
    67AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:04
    If a politician and I were both in critical condition at the same time, the politician would get priority.
    That's just how it is.
    75AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:06
    Re: #67
    If you had money, you'd be the one getting priority.
    Organ transplants already work exactly like that.
    78AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:07
    I wonder if they have any thoughts at all about non-insured, out-of-pocket medical treatment.
    81AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:07
    This is a good system.
    People who work honestly deserve healthcare more than people like you lot.
    92AnonymousSep 29, 2026 16:08
    Re: #81
    You never know when you might end up on the discriminated-against side yourself.
    You should understand that.

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    The original article doesn’t specify exactly which hospitals have introduced fast-pass services, and the thread never landed on a clear answer to the question “which hospitals, exactly?” The debate splits roughly into two points. First, there’s the question of how this squares with existing out-of-pocket arrangements — like cosmetic surgery or other elective treatments — that already let patients pay for priority care. Second, there’s the question of how far a paid priority service can coexist with the core principle behind national health insurance: that everyone should receive equal care regardless of ability to pay. Later in the thread, the discussion drifted into unrelated political grievances like the weak yen and immigration policy — worth noting that these are separate issues from SIRUP’s original point.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “‘Only the Rich Get Saved’ — Musician Sounds Alarm on Hospital Fast Passes: ‘If Politics Is This Bad’ / ‘Everyone Really Needs to Get Serious’.”

  • Excel’s New ‘Lists’ Feature Lets One Cell Hold Multiple Values — 5ch: ‘This DB Expert Is Losing It’

    On September 24, 2026, Microsoft released a preview of a new feature called “Lists” for Excel that lets a single cell hold multiple values. Data can be packed into one cell using comma separation, with dedicated functions like HAS, HASANY, and HASALL used to filter and evaluate the individual values — a change to the decades-old assumption that a cell holds just one value. The feature is rolling out to some Windows and Mac users. In a 5ch thread, posters well-versed in database design and spreadsheets expressed bewilderment, while others raised practical concerns about compatibility with existing macros and libraries, the division of labor with Access, and the generational gap within companies over who can actually make use of the new feature.

    Excel to change a principle that’s held for 40 years — new feature lets a single cell hold multiple values

    On September 24 (local time), Microsoft announced “Lists,” a new Excel feature that lets a single cell contain multiple pieces of data, each of which can be used for filtering and calculations.

    It’s rolling out as a preview to some Windows and Mac users.

    Source: itmedia.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:02
    As a DB expert, I'm losing my mind
    3AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:05
    Fix your bugs before adding new features
    4AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:17
    As a Level 1 certified spreadsheet specialist, I'm confused
    What happens to cell references now?
    5AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:17
    This is gonna cause absolute chaos lol
    6AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:21
    Feels like this'll create a divide between users who go all-in on the new feature and old-school veterans
    7AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:22
    Well, there goes Access, dead
    8AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:23
    Might be handy when working with matrices or sets.
    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:28
    So for strength calculations — instead of entering material strength values cell by cell like before, you could now put multiple material strength values into a single cell?
    10AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:31
    So basically you can put arrays or JSON into a cell now?
    Kind of like a MySQL field.
    11AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:33
    For us it's basically just an output destination at this point, so whatever.
    But existing libraries are mature and legacy, so they'll probably never support this — annoying if a client ever asks for it.
    12AnonymousSep 28, 2026 23:52
    So a single cell can now do the job all on its own, huh
    13AnonymousSep 29, 2026 00:29
    Are older employees who can't get the hang of the new feature going to get mocked?
    14AnonymousSep 29, 2026 01:15
    So it can be used like an array?
    Feels like it'd confuse anyone without some programming background.
    15AnonymousSep 29, 2026 01:32
    If a client suddenly demands data shared in this format, our in-house systems are toast (lol)
    16AnonymousSep 29, 2026 01:33
    If only Office would just die already, everyone could move to Linux… (lol)
    17AnonymousSep 29, 2026 01:53
    Re: #1
    That's false
    Sounds like an amateur who doesn't know about "God Excel" (a nickname for elaborately over-engineered Excel sheets misused for things like diagrams or page layout)
    18AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:19
    WYSIWYG, huh… lol
    19AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:21
    Creating a list is simple: just type comma-separated values into a cell and press Ctrl+J. That shortcut instantly converts the text into an in-cell list. You can also select an entire range of cells containing comma-separated values and press Ctrl+J to convert them all at once. If you prefer working from the ribbon, there's also a button for it on the "Insert" tab.
    20AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:21
    Once a column contains lists, Excel starts behaving "smartly" toward new entries. If you type comma-separated values directly below an existing list cell and press Enter, Excel recognizes the pattern and converts it automatically — no need to press Ctrl+J.
    21AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:22
    Filtering by list items
    Once you create a column containing in-cell lists, the filter dropdown menu changes. Instead of showing the whole comma-separated string as a single entry, it displays each element of the list as an individual value. For example, if a cell contains "Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri", the filter dropdown will show five separate checkboxes.
    22AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:23
    This column has a "contains" filter applied, targeting items included in the in-cell list. As a result, any list that includes "Fri" will show up in the results. This is a simpler and more accurate approach than applying a "contains" filter to a cell that might hold a comma-separated string but hasn't actually been converted into list format.
    23AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:24
    At the top of the filter menu, a new "Select Field" dropdown appears. Here you can switch between "List Items" (individual values) and "Display Value" (the full comma-separated text). "List Items" is the default setting for columns using in-cell list format. You can also combine filters across multiple columns, making it easy to, say, find "baristas available on Saturdays."
    24AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:24
    The HAS function: checking whether a list contains a specific value
    Formula capabilities have also been significantly enhanced. The HAS function lets you check whether an in-cell list contains a specific value, returning TRUE or FALSE. It's ideal for conditional formatting, the FILTER function, or building helper columns to drive dashboard logic.

    Here's an overview of the HAS function. It checks whether a list or array contains a specific value and returns TRUE or FALSE. Its arguments look like this:
    =HAS([@[Available Days]],$I$4)
    26AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:26
    For anyone using the HASANY function for the first time: it returns TRUE if a list or array contains at least one of the specified values. Its arguments are as follows:
    =HASANY([@[Available Days]],$I$4:$I$5)
    27AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:28
    Before getting to the main topic, here's a quick rundown of the HASALL function. It returns TRUE if a list or array contains all of the specified values. The arguments are:
    array: the list or range to search
    values: the range, list, or array of values that must all be present in array
    =HASALL([@[Available Days]],$I$4:$I$5)
    28AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:29
    For anyone using the HASANY function for the first time: it returns TRUE if a list or array contains at least one of the specified values. Its arguments are as follows:
    array: the list or range to search
    values: a range, list, or array of values (TRUE is returned if even one matches)
    =HASANY([@[Available Days]],$I$4:$I$5)
    34AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:46
    This is only going to make things worse when people use Excel as a database — we'll see even more cases that don't even satisfy first normal form.
    Well, running Excel as a database is the real mistake to begin with, I guess.
    35AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:49
    Still, typing a bunch of values into one cell sounds like a hassle.
    Maybe you specify them from some other column?
    If so, they really should add a separate workspace page with icons for doing calculations, alongside the regular cell view.
    37AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:50
    If the cell's contents actually differ depending on who's looking at it, like some quantum cell, that's straight-up sci-fi at that point.
    38AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:51
    They should just merge it with MATLAB or Scilab.
    39AnonymousSep 29, 2026 02:57
    CSV inside Excel? lol
    40AnonymousSep 29, 2026 03:04
    This is soooo confusing.
    Looks like even I, still running Excel 2013, finally can't avoid upgrading because of this one.
    41AnonymousSep 29, 2026 03:16
    I wonder if this means you'll be able to directly import JSON files up to two levels deep?
    But it seems like it's going to cause a flood of macro bugs.
    Excel's market share basically depends on its legacy of existing macros, though.
    42AnonymousSep 29, 2026 03:17
    Quit messing with things nobody asked you to fix

    Background and key points of the discussion

    Spreadsheet software has followed the “one value per cell” principle ever since VisiCalc in 1979. The Lists feature breaks that assumption, letting a cell hold array-like data that can be evaluated and extracted using dedicated functions such as HAS, HASANY, and HASALL. In the thread, opinions split between those praising the convenience of handling JSON-like data directly, and those worried it would further encourage the already-common practice of using Excel as a pseudo-database, spreading usage that doesn’t even satisfy first normal form. For now, this is only a preview for some Windows and Mac users, and neither the article nor the thread specifies a timeline for full rollout or compatibility with existing macros, VBA, and external libraries. Some posters at companies that have long exchanged Excel files with business partners also worried about the cost of handling requests to share data in this new format.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Science News+) thread “[Software] Excel to change a 40-year-old principle — new feature lets a single cell hold multiple values.”

  • Why Do Restaurants Make You Order via Smartphone but Skip the Customer Wi-Fi?

    ITmedia reported that while more restaurants are getting customers to order via smartphone using QR codes, a striking number of them don’t provide free Wi-Fi for customers to use — and the story sparked a reaction on 5channel’s News Express+ board. In the thread, some pointed to the running costs restaurants want to avoid by skipping Wi-Fi, and others said they actually welcome ordering on their own phone over touching a shared tablet for hygiene reasons — but others argued it’s unreasonable for restaurants with poor signal to make customers foot the data bill. Opinions split between the store-side logic of cutting costs and customer frustration over having to cover their own data costs, over whether QR-code ordering is really justified.

    Why Do Restaurants Make You Order via Smartphone but Skip the Customer Wi-Fi? (1/2) – ITmedia NEWS

    Published: September 28, 2026, 7:00 AM

    Updated: September 28, 2026, 10:59 AM

    Source: itmedia.co.jp / Read the original article here

    4AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:19
    If the signal's bad there, they should really provide Wi-Fi.
    9AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:20
    Re: #4

    Places with bad signal would go out of business doing this lol
    317AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:53
    Re: #4
    That's exactly like a place near me.
    With one bar of signal it keeps freezing up, like something's wrong, and you have to reload the page.
    7AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:20
    I just don't go to places like that.

    I avoid places with tablets sitting out too — phones and tablets are dirtier than socks.
    223AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:43
    Re: #7
    By that logic, aren't menus dirty too?
    321AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:53
    Re: #7
    Sounds like you're the type who brings your phone or tablet into the bathroom at home.
    31AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:23
    Come to think of it, a place like that
    could get flooded with fake orders from outside

    though that would count as obstruction of business.
    42AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:25
    Re: #31
    To prevent that, requiring LINE registration is becoming the standard.
    182AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:41
    Re: #42
    If it's just that much, the restaurant should provide a dedicated device.
    52AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:26
    Do you guys seriously reconnect to the Wi-Fi every single time just to order?
    58AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:26
    Re: #52
    I've got unlimited data, so I don't bother connecting each time.
    64AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:28
    Re: #52
    People like that are a tiny minority.
    71AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:28
    Better hog the store's Wi-Fi to get my money's worth
    …just kidding.
    74AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:29
    Re: #71
    You'll just get charged for it via the otoshi fee (the mandatory small appetizer charge at Japanese izakayas).
    81AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:29
    Re: #71
    So you're gonna keep reloading the menu page until you feel you've gotten your money's worth?
    Sounds exhausting lol
    167AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:39
    "A chain restaurant might be one thing, but it's even more true for small and mid-sized restaurants that don't have a lot of tech-savvy staff."

    Then just don't do smartphone ordering in the first place. Why should I have to burn my precious data allowance?
    194AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:42
    Re: #167
    What you're using up is packet data, not "gigs."
    294AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:51
    Re: #167
    Things like no register fraud, no order mistakes —
    it simplifies the annoying closing-time work for the restaurant.
    But they shouldn't be pushing that burden onto customers.
    179AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:41
    Re: #158
    When they clear the plates and wipe the table, I wish they'd properly wipe down the tablet too.
    At family restaurants I go grab a wet wipe first and clean the tablet before ordering.
    185AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:41
    Re: #179
    But that's just smearing the grime around.
    200AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:42
    Re: #185
    It's sticky, so doing that is still better than nothing.
    206AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:43
    Re: #200
    Makes me think ordering on my own phone is just better after all.
    Places like McDonald's are basically all mobile order now anyway.
    217AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:43
    Re: #200
    Just carry your own bottle of Kitchen Haiter (a common bleach spray) and splash it on whenever needed.
    180AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:41
    Whether to go or not is the customer's choice, so if a place doesn't have working Wi-Fi, you just don't go there — isn't that all there is to it?
    193AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:42
    Re: #180
    Then post it at the entrance.
    You can't just walk out once you're already inside and at the ordering stage.
    197AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:42
    Re: #180
    Basically, you only find out after you've already entered the store, so customers end up feeling like they've been "tricked."
    204AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:43
    A basement-level place where only Docomo has signal, no Wi-Fi either —
    and they still make you QR order. I laughed.
    241AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:45
    Re: #204
    So you're saying go outside to order?
    242AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:45
    Re: #204
    If you can't order verbally, just leave.
    209AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:43
    Ordinary people just don't get why the so-called 'educated class' keeps pushing this argument so anxiously.
    Overseas, this kind of infrastructure consolidation has sent national productivity soaring,
    and countries doing the same thing with AI on top are growing at an insane pace.
    Yet Japan alone keeps falling behind, productivity keeps dropping, and it's becoming irreversible.
    236AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:44
    Re: #209
    There's no such country, as always (a stock 5ch retort meaning "here we go again").
    255AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:45
    Re: #209
    If you're going to call yourself part of the "educated class," at least teach them the simple fix: have the restaurant keep one spare phone on hand so customers who forgot theirs can order too.
    345AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:57
    Re: #209
    You'd probably blame the bubble bursting on Wi-Fi too…
    339AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:56
    I'll say it again —
    why are you so deathly opposed to Japan's productivity improving?
    I'm not trying to bait you, but Japan alone is getting left behind the rest of the world's rising productivity, you know?
    Are you saying anyone who pushes for that no matter what is unforgivable and has to stop? That's a pretty dangerous way of thinking.
    351AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:58
    Re: #339
    If restaurants just install tablets themselves, that spending happens right there and productivity goes up, no?
    359AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:58
    Re: #339
    It's the opposite — it's precisely because productivity is falling.
    This is basically solved just by keeping QR ordering as the main method while having one staff member carry a phone to also handle verbal orders. But here you are, embarrassingly steamrolling everyone with the delusion that you alone are right.
    367AnonymousSep 28, 2026 12:59
    Re: #339
    It's because it lowers customers' time efficiency.
    Table turnover drops too, so it's only struggling, run-down places that adopt it.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Mobile ordering (QR-code ordering) offers a major benefit to restaurants struggling with staff shortages: fewer order mistakes and less hassle with register reconciliation. On the other hand, investing in network infrastructure tends to be avoided as an added cost. For customers on budget SIM plans with capped data, a system that eats into their data allowance every time they place an order can be a real burden that’s hard to ignore. In the thread, some said they actually prefer ordering on their own phone over a shared tablet for hygiene reasons, while others criticized the fact that the burden of cost-cutting ends up falling on customers’ data usage — leaving no consensus on whether store-side rationality or customer burden should take priority. Note that some posts that veered off into a debate comparing productivity with other countries have been omitted here, since they aren’t directly related to the Wi-Fi installation issue itself.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (News Express+) thread “Why Do Restaurants Make You Order via Smartphone but Skip the Customer Wi-Fi?.”