Category: Tech

A survey by major used-smartphone dealer belong found that the iPhone 14 topped the used-device sales ranking for the first time, with the combined share of the iPhone 14–16 lineup roughly quadrupling from a year earlier. When 5ch’s Nandemo Jikkyo G board picked up the story, mockery of people still clinging to an old model with a Lightning port collided with praise for its roughly ¥60,000 affordability and iOS’s long support window. The thread also touched on reluctance to switch to Android phones like the Xperia, and gripes about newer models dropping the titanium body.

Used-smartphone sales trends: “iPhone 14” takes No. 1 for the first time. Share of iPhone 14–16 roughly quadruples from a year ago [belong survey]

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

3AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:10

Ah, the Lightning-port loyalists.

6AnonymousSep 24, 2026 19:10

Re: #3

Hated this thing even back when it was new.

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “[Sad News] Japanese People Flock to an iPhone Four Generations Old.”

Soya Igari (24), a member of the five-person Jr. group “KEY TO LIT,” questioned the common claim from older generations that “alcohol is medicine” and “the best cure for a hangover is more alcohol,” during the September 23 broadcast of “Honma de ka!? TV.” While host Akashiya Sanma invoked the old saying that drinking in moderation is “the best of all medicines,” Igari shot back, “There’s no way alcohol is good for you. I honestly don’t get it.” The remark split 5ch commenters between those sympathizing with Igari and those defending the tradition of an evening drink, sparking a broader debate over which does more social harm: alcohol or tobacco.

9/24 (Thu) 14:56

Soya Igari (24), a member of the five-person Jr. group “KEY TO LIT (Kiteretsu),” appeared on Fuji TV’s “Honma de ka!? TV” (Wednesdays, 9:00 p.m.), aired on the 23rd. In a segment where guests shared behavior from the Showa and Heisei generations that felt “impossible to take seriously,” the episode aired as a special titled “Sanma vs. Reiwa Common Sense! Bridging the Generation Gap.”

Igari pointed out, “Something I honestly don’t get about the older generation — don’t they always say things like ‘alcohol is medicine’?” Host Akashiya Sanma responded, “Well, there’s that old saying, ‘the best of all medicines.’” Igari pressed on: “They always say things like ‘cure a hangover with more alcohol.’ It just seems crazy to me. It doesn’t make sense. There’s no way alcohol is good for you,” he said, shaking his head.

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

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “KEY TO LIT’s Soya Igari Reveals Older Generation’s “Impossible to Take Seriously” Behavior: “Stuff Like Alcohol Is Medicine” — “There’s No Way Alcohol Is Good for You. I Honestly Don’t Get It.”“.

WEST., a group under STARTO ENTERTAINMENT, announced on September 24 that it is ending its activities. Twelve years after their 2014 debut — and after renaming from “Johnny’s WEST” to “WEST.” in 2023 — the group is calling it quits, with Ryusei Fujii and Nozomu Kotaki declaring they will leave the group entirely while the remaining five members go on to work individually. On 5ch, the news sparked surprise given that the group reportedly already had work booked under the group name starting October 1, and reactions also spread over the fact that the announcement coincided with a stretch in which several members had one after another revealed marriages or relationships, fueling all kinds of speculation about the circumstances and reasons behind the breakup.

September 24, 2026, 13:00

STARTO ENTERTAINMENT announced in a bombshell statement on the 24th that the Kansai-born seven-member group “WEST.” is ending its activities. Via their fan club, all seven members appeared together in a video to announce, “We’ve decided to close down the group.” Twelve years since their 2014 debut. In 2023 they renamed the group from “Johnny’s WEST” to “WEST.” Now they are closing the book on 12 years of history, bowing their heads to fans with “our deepest apologies.”

WEST. debuted in April 2014 with the single “Ee Janaika.” The group started out with seven members: Daiki Shigeoka, Terushi Kiriyama, Junta Nakama, Tomohiro Kamiyama, Ryusei Fujii, Takahiro Hamada, and Nozomu Kotaki.

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

※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[STARTO ENTERTAINMENT] WEST. Announces Breakup, All 7 Members Apologize, Fujii and Kotaki Declare Departure Too, but “It Ends as All 7” — Members to Go Solo Going Forward ★2 [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★]“.

A FORZA STYLE article recounting one man in his 50s’ bewildered experience with QR code and LINE ordering at an izakaya (Japanese pub) — he wondered aloud, “Is this actually the customer’s job?” — sparked a wave of reactions on a 5channel (5ch) News Speed+ thread. The real sticking point wasn’t the ordering system itself, but resistance to LINE Official Account setups that require “adding the store as a friend” before you can even see the menu. While some praised QR ordering as “convenient” and said it “cuts down on order mistakes,” others pushed back with complaints like “I don’t want to friend a place I’ll only visit once” and “don’t make customers pay for the data,” splitting the thread between those who valued convenience and those who resented the hassle.

FORZA STYLE

“Humor is a gentleman’s virtue”

“I hate QR code ordering…” Fed up with smartphone ordering at izakayas, a man in his 50s baffled by digitization let slip: “Is this seriously the customer’s job?” [Expert advice]

Source: forzastyle.com / Original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (News Speed+) thread ““I hate QR code ordering…” Fed up with smartphone ordering at izakayas. A man in his 50s baffled by digitization… “Is this the customer’s job?””.

On September 22, Norway’s Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) named the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a frontrunner for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. The forecast comes as the Trump administration ramps up pressure aimed at “dismantling” the ICC, including sanctioning its judges and prosecutors — and PRIO’s stated rationale is that the award would let it be argued that “every state and leader bears an equal responsibility to respect international law.” On 5channel threads, commenters repeatedly questioned the authority and value of the Nobel Peace Prize itself, while discussion also spread to the relationship between Trump and the prize and to related international developments like Hungary’s announced withdrawal from the ICC.

Norway’s Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), which forecasts the Nobel Peace Prize winner every year, named the International Criminal Court (ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands) as this year’s frontrunner on the 22nd. Amid mounting pressure on the ICC from the Trump administration, PRIO explained that giving it the award would make it possible to argue that “every state and leader bears an equal responsibility to respect international law.”

PRIO pointed to the US-Israeli military operation against Iran and the US military intervention in Venezuela, noting that “upholding an internationally recognized normative order — international law above all — is essential to preventing and resolving conflict in an increasingly polarized world.” It stressed that the ICC’s work “holds great potential to contribute to world peace.”

The ICC is a permanent international tribunal that tries individuals suspected of involvement in genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The United States, which is not a member, has pushed back against the ICC’s approval of investigations into war crimes by American soldiers — pressuring member states to withdraw and sanctioning judges and prosecutors, including President Tomoko Akane, in what amounts to a bid to “dismantle” the court.

Source: jiji.com / Original article here

64AnonymousSep 23, 2026 21:38

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate

86AnonymousSep 23, 2026 21:54

Re: #64
This, this lol
The Nobel Peace Prize is worthless to whoever's actually being oppressed anyway, so the idea is to just hand it to Trump instead

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Breaking News+) thread “ICC a Frontrunner for Nobel Peace Prize Forecast — ‘Argues for a Duty to Respect International Law’ — International Research Institute.”

Former ANGERME member Wakana Matsumoto reported on her blog that she visited ‘Tabekko Doubutsu MIRAI LAB.’ with fellow former member Yukie Kawamura. Photos showed Matsumoto wearing clothes that appeared to be hand-me-downs from Kawamura, and on 5ch, comments like “guess she’s just casually naming Kawamura now” reflected surprise at the shift — Kawamura had reportedly asked fans not to name her publicly after leaving the group. Meanwhile, plenty of speculation also circulated about how the friendship started and what Kawamura’s been up to lately.

Sounds like they hang out pretty often

Source: ameblo.jp / Original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread ‘Wakana Matsumoto Goes to Tabekko Doubutsu MIRAI LAB. with Ms. Kawamura‘.

The Financial Times reports — relayed by Bloomberg — that OpenAI expects a cumulative free cash flow deficit of up to $278 billion (roughly ¥43.6 trillion) between 2026 and the end of 2030. As capital spending explodes amid the generative AI boom while revenue fails to keep pace, the company is approaching what’s called a “death cross” — the point where cash burn overtakes income. On 5channel’s Newsplus board, reactions ranged from shock at the sheer scale of the deficit, to doubts over whether the massive spending on data centers and chips will ever pay off, to comparisons with companies like Google and Microsoft that already have solid revenue streams, and even claims that the debt is now so large OpenAI has effectively become “too big to fail.”

OpenAI Projects $278 Billion Free Cash Flow Deficit Through 2030 — FT

(Bloomberg) — U.S.-based OpenAI expects its free cash flow deficit to reach $278 billion (roughly ¥43.6 trillion) from 2026 through the end of 2030.

“Death Cross” Looming — OpenAI’s $278 Billion Deficit Forecast Poses a Reckoning for AI Investment

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

*This article is compiled as excerpts and a summary from the 5channel (Newsplus) thread “OpenAI’s Deficit: ¥43.6 Trillion — ‘Death Cross’ Looms From 2026 to End of 2030.”

STARTO ENTERTAINMENT (formerly Johnny’s & Associates) finds itself at the center of several overlapping controversies. timelesz member Shuto Inomata was arrested on suspicion of assault and has been suspended from activities, while separately, Bunshun Online and other outlets report that STARTO representative Julie Keiko Fujishima is fuming over Stardust-affiliated group M!LK’s win at “Music Awards Japan,” a music award that prides itself on judging without favoritism — reportedly declaring, “We won’t be entering our kids again.” On 5ch, reactions were split for and against Fujishima, alongside talk of the overexposure of Johnny’s-affiliated talent on TV and reflections on the history of male idol groups nurtured by other agencies like Stardust.

STARTO ENTERTAINMENT is in turmoil.

On September 19, Shuto Inomata (25), a member of the eight-member group timelesz, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department on suspicion of assault after allegedly injuring a woman he knew. STARTO announced the same day that Inomata would be suspended from activities for the time being, with formal disciplinary action to be decided once the authorities’ ruling is finalized. Inomata reportedly denies the allegations.

The other seven members of timelesz issued a statement saying, “We are all at a loss for words over the shock of this.” As STARTO scrambles to respond to the arrest of a member of one of its most popular groups, another story concerning the male idol world is also drawing attention.

Source: pinzuba.news / Read the original article here

*This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[STARTO ENTERTAINMENT] Julie Keiko Fujishima Reportedly Furious Over M!LK’s Meteoric Rise… Said to Be Fuming and Unhappy Over Their ‘MAJ’ Win, Declaring “We Won’t Enter Our Kids Again” [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★]“.

A graduate student at Nara Women’s University has sued the university and the national university corporation that runs it, seeking the award of her doctoral degree and about 17 million yen in damages, after the university notified her the day before her PhD program was set to conclude that it would not grant her the degree — despite the fact that her dissertation had already passed committee review and she had published a co-authored paper with her supervisors in an international academic journal. The university has no rule requiring it to disclose reasons for withholding a degree; only after the student filed an objection did it explain that “a separate meeting held after the dissertation review did not reach the required number of votes in favor.” On 5ch, users debated where responsibility lies with the supervising professors, and discussed how the realities of earning a doctorate differ between the sciences and the humanities.

It was revealed on the 22nd that a graduate student at Nara Women’s University has filed suit in Nara District Court against the university and the national university corporation that operates it, arguing it was unlawful to withhold her doctoral degree even though she had met the requirements — passing her dissertation review and having her work published in an academic journal. She is seeking the degree itself plus roughly 17 million yen in damages. The suit was filed on the 18th.

According to the complaint and members of the review committee, the student submitted her dissertation in January. The review committee found it passing in February, and the findings were also published in an international academic journal as a paper co-authored with her supervisors. However, on March 23 — the day before her doctoral program was due to conclude — the university notified her that it would not award the degree.

According to the university, there is no rule requiring it to disclose reasons for withholding a degree. When the student filed an objection, the university explained that at a separate meeting held after the dissertation review, the number of votes in favor among attendees fell short of what was required.

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

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread ‘Seeking Her PhD, Sues Nara Women’s University Despite ‘Passing’ Dissertation Review.’

Saeng Mankharat, who lives in a village in northeastern Thailand, has an ID card listing her date of birth as September 18, 1896 — if true, that would make her 130 years old, a full 13 years older than the current record holder for world’s oldest person. Locals have hailed her as a “super-centenarian,” and she’s become an overnight sensation. Over on 5channel, the thread lit up with talk about the reliability of extreme-age claims — from users reminiscing about their own grandparents born in the Meiji era to the case of Shigechiyo Izumi, whose recorded age was reportedly thrown off by a family-registry mix-up.

‘130-Year-Old’ Grandma, 13 Years Older Than the World’s Oldest Person — ID Card Reading ‘1896’ Discovered By Chance, Draws Huge Attention in Thailand

In a quiet village in northeastern Thailand, a “super-centenarian” is now drawing attention.

The worn ID card belonging to Saeng Mankharat lists her date of birth as “September 18, 1896.”

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

*This article is compiled as an excerpt/summary of the 5channel (Breaking News Plus) thread “‘130-Year-Old’ Grandma, 13 Years Older Than the World’s Oldest Person — ID Card Reading ‘1896’ Discovered By Chance, Draws Huge Attention in Thailand.”