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  • Giants’ Next Skipper? Tatsunori Hara Suddenly in the Mix — 5ch Split Right Down the Middle

    Reports say the name of Giants great Tatsunori Hara has suddenly surfaced as a candidate to become the team’s next manager. In this season’s Central League, the Hanshin Tigers clinched their first-ever back-to-back pennant on October 3, while the Giants stayed in the title race but ultimately fell short. Tigers manager Akinobu Okada commented that “the Giants have done well given their roster.” On 5ch forums, opinions split sharply: some want the current coaching staff to continue, others back Shinnosuke Abe staying on or being promoted, while strong objections to Hara — citing past scandals — also emerged.

    There’s talk of pushing Tatsunori Hara for the Giants’ manager job next season. The Giants stayed in this year’s title race but couldn’t close it out when it mattered. Given his wealth of experience, track record, and relentless focus on winning, it’s natural that Hara’s name would come up.

    This season’s Central League race went down to the wire, with Hanshin clinching their first-ever back-to-back pennant on October 3. The Giants fought hard to the end but came up short.

    “No, I think the Giants have done well given their roster. I honestly thought they’d finish in the bottom half this year. Hashigami is something else.” (Akinobu Okada, Hochi Shimbun, October 3)

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

    2AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:25
    Just let him stay on, man
    Seriously, the Giants are idiots
    4AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:26
    Hara's done enough already (´・ω・｀)
    His birthday's the same as mine though
    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:26
    Put Abe in as chief coach
    Want him back as manager in three years
    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:26
    Yomiuri (ownership): 'Good thing the Giants didn't win it all — now we can fire Hashigami with a clear conscience'
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:27
    If the Tigers poach Hashigami as head coach, that'd be hilarious.
    150AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:56
    Re: #11
    His last team as a player was the Tigers, after all
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:27
    Isn't there anyone else?
    Let's make Sakamoto player-manager here
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:27
    Kudoh, Tatsunori Hara…
    Even managers are in short supply these days
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:27
    Hara gets hospitalized partway through his term
    and Abe gets promoted from chief coach — that flow works for me
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:28
    Serious reply

    Any pro baseball story not from a sports paper is just speculation
    This one's just AERA (a weekly news magazine) making stuff up too
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:29
    Same goes for the Dragons' manager

    Sports papers say → Kudoh
    General papers say → Kuwata

    Though Kuwata's name probably hasn't even come up
    23AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:30
    Isn't this the moment for Matsui to keep his promise to Mr. (Nagashima)?
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:30
    Why's Okada acting so high and mighty?
    The Tigers don't have any young talent either
    It's just a phase
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:30
    Too late for Matsui
    He's getting up there in age for a first-time manager
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:31
    If Hara becomes manager, Sugano might come back to the Giants too
    49AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:34
    Re: #32
    No MLB team's going to pick him up at this point
    He'll come home no matter who's managing
    38AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:32
    Matsui's stuck in the 'Egawa slot' (a name that keeps coming up for the job but never actually takes it, like pitcher Suguru Egawa)
    His name surfaces every time, but he never becomes manager
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:33
    Are the Giants really that short on talent?
    That's pretty lame
    48AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:33
    If they cut Hashigami and Ishii this year, the Giants are finished
    85AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:43
    He's got to be nearly 70 by now
    Well, but if anyone's going to mentor Hideki Matsui into managing, I guess it has to be Tatsunori Hara…
    94AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:44
    Re: #85
    Your mom, you mean?
    How old are you, posting this on a weekday morning
    141AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:54
    Just let Yoshinobu do it
    146AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:54
    Re: #141
    Come on, that'd be too cruel to Yoshinobu…

    Background and Key Points

    Tatsunori Hara has managed the Giants three separate times in the past and has a Japan Series championship to his name; since stepping down after the 2023 season, Shinnosuke Abe has been at the helm. It’s worth noting that this “sudden emergence” report is speculation from general and sports newspapers, not an official announcement from the club — a point also raised in the thread, where one poster noted that “any pro baseball story not from a sports paper is just speculation.” The split in opinion comes down to a clash between those who want Hara back based on his managerial record and track record, and those opposed, citing past tabloid scandals. It’s also worth keeping in mind that this managerial-change talk isn’t necessarily driven by poor team performance, given that Tigers manager Akinobu Okada — whose team won the pennant — himself praised the Giants for “doing well given their roster.”

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuho+) thread “[Baseball] Tatsunori Hara suddenly surfaces as Giants’ next manager candidate“.

  • ‘VIVANT’ Villain Actor Hit with Online Abuse — 5ch: ‘There Are Actually a Lot of People Who Can’t Tell the Role Apart From the Actor’

    Actor Lin Lin, who plays the villain in TBS’s Sunday Drama Theater series ‘VIVANT,’ shared abusive messages he received on social media via his Instagram. In response to comments like “Don’t ever show your face on TV again” and “That made me sick to my stomach,” he reportedly took it in stride, calling it “the ultimate reward of being an actor.” On 5ch, users expressed shock and disbelief at people who can’t distinguish the character from the actor playing him, citing past examples like the bullying role in ‘Oshin,’ actress Nae Yuuki, and actress Haru, who faced similar abuse — framing it as a problem unique to the social-media era.

    ‘VIVANT’ Actor Hit With Online Abuse: “Don’t Ever Show Your Face on TV Again” — Staying in Villain Mode Even on Social Media: “It’s the Ultimate Reward of Being an Actor”

    Actor Lin Lin updated his Instagram on the 6th.

    He revealed the reaction to the villain role he plays in TBS’s Sunday Drama Theater series ‘VIVANT’ (airing Sundays at 9:00 PM) and shared messages sent in by viewers.

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

    7AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:18
    Lin Lin isn't a panda's name, come on
    Couldn't they have come up with something else? (Lin Lin is the name of a famous real-life panda in Japan)
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:18
    Saw the picture with longer hair and honestly couldn't tell it was him lol
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
    The acting and direction weren't anything that special, if we're being honest
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
    Sending abuse over just a TV drama… there are some seriously unhinged people with way too much free time
    53AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:36
    Re: #10
    Social media really is a high-precision idiot detector
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
    The actress who played the bully in 'Oshin' apparently got stuck with that image for years too
    71AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:44
    Re: #11
    Showa era, sure, but it's wild that people like this still exist today
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
    The guy who played Hirukawa in Ultraman Mebius was fantastic
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
    Sounds like the prince from Game of Thrones
    29AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:26
    Re: #13
    Glad to hear he's back to acting
    14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:20
    I want them to keep making this forever, like '24'
    They could easily stretch it to season 8 or so
    17AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:21
    The old backlash against Nae Yuuki was brutal too
    18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:21
    Even in the Reiwa era, there are still people like the ones who threw stones at pro wrestler Dump Matsumoto's mother (a famous case of fans confusing a villain gimmick with reality)
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:22
    Wait, hold on — are a lot of social media users just idiots?
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:28
    For some reason Michael Jordan gets treated like the good guy
    33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:29
    There really are a lot of people who can't separate the role from the actor
    Like the ones who assume an actor playing a doctor must be smart and admirable
    Then when someone plays a villain like this time, they assume he's scary, irritating, disgusting
    Something's just not right with them
    47AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:35
    Re: #33
    Honestly, I can still kind of understand that much
    But there was a case with a different drama where the official site
    posted a photo of the actor getting along with the "villain" off-screen,
    and people actually complained about it — that one I genuinely couldn't wrap my head around
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:30
    Honestly, forget the actor talk — this time the script is just wall-to-wall interrogation and torture scenes, which makes it boring
    45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:34
    It's the "Fuyuhiko-san phenomenon" (a infamous mama's-boy villain character from a 1990s drama whose actor got real hate mail)
    Same thing happens in every era
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:36
    Re: #45
    Forget Fuyuhiko
    Nae Yuuki is the number one example
    62AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:39
    Sending hate mail because you didn't like a character in a drama…
    there really are some unbelievable idiots out there
    69AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:44
    Re: #62
    It's kind of amazing they can still function in everyday life
    Maybe it only works if they don't actually interact much with society
    67AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:42
    Narumi Arimori
    Nae Yuuki
    Haru

    These are victims of the same thing too
    70AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:44
    Re: #67
    Haru — that was the affair drama, right? Brings back memories
    78AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:45
    "It was such a cruel role, but I love how your real kindness and warmth couldn't help but shine through!"
    "Wasn't scary at all, and it just made me an even bigger fan!"
    Comments like that might actually be what gets through to him
    81AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:47
    Re: #78
    Kind of like the "turns out Egashira's actually a nice guy" thing (a comedian known for a wild, scary stage persona but said to be kind off-camera)
    85AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:49
    This drama's on Prime Video — is it actually worth watching?
    98AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:57
    Re: #85
    Nope
    It's the kind of show you watch live and then forget — there's no real substance to it

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The phenomenon of actors receiving personal abuse from viewers over the villains they play has come up repeatedly throughout the history of Japanese television dramas — from Nae Yuuki in the 1990s drama ‘Zutto Anata ga Suki Datta’ to the actor who played the bullying role in ‘Oshin.’ In the past, viewer reactions reached actors only as rumors or the occasional letter; what’s different now is that social media lets people send messages directly to an actor’s own account. Within the thread, most commenters expressed disbelief or sympathy toward viewers who can’t separate the role from the actor, though some posts instead mocked the intelligence or character of the people sending the abuse, showing the discussion itself was split on how to frame the problem. There were also complaints about the script itself — a separate point of discussion from reactions to the actor personally.

    *This article is composed of excerpts and a summary from the 5ch (Geisoku Hodo+) thread “[Entertainment] ‘VIVANT’ Villain Actor Hit With Online Abuse: “Don’t Ever Show Your Face on TV Again,” “That Made Me Sick”… He Responds: “It’s the Ultimate Reward of Being an Actor”.”

  • Former AKB48 Member Yuki Kashiwagi Billed ¥160,000 for Cockroach Extermination — 5ch Reacts: ‘Top Search Result ≠ Reputable Business’

    Former AKB48 member Yuki Kashiwagi, appearing on the October 7 broadcast of ‘Ueda to Onna ga Hoeru Yoru’ (‘Ueda and the Howling Women’), shared her experience of giving up on exterminating a cockroach in her home herself and instead rushing to hire a company that appeared near the top of her internet search — only to be billed ¥160,000 for the job. On the thread, budget-conscious users countered that products like Black Cap traps or Goki Jet spray would have cost just a few hundred yen, while others pointed out that ranking high in search results often just means a company paid for ad placement, not that it’s reputable. Some commenters also questioned whether the story was even true.

    Former AKB48’s Yuki Kashiwagi Hit With a Shocking Bill for Cockroach Extermination — ‘This Is Wrong’: She Reveals How the Ordeal Ended

    Yuki Kashiwagi (35), a talent and former AKB48 member, appeared on the Nippon TV variety show ‘Ueda to Onna ga Hoeru Yoru’ (airing at 9:00 PM) on October 7.

    In line with the episode’s theme, ‘Crime Prevention This Fall! Women Who Never Want to Be Victimized Again,’ she revealed a shocking episode in which she was hit with an exorbitant bill from an exterminator after a cockroach appeared in her home.

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

    3AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:56
    Should've just called the #1-ranked company, duh
    81AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:51
    Re: #3
    Sexual Violet (No. 1)? (riffing on the old 1981 song title)
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:01
    Celebrities really are clueless idiots about the real world, huh
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:03
    Why not just call AKB management and have them send their scary fixer guys to sort it out?
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:03
    Dropping ¥160,000 without blinking — guess she's rich?
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:06
    A can of Barusan (a popular bug-bomb fumigant) would've done the job
    18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:07
    Re: #16
    It's scary when you don't know where the corpse ends up
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
    Re: #18
    It's not like the exterminator searches for the corpse and disposes of it after spraying
    20AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:08
    Scam companies showing up at the top of search results is a classic story
    She's not even getting a refund — her agency, Watanabe Production, sure is scary
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:08
    Re: #1
    If the company sees this, they'll realize it's Kashiwagi's house
    22AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:08
    Just use Black Cap or Combat (bait-trap brands)
    23AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:08
    Just because it comes up top on Google doesn't mean you can trust it at all
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:09
    > Yuki Kashiwagi
    First time I've ever seen that name. Stop making self-promo threads for some talent nobody's heard of
    25AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:10
    With 'landmine'-type traps like Black Cap plus regular spraying with something like Gokissh (a roach spray), you can pretty much keep them out of sight
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:10
    ¥1,000 is the bare minimum, and the sky's the limit above that
    Get a quote first
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:10
    A quick spritz of Goki Jet spray and it's dead
    Goki Jet's gone up in price lately too,
    but it's still way cheaper than calling some junk exterminator
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:10
    Even if they wore masks, you can't exactly sign a contract under a fake name — so does that mean a bunch of shady guys now know where she lives?
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:12
    One showed up suddenly right before bed — I fought it off but it got away,
    and I spent the whole night on edge. In the morning I searched again and found it sitting perfectly still in the same spot, so I finished it off…

    Made me rethink just how surprisingly patient roaches ('G' is slang for gokiburi, i.e. cockroach) can be
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:13
    Black Cap or Combat is all you need
    33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:14
    Black Cap deserves a Nobel Prize, honestly
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:14
    Neutral dish soap is the ultimate weapon
    Just a few drops and it stops dead in its tracks… probably suffocates

    Makes you almost scared of how strong that cleaning power is
    35AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:15
    If they're going to charge ¥30,000, you're better off crying your way through buying Goki Jet, crying your way through killing it yourself,
    picking it up with tissue and a plastic bag, tying it shut tight, and tossing it,
    then spraying some Mushi Ender (a bug repellent) afterward
    36AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:15
    That's about what pest control costs for a commercial building
    But for a home, something like Barusan is plenty — it'll just come back in again anyway
    Hiring a professional company is operating on a totally different wavelength from us
    37AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:15
    You're the crazy one for hiring someone for that
    39AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:17
    Saw one right after I moved in, sealed every single gap in the house with vinyl tape, and haven't seen one in 20 years since
    40AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:18
    So managers even have to deal with stuff like this
    That sounds rough~
    41AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:18
    As someone in the same line of work, if they called, rushed over right away, and did full chemical treatment for a final price of ¥30,000, that's actually pretty reasonable
    42AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:18
    Catching it under a paper cup
    is actually a solid move
    If they'd used Goki Jet spray instead,
    cleanup afterward would've been a nightmare
    43AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:19
    Getting the top spot in search results isn't free, you know
    46AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:20
    Transportation fee, labor cost, late-night surcharge, 'derelict-building fee'(?), pesticide spraying — I'd guess all that tops out around ¥20,000
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:24
    Black Cap is seriously the best
    Luckily I haven't seen one this year
    52AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:25
    No point getting worked up over a line written by a TV show's scriptwriter
    53AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:26
    Not sure how it is these days, but companies like this often bury the callout fee and service charge in fine print — or don't disclose them at all — which causes a lot of trouble

    Same with stuff like water leaks — if you just buy the part yourself and swap it, it only costs a few hundred to a few thousand yen
    55AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:29
    Even if you kill it with pesticide, cleanup afterward is a pain
    56AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:29
    > She gave up trying to exterminate it herself and, in a panic,
    > rushed to hire a company from the sponsored slot at the top of her search results.

    The hefty ad fees for that sponsored slot get recouped from the customer.

    A sponsored slot is just something you buy with ad money —
    being at the top doesn't mean the company is honest.
    If anything, it's more likely to be a ripoff outfit
    60AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:34
    Mushi Ender plus Black Cap would run about ¥2,000 lol
    What kind of house is she even living in lol
    62AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:37
    Hard to say if this story's even real, but
    something like ¥10,000 for the callout fee and ¥10,000 for labor wouldn't be unreasonable — someone's got to physically show up.

    But ¥160,000? I don't get it. Pesticide at the hardware store only costs a few hundred yen
    66AnonymousOct 8, 2026 09:41
    Her manager got the money back? What is this manager, some kind of fixer lol

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    There’s no official price standard for pest control services — callout fees, late-night surcharges, and chemical costs vary from company to company, so even ‘one cockroach’ can run anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yen. The thread split over whether ¥160,000 counts as a ‘rip-off’ or a ‘legitimate price for a late-night callout,’ with many commenters instead zeroing in on the fact that she agreed on the spot without getting a quote first. There was also a widely echoed reminder that a company’s top placement in search results is simply something it pays for in ad fees — it has nothing to do with its actual reputation or whether it’s properly licensed, a useful thing to keep in mind when searching for services online. The fact that the show never specified a detailed cost breakdown also makes it harder to judge whether the story — or the price — is accurate.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuho+) thread “[Entertainment] Former AKB48’s Yuki Kashiwagi Hit With a Shocking Bill… Pays ¥160,000 for Cockroach Extermination — ‘This Is Wrong’: She Reveals How the Ordeal Ended“.

  • Marunouchi OL Reina’s cozy photo-booth pics with Daisuke Hori spark 5ch reaction: “This industry would die without stunts”

    Influencer Marunouchi OL Reina has posted close-up photo-booth (purikura) pictures on X with businessman Daisuke Hori, who claims to have slept just 30 minutes a day for the past 17 years. Reina rose to fame this past May with a viral “human champagne tower” video, and this time she paired the photos with a message asking people to “stay out of other people’s love lives,” effectively confirming the relationship. Reactions on 5ch were split: some said there’s no issue since Hori is already divorced, while others suspected the two are simply using each other to boost their profiles. Deep skepticism about Hori’s “30-minute sleep” claim itself also ran strong.

    October 8, 2026

    Influencer Marunouchi OL Reina (age undisclosed), who drew attention this past May with a viral “human champagne tower” video on X, updated her account by the 7th. She posted photo-booth images with businessman Daisuke Hori (42), who has gained attention as a self-proclaimed short sleeper claiming to have kept up “30 minutes of sleep a day” for 17 years — and the post is generating buzz.

    That day, Reina wrote, “Thank you for choosing me despite everything that happened. I’d like people to stay out of other people’s love lives,” alongside two photo-booth images of her snuggled up with Hori, plus screenshots of their LINE messages and an roughly 8-second video. The photo-booth images are inscribed with sweet phrases like “Thanks as always, on our first date now” and “Love you,” and show Hori grinning broadly next to Reina, whose face is hidden behind a mask.

    Source: pinzuba.news / Original article here

    3AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:20
    Hori's already divorced, so there's no problem here.
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    If you go public with something like this, people are gonna talk trash about it — that's just how it goes.
    If this were a leaked candid shot I'd feel for her, but she clearly did this for the attention.
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:25
    Who and who?

    Some professor out there: "Short sleepers like that don't exist, lol"
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:26
    This guy's probably going to get all sorts of things exposed by this woman down the line.

    Listen up, everyone, take a good look —
    this is capitalism!
    25AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:30
    Must be one of those scenes where you die if you're not constantly stirring up buzz.
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:30
    Wait, when did Hori even get divorced?
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:30
    Guess two shady characters just click.
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:32
    Net users sure love this kind of person, huh.
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:32
    Seriously, what a walking mass of attention-seeking.
    Like, no method is off the table as long as it gets eyes on them.
    37AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:34
    ">Your personalities seem like such a perfect match, you two make a great couple"

    Yeah… that comment right there says it all.
    38AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:35
    And here we go again — people who can't think for themselves getting milked for engagement, lol
    61AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:46
    This is the only industry Japan has left.
    The model adult for kids to aspire to be.
    89AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:06
    Re: #61
    And to think this is a country with the brainpower to win Nobel Prizes…
    How did it fall this far?
    90AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:07
    I only found out about Daisuke Hori from that livestream that went viral — what was he originally famous for?
    97AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:11
    Re: #90
    Nadal with hair
    104AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:13
    So the "30 minutes of sleep" thing was a lie after all?
    108AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:15
    Re: #104
    Literally nobody in Japan believes that.

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    Daisuke Hori is a businessman known for claiming he has slept just 30 minutes a day for 17 years, and within the thread some pointed out that sleep science experts have questioned whether true short sleepers even exist. Extreme short-duration sleep is considered medically very rare, and Hori’s claim has never been independently verified. Meanwhile, Marunouchi OL Reina is an influencer who gained recognition from her viral “human champagne tower” video this past May, and she proactively announced this relationship herself on X. Opinions in the thread split between reactions to her plea of “stay out of other people’s love lives” and suspicions that “the two of them might just be using each other to generate buzz.” Several also pointed out that since Hori is already divorced, there’s no issue of infidelity involved. As for the truth of his sleep claims, many reactions showed little domestic trust in them — with the focus of the discussion centering less on the photo-booth pictures themselves and more on doubts about Hori’s background and claims.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “‘Human Champagne Tower’ Marunouchi OL Reina’s Intimate ‘Love You’ Photo-Booth Pics with Short-Sleeper Daisuke Hori Heat Up the Board — ‘Stay Out of Other People’s Love Lives’ [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★]“

  • Over 80% of Japan’s Public Hospitals Are Running Deficits — 5ch: ‘Too Many Hospitals Trying to Offer Everything’

    A Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey found that more than 80% of Japan’s 844 public hospitals ran deficits in fiscal 2024, with total losses reaching ¥395.2 billion. Rising labor costs and inflation are cited as the main factors, and according to the Japan Association of Municipal Hospitals, the same trend is expected to continue into fiscal 2025. On 5ch, opinions split over the causes and possible fixes: some blasted the high labor costs of doctors and nurses, others argued unprofitable departments should be cut, and some noted that patients on welfare (seikatsu hogo) are effectively “guaranteed-payment, ideal customers” for hospitals.

    More than 80% of Japan’s public hospitals are running deficits. Why has this happened? What could happen if the losses continue, and are there any solutions? We spoke with Izumi Mochizuki, chairman of the Japan Association of Municipal Hospitals, the nationwide body representing public hospitals.

    Hit hard by rising labor costs and inflation

    The financial deterioration of public hospitals is severe. According to a Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey, more than 80% of the 844 public hospitals nationwide ran deficits in fiscal 2024, with total losses of ¥395.2 billion. Public hospitals are generally managed under their local government’s special account, with funds also transferred in from the general account budget — but even that isn’t enough. Our own survey at the Japan Association of Municipal Hospitals shows the same trend continuing into fiscal 2025.

    Source: asahi.com / Read the original article here

    3AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:15
    Of course public hospitals run deficits
    If it could turn a profit, the private sector would already be doing it
    64AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:40
    Re: #3
    It's because nurses' salaries are insanely high.
    Cut them by 30%.
    161AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:15
    Re: #3
    There are just too many public hospitals trying to stock every department under the sun — that's exactly why they're in the red.
    4AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:15
    We don't need this many hospitals.
    Doctors and nurses get paid way too much.
    And with free treatment for welfare recipients and the like, no amount of money would ever be enough.
    Switch over to an American-style private insurance system.
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:19
    Re: #4
    Wait, doesn't the hospital still get paid when treatment is "free" for welfare recipients?
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:25
    Re: #11
    Opposite, actually. It's fully covered by public funds, so there's zero risk of non-payment. From the hospital's point of view, they're prime customers.
    30AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:26
    Re: #11
    No way that's true
    Money is definitely moving around behind the scenes.
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:19
    Just shut down every hospital outside Tokyo.

    Heal yourself.
    15AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    Let's slap fines on low-birthrate municipalities like Tokyo and Osaka and funnel that money to hospitals.

    Keep the sanctions on Tokyo until its birthrate goes up.
    141AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:04
    Re: #15
    Tokyo's birth count actually rose last year.
    The rate doesn't climb because people with no intention of having kids keep fleeing the countryside for Tokyo — that's just obvious.
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    Aren't public hospitals and public transit systems supposed to run at a loss anyway?
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    Re: #16 Re: #1
    Running public hospitals into the red and raising the tax burden to cover it

    just creates a new hidden social security burden for the working generation.
    55AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:35
    Re: #16
    Using the deficit as an excuse to sell things off piece by piece — that's the whole fun of it.
    18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    If they're running deficits, why not just keep scaling them back?
    They hand out medication for literally everything these days anyway, which just makes people weaker and weaker.
    23AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:24
    Re: #18 Re: #1
    The heavy fiscal burden of social security spending means that

    if taxes are cut, rate hikes and a weaker yen push prices up and squeeze the working generation,

    and if taxes aren't cut, the working generation's income gets skimmed off like under the old "gokou-gomin" system (an Edo-era tax scheme where the lord took half of everyone's harvest), squeezing them that way instead.

    Elderly people whose healthy life expectancy has stretched out, who could work but don't, and instead live off social security while traveling and enjoying themselves,

    are today's aristocrats, today's court nobles, today's feudal lords.

    People like that are exactly why social security never reaches the people who truly need it in the amount they need,

    and why the working generation keeps getting squeezed under this "gokou-gomin" setup.

    If the working generation wants to raise its voice, it should be raising it against these modern-day feudal lords.
    71AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:41
    It'd be fine if doctors in the tougher, more demanding specialties got paid more for it, but that's not how it works.

    Cosmetic surgery means:
    ・No night shifts
    ・No long hours on-site
    ・No handling emergency ambulance cases
    ・No emergency calls while you're at home
    ・No emergency operations
    ・And on top of all that, clearly higher pay than every other specialty
    The working conditions are absurdly cushy.

    Of course anyone with a medical license is going to aim for cosmetic surgery no matter how much abuse society throws at them for it.

    Unless the pay and working conditions in tough, life-or-death specialties like surgery and emergency medicine get better than cosmetic surgery's, it's only natural that more and more talented people keep flocking to cosmetic surgery instead.
    77AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:43
    Re: #71
    Apparently competition in that field is getting brutal too.
    Also, once you get older and your own face starts showing it, the clients stop coming.
    83AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:46
    Re: #71
    If it's that profitable, public hospitals should just start offering cosmetic surgery too.
    Even JR covers the losses on its money-losing rural lines using profits from the Shinkansen and the Yamanote Line, so overall it's still in the black.
    109AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:52
    Same story as the old Japanese National Railways or the postal service. Civil servants have no cost awareness, so things end up running at a loss.
    110AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Re: #109
    Nope, that's not it. Macro-economically, not everyone can be in the black at the same time — that's the real reason.
    114AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Re: #109
    Well then, just pull out of the unprofitable areas like JR does, right? lol
    115AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:55
    There are just too many unprofitable departments.
    The ER, for one, is a department that genuinely just bleeds money — scrapping it alone would change a lot.
    119AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:56
    Re: #115
    Yeah, exactly. Emergency care is a luxury wasted on poor people.
    135AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:02
    Re: #115
    Same goes for pediatrics and obstetrics.
    120AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:56
    Way too much pointless work and way too many staff.
    You're stuck waiting a whole hour just to pay the bill.
    121AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:57
    Re: #120
    Raise medical fees and out-of-pocket costs high enough to turn a profit, and patient numbers would crash — the wait times would vanish too.
    134AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:02
    Re: #120
    That's the medical clerks you're talking about.
    Whatever AI can replace, just let AI replace it.
    136AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:02
    It's because doctors' salaries are too high.
    Cap annual pay at ¥3 million for nurses and ¥6 million for doctors, and 80% of the hospitals now in the red could turn a profit.
    144AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:06
    Re: #136
    Caregivers at ¥1.5 million, pharmacists at ¥2 million —
    cut salaries down to that level and it'd be a real "Sukatto Japan" moment (a TV show famous for satisfying comeuppance segments).
    158AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:15
    Re: #136
    Then teachers should be fine with ¥2 million too, right?
    211AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:47
    Re: #136
    Nobody would want to work there anymore and the place would collapse.
    Back in the day, even low-paying public hospitals could get doctors dispatched to them on orders from university medical departments, but nowadays if you try to dispatch someone to a place like that, they just quit the department instead.

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    Public hospitals are structurally the ones left holding unprofitable departments — emergency care, pediatrics, obstetrics — that private hospitals pull out of because they don’t pay off, so the deficits themselves are in some sense the flip side of their role as society’s “last resort.” The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications survey found that in fiscal 2024, more than 80% of 844 hospitals nationwide ran deficits totaling ¥395.2 billion, with the same trend expected to continue in fiscal 2025. On the thread, many commenters pointed to management-efficiency issues — the high labor costs of doctors and nurses, the “full-set” approach of trying to stock every department, and personnel practices like doctors being parachuted in from university medical departments — while opinions split over whether to blame staff pay or the management structure itself. There was also disagreement over how welfare (seikatsu hogo) recipients’ medical costs affect hospital finances, with some calling them “guaranteed-payment, ideal customers” and others arguing they aren’t a major cause of the deficits — neither side backed their claim with hard numbers. The thread doesn’t get into specifics on the scale of transfers from general-account budgets or how much this varies by municipality, so getting the full picture of the deficits would require checking the Ministry’s original data.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “Public Hospitals: Over 80% in the Red — What Does This “Last Resort” Need to Survive?.”

  • New ‘Rayearth’ Series Uses ‘Yuzurenai Negai’ as Insert Song, Sends It to #1 on X Trends

    In episode 1 of the new “Magic Knight Rayearth” TV anime, which aired on TV Asahi affiliates on the 8th, the 1994 anime’s theme song “Yuzurenai Negai” (performed by Naomi Tamura) played as an insert song, sending “Rayearth” to the number one spot on X’s trending topics. The new series marks the franchise’s first new anime in 29 years, since the 1997 OVA, and the song also got its first-ever digital release after 32 years. On 5ch, fans celebrating the musical touch posted things like “that’s such a classic track,” while others were harsher on the character designs, calling them “degraded” or saying “the eyes are creepy” — leaving the thread split between praise for the music and criticism of the art.

    Episode 1 of the TV anime “Magic Knight Rayearth” aired on the 8th (late night on the 7th) on TV Asahi affiliate stations. The new anime is the franchise’s first in 29 years since the 1997 OVA release, and it’s generating buzz online after Naomi Tamura’s “Yuzurenai Negai,” the theme song from the original Heisei-era anime (1994), played as an insert song.

    “Yuzurenai Negai” is a hit that sold over a million copies and was even selected for the 1995 NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen (Japan’s biggest New Year’s Eve music special), and it was used again as an insert song in episode 1 of the new anime, giving the story’s opening an extra boost. The song also just got its first-ever digital release, 32 years after its original 1994 release.

    Fans had been watching closely before the broadcast to see whether the song would make an appearance in the new series, and when it did play as an insert song, reactions poured in online: “Whoa!!! Yuzurenai Negai just played!!!”, “Such a classic song!”, “Is it really okay for even the sound to stay exactly like the Heisei era!?”, and “Rayearth just has to have this song!” Amid the wave of surprise and delight, “Rayearth” shot to the number one trending topic on X.

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

    2AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:27
    Sad that the art got so much worse (´；ω；｀)
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:41
    Re: #2
    It's faithful — look at the arcade prize goods:
    https://www.sk-japan.co.jp/charatoru/chara/rayearth/amgoods-57850
    73AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:46
    Re: #2
    Why does the art get worse the more time passes? They've learned so much more than they knew back then, yet it really does come down to talent and sense.
    3AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:27
    Is this really the kind of anime that needed a remake?
    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:30
    Re: #3
    The manga and the anime already differ, so if that's the direction they're going, isn't it fine?
    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:29
    The three leads' voices in the original really were distinctive.
    7AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:31
    The previous series had a pretty crappy story honestly (´・ω・`)
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:37
    I know 'Yuzurenai Negai' but I have zero clue about the anime itself.
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:37
    Re: #9
    Did that song really sell that well?
    20AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:47
    Re: #10
    I remember it playing nonstop at pachinko parlors.
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:56
    Re: #10
    It sold a million copies and was on Kohaku, so yeah —
    even people who don't know the anime might know 'Yuzurenai Negai.'
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:47
    The Tokyo Tower trip being framed as a 'school field trip' really dates this.
    Especially that it's a day field trip and not an overnight class excursion.
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:48
    Re: #19
    Like going to see historical ruins or important cultural assets?
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:52
    Haven't watched it, but this must've been hype if you were there for it.
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:03
    Re: #24
    I don't know Rayearth well, but I know the song, so it got to me a bit.
    Remake anime disappoint a lot by not using the original songs, whether that's a rights issue or just a production call.
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:58
    The character designs are kind of unsettling, especially the eyes.
    They should've gone with a more modern-looking design.
    42AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:06
    Re: #27
    A few years back, a remake project for another CLAMP work got announced, and for some reason the studio said they were updating the character designs to look more modern.
    Then it came out that the new designs were basically ripping off a bunch of existing works,
    and the whole remake project ended up getting scrapped. A real disaster…
    29AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:58
    It's degraded.
    49AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:12
    Re: #29
    Classic case of everything looking worse once it goes digital.
    Looks like early-era Chinese anime.
    55AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:18
    Re: #29
    The old one had its animation fall apart partway through too lol
    64AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:30
    Re: #29
    Honestly the original's character designer had such a strong personal style that I never really liked it.
    30AnonymousOct 8, 2026 06:59
    Did they really suddenly switch to SD chibi mode for the gag scenes 30 years ago too?
    Still not quite used to that.
    39AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:05
    Re: #30
    Pretty sure the old one did that even more.
    41AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:05
    Personally, I'm firmly in the 'still holding onto both light and shadow' camp (half-irritated) — a line from the show's ending theme.
    82AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:55
    Re: #41
    'Mom, hugging a Hikari-Tokage'* (*wordplay: mash 'Hikari' [the heroine] and 'kage,' meaning shadow, together and it sounds like 'tokage' — lizard — turning 'holding onto light and shadow' into 'Mom hugging a light-lizard.')
    43AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:08
    Feels like the original had a bunch of mysterious merch tie-ins and filler episodes not in the source material, just to sell toys to little girls.
    52AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:14
    Re: #43
    Actually, unusually for this kind of show, it didn't really have those toy-driven tie-in items.
    Sega was the main sponsor, so it was mostly arcade-related goods and games.
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:14
    Toma—aaaaaaaaaaa
    88AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:58
    Re: #51
    —ra-aaaaa-nai-iiii (together with the post above, this spells out "tomaranai" — "can't stop" — a meme bit split across two replies)
    66AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:33
    Re: #52
    So that's why, even though it's technically a robot show, it's unusual it never got robot toys unlike other shows from the same era (G Gundam, Macross 7, etc.)?
    If Bandai had held the merchandising rights, they definitely would've put out robot toys.
    71AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:43
    Re: #66
    Then again, the robots (the Mashin) barely even show up in the main story (Part 1), so toys of them wouldn't have sold anyway.
    68AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:40
    Even Naomi (Tamura Naomi, the singer) probably can't hit those notes like she used to, right?
    70AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:41
    Re: #68
    She does still pop up at anime song festivals now and then to sing it though.
    77AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:51
    More than the character designs, I'm bothered by how slow the pacing is.
    Unlike the original, which ran around 50 episodes, this one's probably only getting about two cours (roughly half a year).
    They need to move things along faster or it'll feel cut off before it's done.
    80AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Re: #77
    If they're only covering Part 1, two cours is plenty.
    The original anime padded itself out with anime-only original characters (like Inova) anyway.
    81AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Re: #77
    If it's popular they can just do a second season, so it's not really a problem.
    89AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:00

    This scene was the best.
    91AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:02
    Re: #89
    These days people would probably say 'lol isn't this just Bravern' (a nod to the 2024 mecha anime Brave Bang Bravern!!, known for its over-the-top dramatic moments)

    Background and Key Points

    “Magic Knight Rayearth” was adapted into a TV anime in 1994, and after a 1997 OVA, the franchise went without any new installments — until now, 29 years later. The theme song “Yuzurenai Negai,” sung by Naomi Tamura, sold over a million copies and even appeared on the 1995 NHK Kohaku Uta Gassen; the notable twist this time is that it wasn’t used as a brand-new opening but as an insert song within the episode itself. Alongside the broadcast, the track also got its first-ever digital release, 32 years after it originally came out. The thread was split between reactions to the music and reactions to the artwork: some were moved just to hear the song play, while others criticized the new character designs as “worse” or said “the eyes are creepy.” That said, the original series was also known for shaky animation quality back when it aired, so this may be less about which version is objectively “right” and more a generational difference in taste. The thread also filled in some trivia that might not be obvious to readers unfamiliar with the franchise, like why robot (“Mashin”) toys were never released back in the day.

    *This article is composed as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Breaking News+) thread “‘Magic Knight Rayearth”s Tasteful Musical Callback Trends #1 — Original Opening ‘Yuzurenai Negai’ Played as Insert Song“.

  • Two-Day Drinking Binge Fueled by Seared Bonito — 5chers Insist: ‘The Color’s Gorgeous Today!’

    A thread titled the “Big Boozing Festival” appeared on 5ch’s News VIP board, live-blogging two straight days of drinking with seared bonito (katsuo tataki) as the snack. A string of commenters questioned the freshness of the posted sashimi photos based on their color, prompting the original poster (OP) to repeatedly fire back, “It’s not spoiled!” and “The color’s gorgeous today!” Other users posted their own neatly plated bonito dishes for comparison, drawing jabs about the OP’s lifestyle. Toward the end, the OP also showed off an Ultraman figure collection, steering the thread into topics beyond drinking snacks.

    1AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:18
    (´;ω;`) Gonna drink for two whole days straight!!!!! Starting off slow with some seared bonito as a snack
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:20
    (´;ω;`) Drowning it in mayo, if you please ♡♡

    https://gzo.ai/i/NjCaa5b.jpg
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:21
    Bet you're not actually drinking.
    Chug sloppy and pass out already!
    20AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    Re: #13
    (´;ω;`) Of course I'm drinking!!!!!!!!!!

    https://gzo.ai/i/3u53b8s.jpg
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:21
    (`･ω･´) It's still morning?! What a wild bastard! ('gay' used here as 5ch slang for 'crazy/wild,' not literal)
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    Re: #16
    (´;ω;`) That first-thing-in-the-morning, super-strong shochu is really soaking into my body… feels amazing right now
    18AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:21
    👈(´・ω・｀) Super wild guy! (slang, not literal)
    25AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    Re: #18
    (´;ω;`) Hyper Ultra Straight!!!! (comeback slang, playing off the 'gay' jab)
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    That's not very good bonito
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    Re: #21
    (´;ω;`) Well, it's the half-price one I bought last night
    33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:24
    Re: #27

    It was really delicious ♡
    35AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:28
    Re: #33
    (´;ω;`) Nice! Seared bonito really is good
    23AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    (´・ω・`) Eating spoiled bonito again
    30AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    Re: #23
    (´;ω;`) It's not spoiled!!!! The color's gorgeous today
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    This guy's always drinking
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:24
    Re: #26
    (´;ω;`) I only drink once every two weeks!!!
    80AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:42
    Re: #31
    That's way too healthy
    29AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    (๑ᵒ ᗜ ᵒ) I'll join you once I'm back from the hospital
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:24
    Re: #29
    (´;ω;`) I'll be waiting!
    34AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:27
    Re: #33
    (´・ω・`) Now THIS is seared bonito
    Not spoiled 👍
    36AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:29
    Re: #34

    I'm not great at plating…
    But bonito this time of year is genuinely delicious no matter where it's from!!
    40AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:29
    Re: #36
    (´;ω;`) That's so legit, amazing…
    54AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:32
    Re: #36
    (´・ω・`) Sounds like a proper household
    Such beautiful plating and dishware
    Re: #39
    (´・ω・`) ………I can see the bare minimum of a life in there……
    39AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:29
    Re: #34
    (´;ω;`) Mine's not spoiled either!!!!! Look, vivid color, right?

    https://gzo.ai/i/MdVq4L1.jpg
    42AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:30
    Re: #39
    If you shine light on it from a different angle it'll probably glow rainbow
    63AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:35


    ૮₍ ･ω･ ₎აHere you go
    66AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:36
    Re: #63
    (´;ω;`) That Kyoto Tower-nii thing (probably a nickname tied to the photo) is wild….
    73AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:39
    (´;ω;`) Accept my kiss of love

    https://gzo.ai/i/47puDrQ.jpg
    79AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:41










    Ate so much bonito again this year! Counting the ones I didn't photograph, the frequency is honestly nuts lol
    82AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:43
    Re: #79
    (´;ω;`) Whoa!! Looks delicious! Love the stylish plating
    93AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:47
    (´;ω;`) Check out my Ultraman figure collection

    https://gzo.ai/i/Q7BChAm.jpg
    125AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:17
    Re: #93
    Where do you even buy stuff like this?
    134AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:25
    Re: #93
    ૮₍ ･ω･ ₎აWhat's with this red teru-teru-bozu (the weather-charm doll) here?
    111AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:58
    (´;ω;`) Pretty boiled egg ♡♡

    https://gzo.ai/i/bYeadDM.jpg
    122AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:14
    (´;ω;`) Gonna eat-sies some chicken

    https://gzo.ai/i/ZPwHsJK.jpg
    129AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:21
    Re: #122
    That's dripping with oil
    155AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:32
    (´;ω;`) I've got the Chodo (Ultra-Act high-articulation line) version of Bemstar… the HG series ones came out early on so the quality's low https://gzo.ai/i/4YdiL9C.jpg

    Background and Talking Points

    Bonito comes into season in autumn as “kudari-gatsuo” (the fattier, southbound-migrating fish), a time when more people eat it as sashimi or seared tataki, and this thread was essentially a seasonal live-blog of drinking snacks. Where opinions split was between commenters who doubted the freshness of the posted sashimi photos based on their color, and the OP, who insisted it “wasn’t spoiled” — a dispute that’s genuinely hard to settle from photos alone, since color in an image doesn’t reliably indicate actual freshness. There was also a moment where the OP’s seared bonito got compared to other users’ neatly plated versions, with the comparison shifting focus from the food itself to how put-together each person’s home life looked. The posts ran from early morning into the late morning, worth reading with the fact in mind that drinking continuously from dawn through dusk on what appears to be a weekday falls well outside a typical daily rhythm.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (News VIP) thread “(´;ω;`) Starting the Big Boozing Festival Right Now!!!!!!!!!!.”

  • Cabbage Hits ¥500, Coffee Prices Soar Too — 5ch Users Cry Out Over Food Costs

    A thread lamenting soaring food prices popped up on 5ch’s “Hello! Project” board — cabbage now runs ¥300–500 a head, and even on sale, a staple brand of instant coffee has crept up to nearly ¥800. Some posters noted that rice has actually settled down to around ¥2,000 for 5kg, pointing out that price trends vary wildly depending on the item. Opinions split between those forced to tighten their belts, saying “I have no choice but to eat less,” and those countering that “Japan’s prices are still cheap compared to overseas.” Others chimed in that root vegetables have seen comparatively gentle price hikes.

    1AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:19
    What's everyone doing about this?
    2AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:20
    Lettuce and cabbage are going for like ¥300 a head now
    59AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:40
    Re: #2
    Nah, it's more like almost ¥500
    3AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:21
    Leafy greens being pricey is partly down to the weather, so it can't be helped
    5AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:22
    Rice is down to about ¥2,000 for 5kg, so guess we gotta live like Edo-era folks and just eat rice all day
    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    This has nothing to do with investing
    7AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    Gold Blend instant coffee (a popular Nescafé brand) runs about ¥800 a jar now
    17AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:32
    Re: #7
    Gold Blend, 120g
    Used to be ¥498 on sale

    Now it's ¥798 even on sale
    Pretty soon I won't be able to afford it
    22AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Re: #7
    It's cheap as usual if you go to Don Quijote (the discount chain)
    Though I guess it depends on the store
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    You probably don't know this, but Chiba Prefecture is the 3rd biggest cabbage producer,
    so flood damage there has sent prices through the roof
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:24
    Cacao prices have shot up like crazy too
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:24
    Supermarket sushi used to come with 10 pieces, now it's down to 9
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:25
    I finally had to cut back on how much I eat
    Thanks to that, my blood sugar numbers actually improved
    14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:28
    Re: #11
    Same here
    My waist is back to what it was in my 30s
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:25
    They said eggs are about to go up in price again too
    15AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:29
    Feels like milk's gotten a lot pricier too
    They're charging ¥900 for a liter, or sometimes ¥750
    19AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:50
    Lucky me, I basically get all-you-can-eat rice, veggies, meat, fish, and eggs
    Rough out there for the rest of you, huh
    20AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:51
    If you can't grow your own vegetables in the yard from now on, life's gonna be tough
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:52
    Discounted bento boxes at MaxValu lmaoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
    https://kizuna.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/morningcoffee/1791357440/
    23AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Re: #22
    The Don Quijote near me
    has pricey Gold Blend
    it's like ¥600 for 80g
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Root vegetables are the ones that haven't gone up much
    You should make potatoes, carrots, and onions your staples
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:56
    ¥600 for 80g is actually on the cheap side
    Regular supermarkets are charging over ¥800 for 80g
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:57
    Aeon's instant coffee is cheap
    29AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:57
    Stuff grown underground is relatively less affected by weather than stuff grown above ground
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:00
    I was shocked the other day when an Aeon-affiliated supermarket wanted about ¥1,000 for 80g
    32AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:00
    Supermarket bentos used to come with a pickled plum and potato salad until last year, but that's gone now
    33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:01
    What are you all gonna do?
    At your age you can't just live on cup noodles, right?
    Have you actually been planning ahead for your life?
    35AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:01
    Same with convenience store bentos — there are more and more that are just one side dish and rice now
    Used to be they'd throw in a little extra side and some pickles too
    38AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:03
    I got rice and toilet paper through furusato nozei (the hometown tax donation program — you get local goods as a thank-you gift)
    40AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:05
    I eat bentos all the time so I wouldn't really know lol
    42AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:07
    I go to Saizeriya or McDonald's breakfast every day
    McDonald's breakfast is ¥250 and comes with a sausage muffin and coffee
    43AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:08
    Re: #1
    Japan's prices are low even by global standards, right?
    Why's everyone struggling then?
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:08
    It's a relief that 5kg of rice dropped back down to ¥2,000
    At this rate it might even fall into the ¥1,000s
    45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:10
    At Hanamasa, Ibaraki-grown Koshihikari rice (a premium rice variety) was ¥1,990 before tax for 5kg, I think

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The surge in food prices — cabbage, rice, and more — stems from a combination of factors: erratic weather (including flood damage to cabbage-growing regions in Chiba Prefecture since 2024), rising raw material and logistics costs, and higher import costs driven by the weak yen. Rice has actually swung the other way: after the shortages of 2024, bigger 2025 harvests and larger stockpiles have pushed prices back down to around ¥2,000 per 5kg, while other items, like instant coffee, saw a price hike that simply stuck — in other words, circumstances vary by item. Within the thread, opinions were split between those who said “there’s no choice but to cut back on food spending” and those who countered that “Japan’s prices are still cheap compared to overseas.” That said, it’s worth noting that the prices cited in the thread reflect individual shoppers’ experiences at specific stores, not nationwide statistics. Posts making definitive claims about the quality of Chinese-made honey, or blaming specific political parties or diplomatic policies without evidence, have been excluded from this summary.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Meat, fish, vegetables, eggs — everything’s gone up and it’s rough.”

  • Juice=Juice’s Triumphant Homecoming Show Met With Almost No Encore Chants

    When Hello! Project’s Juice=Juice held a triumphant homecoming concert in the regions, fans reported that the usual “encore” chant barely happened at the end of the show, sparking discussion on 5ch’s Hello! Project (“Haropro”) board. Posters were split on the cause: newer fans not knowing venue etiquette, new-fan-priority seating skewing the crowd for the size of the hako (venue), or a shift in audience makeup from fans who crossed over from sister group ANGERME. At the same time, good news was reported alongside it — the group’s appearance on TBS’s “Yoru no Branch” ranked 3rd overall in first-half-of-the-year streaming numbers — highlighting a gap between the group’s rising popularity and the muted atmosphere at the actual shows.

    1AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:40
    tps://i.imgur.com/kMEUAHH.jpeg
    tps://i.imgur.com/LJheQsY.jpeg
    3AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:42
    Be grateful that new fans who aren't used to the scene are even showing up.
    Also, women don't tend to shout much to begin with anyway.
    Real old-timers are the ones who nurture the newbies.
    4AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:43
    TBS's "Yoru no Branch" episode featuring Juice=Juice beat last year's Kohaku act &TEAM and Sashihara's "≒JOY" to land 3rd overall in first-half streaming numbers!
    https://kizuna.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/morningcoffee/1791412942/
    6AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:43
    Now I actually want to go to a Juice show.
    I don't want to hear gross old guys chanting anyway.
    8AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:44
    Of course new fans wouldn't know the etiquette.
    The OP isn't even blaming the newbies.
    Twisting it into a convenient stick to beat people with is exactly what a "problem old-timer fan" does.
    Old geezer.
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:45
    Re: #8
    It's just calling out a name — there's no way you wouldn't get that.
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:44
    This isn't even about new fans.
    Just do the encore chant already.
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:44
    This is what happens when you don't book a venue to match the popularity and instead cram new-fan-priority seating into a small hako (venue).
    11AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:44
    Maybe it's not new fans —
    maybe it's people who used to get told to chant at ANGERME shows who've crossed over.
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:44
    Hello! Project fandom used to be a laid-back "anything goes" scene,
    but lately everyone's so naggy about it.
    14AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:45
    Do the regulars on this board (nicknamed "the Wolf") even realize Tsubaki Factory is losing even to this?
    17AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:45
    Some grown man was desperately yelling "One more! One more!" over and over — it was annoying and off-putting.
    21AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:46
    They could just fold it all into the main set with no encore.
    Or go with the "Vita Sweet" style.
    31AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:47
    Re: #21
    What about the time they need to change into T-shirts?
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:46
    Why not just switch to mostly phone-photography-allowed shows and have a concert full of "statues" (fans who just stand filming instead of cheering)?
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:47
    Re: #24
    King Gnu already does that.
    25AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:46
    A lot of the old-timers probably drifted away over this tour.
    26AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:47
    Re: #25
    Lol, that's even more of a tailwind.
    39AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:48
    Re: #25
    The old-timers are like the first stage of a rocket — the part that gets jettisoned — while Juice=Juice soars high into the sky.
    27AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:47
    Are new fans even interested in anything besides the "Moremi" hype?
    33AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:47
    Re: #27
    Yeah, they're basically uninterested in any other group that doesn't have that "flattering-shot" (moreru) appeal.
    38AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:48
    Do you even get how rough it is for girls to stand the whole time? Let them sit at least while waiting for the encore.
    It reeks of old-man thinking.
    43AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:49
    Re: #38
    I go to Johnny's and LDH shows too, and I've never once sat down, old man.
    45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:50
    Re: #38
    It's got nothing to do with gender.
    If anything it's harder on old men.
    41AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:49
    Honestly it's on the members for still saying "thanks for the encore" anyway.
    58AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Re: #41
    I wonder how the silent crowd feels
    hearing the members say "thanks for the encore."
    49AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:51
    Re: #43
    If it's not an EBiDAN act, it's not a fair comparison.
    55AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:52
    Re: #49
    No, even there people don't sit and they shout plenty loud.
    51AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:51
    Re: #39
    People said the same thing back in the DA PUMP days too —
    "we're the booster rocket."
    If it gets them flying high, fine by me.
    56AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:52
    Re: #51
    That feels a bit different from declaring yourself a fly-by-night fan with no intention of supporting long-term, but whatever, fine.
    59AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Driven by ten times my usual sense of duty, I kept chanting "Nia! Nia!"
    all while blasting ten times my usual gum-disease breath, body odor, damp-musty T-shirt funk, rotting-sneaker stench, and vagrant-piss smell onto everyone around me…
    68AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:55
    Re: #59
    You're the biggest flop on the Wolf board today.
    You'd have landed the joke better if you'd kept it shorter.

    I mean, you're an Ebichu (Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku) otaku, aren't you.
    60AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    If you're not gonna chant, just go sit in the family seats.
    62AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Re: #60
    Isn't it because they couldn't get tickets for the family seats, so they ended up in general seating?
    66AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Re: #60
    No, even in the family seats, if you want to see the encore, you've gotta do the chant.
    61AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Re: #55
    You've never actually been, have you?
    65AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Re: #61
    EBiDAN fans sit quietly without shouting, you know.
    64AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Do other groups even have a reason to exist if they chant their hearts out but still play to empty seats? Nothing matters except selling out.
    71AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:56
    Re: #64
    That's exactly why Juice=Juice is meant to become the superstar act that inevitably pulls the whole Hello! Project lineup up with it — Up-Front is already moving in that direction.

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    The “encore chant” at Hello! Project shows — where the audience calls out members’ names or “encore” in unison — is a fan-cheering custom built up by longtime fans (the “old guard”) over many years. When attendance grows and the share of new fans rises, more attendees don’t know the custom, and the chant naturally gets quieter; this pattern has repeated with other groups too, so it would be premature to read the group’s rising or falling popularity purely from whether the chant happens. As the thread itself notes, Juice=Juice’s name recognition is, if anything, climbing — around the same time, their appearance on TBS’s “Yoru no Branch” placed 3rd in the first-half streaming rankings. In other words, a “quiet crowd” and “growing popularity” can coexist, and changes in a show’s atmosphere need to be weighed alongside other metrics like attendance figures and media exposure. The back-and-forth between new and veteran fans seen in the thread is itself one example of the etiquette friction that keeps recurring at venues with rapidly expanding audiences — but even among fans, there’s no settled answer on which custom is “correct.”

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “[Sad News] Juice=Juice’s Member Homecoming Show Sees Almost No Encore Chant Anymore…“.

  • Western Sales Breakdown for Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter — Switch 2 Grabs 72%, PS5 Only 9%

    A UK sales-tracking site’s platform breakdown for the Western release of Nihon Falcom’s RPG Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter has sparked discussion on 5ch’s hardware/industry (Geha) board. The split: Switch 2 at 72%, original Switch at 19%, and PS5 at just 9%. Posters quoted Falcom’s president, who had previously said new titles sell well on Switch and Steam while “PS5 is fading with no future,” arguing the new numbers back up that remark. Others pushed back, noting the series already skews toward a Switch-heavy fanbase, so this doesn’t necessarily prove PS5 itself is in decline.

    1AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:10
    Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter
    (Sora no Kiseki the 2nd)
    Switch 2 72%, Switch 19%, PS5 9%
    9AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:14
    Re: #1
    The PS5 lineup is just too weak, man
    24AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    Re: #9
    It's just a series that already cultivated its fanbase on this particular platform selling well there—doesn't prove anything ("tanemaki," or seeding, means a publisher built up a loyal audience on a platform ahead of time)
    Simply put, the customer base for this specific game got pulled almost entirely onto Switch
    10AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:15
    Falcom's President: "New titles are selling on Switch and Steam. PS5 is fading, and it has no future."



    Kondo (Falcom President):

    Right now, in terms of new-user numbers, Switch and PC (Steam) are where most of the growth is.

    If we want to keep this going long-term, we need to properly release titles on those platforms too and work hard at broadening our audience.

    https://ascii.jp/elem/000/004/430/4430552/


    The Trails in the Sky remake was inserted specifically to win new users. Kai no Kiseki is PlayStation-exclusive, and its user decline is already obvious.

    (The cause being that they limited the platform to PS)

    https://twitter.com/michsuzu/status/2001560439508046122
    https://twitter.com/thejimwatkins
    https://twitter.com/thejimwatkins
    12AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:16
    Re: #10
    Guess that proves the president was right
    13AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:16
    Re: #10
    Can't really blame people for calling 9% "fading"
    82AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:58
    Re: #10
    Yeah, now we know he wasn't just talking out of his hat—he actually had the data
    16AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:18
    PS5 doesn't even sell this well now, so what happens once they drop the disc drive…?
    17AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:18
    Re: #16
    Honestly, no joke, it's gonna be hell
    I bet we'll see more publishers just skip releasing software on it entirely
    25AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:23
    Same old Nintendo Life as always

    https://www.nintendolife.com/tags/uk-charts
    28AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:25
    Re: #25
    Wait, for real?!
    lol
    58AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:44
    Re: #1
    Re: #25
    #1
    EA Sports FC 27
    PS5 67%, Xbox 14%, Switch 8%, PS4 6%, Switch 2 5%
    41AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:33
    The president straight-up said "PS5 is fading and has no future, it's all Switch from here"—so yeah
    42AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:33
    Re: #41
    Guess it must really not be selling on PS5 if it's fading that badly…
    44AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:35
    On top of that, PS5 sales tend to flatline right after launch week, while Switch 2 just keeps steadily selling ("jiwa-ure" — slow-and-steady long-tail sales)

    The final gap is gonna end up dozens of times over
    45AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:36
    Re: #44
    It's already an 8x gap right now at 72% vs 9%…
    47AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:37
    Re: #44
    That's exactly why the real-world gap ends up way bigger than it looks
    Earnings shot up too once they started putting it on Switch
    52AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:41
    They ran the Trails series on PlayStation forever, then the moment they put it on Switch it blew past 10 million copies instantly and earnings went through the roof!

    No wonder they want to say PS5 is fading 😭
    55AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:42
    Re: #52
    They've gotta be regretting ever releasing it on PS5 (´・ω・｀)
    56AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:43
    Re: #55
    If only they'd gone to Switch from the start…
    This is seriously Falcom's mood right now
    57AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:44
    Re: #56
    Too spot-on, lol
    69AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:50
    ■ The reason Falcom's earnings got revised upward: Switch 2 ❤


    Falcom revises earnings upward
    https://krsw.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/ghard/1791360581/
    ↓
    Trails in the Sky selling especially well in the West is what drove the growth
    ↓
    Nearly all of Europe's sales were on Switch 2 Re: #1
    70AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:52
    Re: #69
    No wonder the president's been singing Switch's praises
    71AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:53
    Plenty of companies talk about their software selling on Switch or Switch 2, but a company saying it sold on PS5? Genuinely doesn't exist
    73AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:54
    Re: #71
    No joke, dead serious, I've never once seen a PS5 game described as a success
    76AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:55
    Re: #71
    Re: #73
    #1
    EA Sports FC 27
    PS5 67%, Xbox 14%, Switch 8%, PS4 6%, Switch 2 5%
    83AnonymousOct 8, 2026 07:58
    Kinda wished they'd stuck it out and shared PlayStation's fate to the bitter end ("ichiren-takushō," an idiom for being bound to the same fate, for better or worse)
    85AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:00
    Re: #83
    Wasn't the PS-loyalist president replaced by a different one at some point?
    88AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:01
    Re: #85
    Well, if the president changed, I guess that explains it
    Still wish they'd gone down with PS though
    89AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:02
    Re: #85
    Wasn't there that story about Falcom's president getting told by his kid "I don't even know what a PlayStation is" and realizing right then that PlayStation was done for?
    94AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:03
    Re: #89
    lol
    But honestly, outside of Geha I've never once seen PlayStation come up in conversation
    If I didn't browse Geha I might be living a life where I don't even know what PlayStation is
    95AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:04
    Re: #94
    Yeah, finding someone who actually owns a PS5 in real life is basically impossible at this point 🙄
    97AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:05
    Re: #88
    Falcom's President Kondo took office in 2007
    He's been running the company for 19 years
    101AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:06
    Re: #97
    Wait, he hasn't changed?
    What a traitor
    105AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:10
    It's not betrayal, they're a third-party developer—of course they're gonna release where it actually sells
    107AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:11
    Re: #105
    Bit slow on the uptake to be talking business strategy, no?
    109AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:13
    PS5 software must really not be selling…
    Back when PS4 was still around it was probably still not as bad
    112AnonymousOct 8, 2026 08:17
    Re: #109
    #1
    EA Sports FC 27
    PS5 67%, Xbox 14%, Switch 8%, PS4 6%, Switch 2 5%

    Background and Key Points of the Discussion

    It’s worth noting that these figures come from a region-specific sales chart compiled by the UK’s Nintendo Life, not worldwide totals or digital sales — they’re limited strictly to physical retail sales in the UK. Posters in the thread also pointed to EA Sports FC 27 as a counterexample, where the same chart shows PS5 taking a 67% share. In other words, platform sales splits vary enormously by genre and fanbase, so it’s premature to read the overall fate of PS5 purely from the numbers for a Trails in the Sky series that already skews toward Switch owners. Falcom’s president’s comments, too, were made in the context of deciding where to release new titles — not as a blanket dismissal of PS5.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, “Geha”) thread “Overseas Trails in the Sky: 2nd Chapter sales ratio “Switch 2 at 72%, PS5 at 9%” lol“