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  • 3 Days After Tigers’ Climax Series Elimination, Fans Still Arguing — 5ch: ‘Blew It on the Last Pitch’

    The Hanshin Tigers were eliminated by the Yokohama DeNA BayStars in the Climax Series final stage, dropping three straight shutout losses before closing out the season with a last-pitch, come-from-ahead defeat in the deciding game. Three days later, a thread about Tigers fans’ reactions on 5ch’s “Nandemo Jikkyo G” board (a major sports/general chat board) drew a steady stream of mockery from rival fans saying “are you still on about this?” The discussion spiraled into a debate over the fairness of the Climax Series advantage system and a historical argument comparing the two teams’ league titles versus Japan Series championships, splitting opinion over whether a losing team has any right to complain.

    1AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:43
    LMAO this is too much
    4AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:47
    They'd just lose to the Pacific League team anyway, so would I even want to watch it?
    7AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:51
    Re: #4
    That goes for the BayStars too
    18AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:58
    You'll feel better once the BayStars lose the Japan Series, right?
    21AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:00
    Re: #18
    A team that got shut out three games straight and then blew it on the last pitch to a team like that is just asking to get mocked
    28AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:03
    Funny that Sato-Teru's (Teruaki Sato's nickname) last game as a Tiger ended up being that
    44AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:24
    The BayStars made a string of terrible mistakes too, you know
    If you lose after that, you can't really complain

    But with the BayStars in that kind of shape, repeating what they did two years ago looks tough
    46AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:25
    Re: #44
    Two years ago their defense was airtight for some reason
    They lost the game Kuramoto dropped the ball in, so playing like that with errors won't cut it
    51AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:29
    It's genuinely hilarious that they got hit on the last pitch and that ended the whole season right there
    During the regular season you could make it up the next day, but now there's no next game until next year lol
    60AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:33
    Re: #51
    Funny how 'one pitch away' carries that kind of risk
    57AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:32
    Tigers: 12 league titles
    Yokohama: 2 league titles
    lmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaao
    61AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:34
    Re: #57
    Yokohama: 3 Japan Series titles
    Tigers: 2 Japan Series titles
    ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
    62AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:35
    Re: #57
    Amen to that ✞ (mock 'amen' reaction to a brutal stat drop)
    67AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:39
    Re: #57
    Isn't it a stretch to count titles from back when it was a single-league system?
    69AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:45
    Winning the league AND the Japan Series > winning the league >>>>>>>> (wall of worthlessness) > winning the Japan Series without winning the league
    70AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:46
    Re: #69
    If that were true, shouldn't there be a lot more 'giant-killer' Japan Series wins (by teams that didn't win their league)?
    82AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:02
    Re: #69
    "Won the league, then got swept 4-0 in the Climax Series, and in the final game gave up three straight run-scoring hits to blow it on the last pitch" —
    where does THAT rank, huh? lol

    You guys are gonna get mocked for the next five months, so brace yourselves lol
    79AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:59
    If the advantage system were fair, the Tigers would've made it through…
    91AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:12
    Re: #79
    It was 5-15 though
    Even throwing in a run-differential advantage for the standings gap, they'd still lose
    90AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:12
    Anyone who can't stick to their own self-interest is hopeless, no exceptions
    All that matters is whether it feels good or bad to you
    95AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:15
    Same goes for hit-by-pitches, right?
    If your favorite player gets hit, you're furious; if your team hits someone, it's 'you should've dodged'
    What else is there to think?
    96AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:15
    When the Giants won the league but didn't make the Japan Series, nobody had arguments like this
    97AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:16
    Re: #96
    That's just a weak argument
    What are you even doing, half asleep?
    109AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:26
    There's no reason to stop making the argument
    If you're the one getting the short end of the stick, of course you're going to complain nonstop
    110AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:27
    If you complain after losing four straight, that's just laughable
    119AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:31
    Re: #110
    No, if anything, if they'd won, they wouldn't be complaining
    There'd be no reason to

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    Under the Climax Series final-stage format, the team that finished first in the regular season is given a one-win head start. In the thread, the claim that “the Tigers would have advanced with a fair advantage system” was met with counterarguments that even factoring in run differential, the outcome wouldn’t have changed — leaving opinions on the system’s fairness divided. The other main flashpoint was over which team is “historically stronger,” with fans of each side citing different numbers depending on whether they counted league titles or Japan Series championships. Losing on the very last pitch and having the whole season end right there in a short playoff series is the kind of defeat that tends to stick vividly in NPB fans’ memories, which is likely one reason the topic kept generating buzz for days after the elimination. Note that this article omits posts that one-sidedly disparage fans of a particular team with derogatory language, as well as posts mocking real players’ injuries.

    ※This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Tigers fans still griping even after 3 days lol.”

  • AI Accelerates In-House Development, 32% of Companies Now Skip Buying Software — 5ch: ‘Déjà Vu of the Excel Macro Mess’

    As AI advances, more companies are choosing to build software in-house instead of buying it from outside vendors. A survey released by McKinsey & Company in August 2026 found that 32% of companies using AI have started skipping purchases of off-the-shelf software. On 5ch, alongside voices welcoming this trend, many users raised concerns that AI-built in-house software could end up just like the Excel macros once widely used in offices — tools that became unmaintainable black boxes once the person who built them left the company. Opinions were also split over the quality of AI-written code and the security risks involved.

    If companies can now build in-house the software and features they used to buy from outside vendors, the very “buy vs. build” decision itself could change. In fact, as corporate AI adoption spreads, that kind of shift is already starting to show up in software procurement.

    On August 25, 2026, McKinsey & Company (hereafter McKinsey) released its annual report summarizing the state of corporate AI adoption

    Continued

    Source: atmarkit.itmedia.co.jp / Original article here

    5AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:49
    So once the AI changes or the employees who built it leave, you won't be able to maintain it anymore, huh

    Déjà vu of the Excel macro mess
    49AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:08
    Re: #5
    Just have AI analyze the code for maintenance, that's all you need
    65AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:14
    Re: #5
    Just show the code to AI and ask it, you'll be fine
    216AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:56
    Re: #5
    Contractors go out of business, the original people leave, and you're back to square one anyway
    so the level of difficulty doesn't really change
    10AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:50
    About 90% of use cases don't even call for precision or stability, so DIY is fine
    Though maybe for the remaining 10% people will still turn to specialists going forward
    41AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:05
    Re: #10

    If you build it yourself, it takes time and bugs might creep in
    If AI builds it, no bugs, and you get something good, fast
    .
    If you build it yourself, it might conflict with other software and cause bugs
    AI already knows about other software too, so it won't create conflicts — it builds something perfect



    Kids listen to their parents, students listen to their teachers, and once you're in the workforce, you listen to your seniors and bosses

    What all of this has in common is that society runs on "fools listening to the wise"



    AI is smarter than humans, so it's only right for humans to listen to AI, which is smarter than us, and just leave things to it

    .
    66AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:14
    Re: #41
    Yeah, that's actually true
    (setting aside whether school teachers are even smart)

    All humans can really do is check AI's work together with another AI
    though AI will probably surpass even that before long
    154AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:38
    Re: #41
    Why do you keep telling lies like that
    16AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:53
    Apparently there's some genius out there who made free software compatible with Adobe and Office
    28AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:59
    Re: #16
    I've got huge hopes for that.
    36AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:02
    Re: #16
    Chinese-made Office-compatible software has been around for over 10 years too, but I've never been able to use it properly
    Riddled with bugs
    22AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:57
    Obic… (a Japanese enterprise software vendor — commenters seem to be eyeing its stock nervously)
    32AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:00
    Re: #22


    Looks okay for now
    151AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:36
    Re: #32
    This is the classic pattern — once the 25-day moving average drops and crosses the 75-day average, it's going to crash hard
    42AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:05
    People keep talking about AI app development, but couldn't that just turn into ransomware?
    43AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:06
    Re: #42
    Try saying that in words that actually make sense (standard 5ch jab for "you're not making sense")
    48AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:08
    Re: #42
    What do you even think ransomware is
    100AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:24
    What do you mean "you can't trust code written by AI" lol
    You pros can't write anything but garbage code either lol
    Morons lol
    AI is 100 times better lol
    109AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:27
    Re: #100
    There's no human who can grasp and oversee that software's code across the board the way AI can
    Why do people keep assuming humans are the better ones
    119AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:28
    Re: #109
    Because some functions run 1000 lines long
    In brokerage firms' systems, no less lol
    227AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:59
    Re: #109
    Individual judgments can be a bit off sometimes
    but I guess that's just a matter of time too
    105AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:25
    What are young people who want to become programmers supposed to do now
    120AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:28
    Re: #105
    Humans are going to need the ability to verify whether what AI produced contains mistakes

    If you rely on AI for everything, all you become is domesticated livestock — and the end result is homelessness.
    129AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:31
    I asked AI to make me a map and it came back with something nothing like reality
    It's still got its strengths and weaknesses
    155AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:38
    Re: #129
    If anything, sounds like you're the one who's bad with AI
    162AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:39
    Re: #155
    It used to be about whether AI could ever reach human level,
    and now we're completely in the phase of hunting for anything humans are still good at
    180AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:46
    AI-coded in-house software with a built-in backdoor, lol
    In the end you've just finished building your very own data-leaking software
    206AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:53
    Re: #180
    That's the whole point
    208AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:54
    Re: #180
    AI doesn't add backdoors
    Off-the-shelf products from big companies come with backdoors as standard equipment
    235AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:02
    Re: #49
    If AI misunderstands the source code, there's nobody left who can point out that misunderstanding

    Saying "let's just outsource everything"
    and handing off even requirements analysis and definition entirely — that's repeating a failure we've already seen before
    240AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:05
    Re: #235
    You just have a different AI point it out, so this actually isn't a problem
    245AnonymousOct 20, 2026 13:06
    Re: #235
    Honestly, nobody's been reading the source code since the day it was written anyway
    The mindset is: as long as it meets spec and behaves as expected, it's fine

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    This survey is based on McKinsey’s annual report on corporate AI adoption, released in August 2026. The core shift is that AI assistance now lets even non-engineers build in-house some of the business software that companies used to depend on specialized vendors for. What split opinion in the thread was that, while people acknowledged the cost and speed advantages, they questioned how maintenance would be kept up. There’s a precedent for this concern: Excel macros that individual staff once built for their own departments became unmaintainable black boxes once those staff transferred or left, and nobody else could touch them — and many worry AI-built in-house software could follow the same path. Neither the article nor the thread addresses this directly, but McKinsey’s survey appears to focus mainly on internal tools built for efficiency gains, so it’s unclear whether “skipping purchases” extends to core systems or large-scale, mission-critical software as well. The question of who ends up verifying AI-generated code also points to the possibility that the skills demanded of humans may actually increase rather than decrease.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “🤖 ‘Do we even need to buy that software anymore?’ — AI-driven in-house development means 32% of companies now ‘don’t buy’.”

  • Takashi Sorimachi’s ‘POISON’ Goes Platinum with 250,000 Downloads — 5ch: ‘Even the baby’s saying You suck!’

    On October 20, 2026, the Recording Industry Association of Japan announced that downloads of Takashi Sorimachi’s single “POISON – In This World Where You Can’t Even Say What You Want to Say” (released July 1998) had surpassed 250,000, earning it Platinum certification. The song served as the theme for the Fuji TV drama “GTO,” which returned this past July as a serialized drama for the first time in 28 years, putting the track back in the spotlight. On 5ch, the discussion centered less on the certification itself than on the song’s reputation as “the track that makes babies stop crying,” with posters speculating it might be due to Sorimachi’s low vocal register, comparing it to the unrelated same-titled “POISON” by Tomoyasu Hotei, and weighing in on how the new “GTO” turned out.

    Takashi Sorimachi’s “POISON” Certified Platinum (250,000) for Downloads — Recording Industry Association of Japan

    The Recording Industry Association of Japan announced on the 20th that downloads of actor Takashi Sorimachi’s single “POISON – In This World Where You Can’t Even Say What You Want to Say” (released July 1998) had exceeded 250,000, earning it Platinum certification.

    The song was released as the theme for the 1998 Fuji TV drama “GTO,” in which Sorimachi starred. This past July, “GTO” was adapted into a serialized drama again for the first time in 28 years, bringing renewed attention to the theme song.

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

    9AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:35
    It's probably easy on the ears precisely because he's not belting it out.
    He just keeps going 'ohh-ohh' in that low voice, so the baby goes quiet trying to make it out.
    11AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:35
    You mean it sounds like what they heard in the womb?
    13AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:36
    Matsuken Samba stops babies crying better.
    15AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:37
    Himiko, that popular Shiba Inu, was barking right through this song too.
    16AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:38
    Hidden gem of his
    'Royal Milk Tea'
    18AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:39
    The baby's crying because this world really is poison.
    19AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:39
    "Baby, cuff the 12-hour hand with a silver ring"
    It's impressive he could come up with lyrics that stylish.
    33AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:54
    Re: #19
    I was thinking 'wow, that's some seriously Yukinojo Mori-esque lyric writing for Sorimachi's POISON' — turns out that's literally the Hotei one lol.
    My bad for not reading between the lines.
    34AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:54
    Re: #19
    Professional lyricists really do matter.
    22AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:42
    Tomoyasu Hotei's 'POISON' calms babies down too.
    23AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:44
    What about Prodigy's 'Poison,' though?
    24AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:45
    These days you can say whatever you want so freely that you actually have to be super careful about how you say it.
    25AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:45
    Poison isn't something you swallow — it's something you spit out. Poison.
    26AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:45
    Ta-ra-koh, ta-ra-koh, plu-u-ump and juicy, ta-ra-koh (riffing on the famous Tarako Tarako Tarako jingle)
    27AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:47
    Re: #1
    Since GTO flopped,
    this is a puff piece to prop up Sorimachi instead.
    35AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:54
    Re: #27
    The TVer numbers weren't bad. Though he was nothing like the original Onizuka.
    28AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:47
    There was that Tantei! Knight Scoop bit about babies calming down to the Takemoto Piano jingle too.
    29AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:48
    If anything, social media — where everyone says whatever they want with zero restraint — is the real poison lol
    44AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:05
    What happens if you accidentally play Tomoyasu Hotei's 'Poison' to a baby instead?
    68AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:25
    Re: #44
    The baby says 'You suck!'
    77AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:34
    Re: #44

    They'd start dancing, obviously.
    50AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:10
    Did GTO actually flop?
    58AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:18
    Re: #50
    I thought it was fun, though.
    67AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:25
    Re: #50
    It did well on TVer.
    53AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:13
    Guess you really can't say what you want to say.
    55AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:15
    Re: #53
    That's probably exactly why it strikes a chord with babies.
    79AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:35
    I never watched GTO — was it actually good?
    82AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:37
    Re: #79
    It was awesome.
    Every single one of the schoolgirl characters was way too cute.
    84AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:38
    Making bank off a song you wrote decades ago — now that's the dream.
    86AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:40
    Re: #84
    Sakanaction's 'Yoru no Odoriko' is exactly that — it's still raking in money like crazy.

    Background and Talking Points on This Story

    The Recording Industry Association of Japan’s download certifications are based on set streaming/download thresholds, and a figure of 250,000 shows that a song released back in 1998 is still being listened to steadily on digital platforms today. As for the “song that makes babies stop crying” phenomenon that dominated the thread, posters floated the theory that it has something to do with Sorimachi’s low, flat vocal delivery — but this isn’t a medically verified claim, just anecdotal lore that’s spread around social media. The title “POISON” is also shared by an unrelated 1996 song Tomoyasu Hotei wrote for TOKIO, and several posts in the thread conflated the two. As for the new “GTO,” while its broadcast ratings were underwhelming, multiple posters noted that its TVer streaming numbers held up well — an easily overlooked sign that the song’s renewed popularity is spreading somewhat independently of how the drama itself was received.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisura Sokuho+) thread “[Music] Takashi Sorimachi’s ‘POISON’ Certified Platinum (250,000) for Downloads — Recording Industry Association of Japan; Trending as the Song That Stops Babies Crying.”

  • The Real Cause of That Water Bottle Slime? Bacteria — 5ch: ‘It’s Just Because You Drink Straight From It’

    Water bottles used every day are prone to developing slime on the inside of the body and around the packing, even when you think you’ve washed them properly. An article in which AERA with Kids interviewed an infection-control expert explained what that slime actually is and how to care for kids’ water bottles to keep them clean. In response, 5ch users exchanged views on specifics like using oxygen bleach on stainless steel, why barley tea and mineral water make bacteria multiply more easily, and the point that the very structure of drinking straight from the spout causes bacterial growth — along with concrete washing methods and bottle choices.

    Published 10/20 (Tue) 7:00 AM

    AERA with Kids+

    The water bottle you send your child off with every day. Even when you think you’re washing it, slime can build up before you know it. In particular, the inside of the bottle and the packing take extra effort to clean, so care can easily fall short. In fact, those working in childcare and education say they do sometimes see kids’ water bottles with built-up grime. We asked an infection-control expert about what that slime actually is and why daily care is necessary.

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

    7AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:14
    Can't use Haiter (chlorine bleach) on metal anyway.
    11AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:16
    Re: #7
    Isn't stainless steel supposed to be fine?
    I've been using it anyway.
    69AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:34
    Re: #7
    You can use oxygen bleach, so
    I just dunk the whole thing in a basin.
    198AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:11
    Re: #7
    I use a bleach that isn't Haiter.
    8AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:14
    Barley tea (mugicha) really gets slimy.
    14AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:16
    Re: #8
    Barley tea is nutrient-rich, which means it spoils easily.
    138AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:54
    Re: #8
    It's made from barley, the same stuff used for booze, so of course it spoils easily.
    19AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:19
    The clear plastic bottles from the 100-yen shop are the best.
    They're actually meant for storing pasta upright, but still.
    23AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:22
    Re: #19
    Makes you wonder about the microplastics though.
    But with a water bottle, putting ice in it keeps it cold enough that bacteria don't grow either.
    36AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:27
    Re: #23
    I'm a little worried, but I can't go back to a bottle that's a pain to wash.
    I just shove a bottle brush in and scrub it,
    then wash the outside and lid with a regular sponge and I'm done.
    48AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:30
    Re: #23
    Like it says in Re: #1, the packing and the mouthpiece stay at room temperature,
    so that's exactly where the slime forms.
    31AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:24
    This is on Japanese makers for overengineering their lids with too many gimmicks.
    It must be a pain for moms to wash.
    I've switched to only using foreign-made ones.
    143AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:56
    Re: #31
    Some foreign-made ones are a nightmare to wash too.
    You're just not well informed.
    35AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:27
    Unlike tap water, which has chlorine in it, mineral water lets bacteria multiply more easily,
    so you should scrub it with a brush and sterilize with boiling water every day.
    146AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:58
    Re: #35
    Also, even boiled barley tea picks up bacteria easily.

    Best to pour it from the bottle into a disposable paper cup before drinking.
    50AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:30
    Imagine being a 5ch poster (nearaa) who doesn't even use a dishwasher.
    60AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:32
    Re: #50
    By foreign standards a dishwasher gets things clean,
    but by Japanese standards it isn't clean at all.
    Though running it through multiple times doesn't seem to help either.
    52AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:30
    It's bad simply because you drink straight from it with your mouth.
    The bacteria and biofilm that form in a water bottle work the same way as dental plaque.
    Just buy one whose lid doubles as a cup and use that instead.
    169AnonymousOct 20, 2026 12:03
    Re: #52
    They barely sell that type of bottle anymore these days.
    Setting aside the big ones for school trips,
    the small ones that empty after a few sips are basically all made for drinking straight from the spout.
    54AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:30
    Isn't 'slimy' basically just code for 'not even washing it'?
    65AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:33
    Re: #54
    Probably just rinsing it.
    When I take mine traveling I just scrub it with a paper towel, no detergent, and it never gets slimy.
    68AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:34
    Only ever put water in your bottle.
    If you put tea or juice in it, wash it with Haiter.
    78AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:37
    Re: #68
    Juice in a water bottle?
    Never even occurred to me.
    89AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:39
    Re: #68
    Once I switched to just water,
    not only did the bottle stop getting dirty,
    my teeth got whiter too (・∀・)
    111AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:45
    Re: #68
    Even my kitchen faucet gets slimy and grows black mold even with a water filter attached.
    And it's only supposed to be putting out water.
    95AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:40
    I wash it with neutral detergent first, then soak it in oxygen bleach.
    99AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:42
    Re: #95
    I do it the opposite way.
    Leftover bleach residue is worse for your health, so I rinse thoroughly and scrub with dish soap and a sponge.
    105AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:43
    Re: #95
    Re: #99
    I wonder if that alone stops the moss-like black stuff from forming.
    Even doing that, I feel like it'd still turn up if you cleaned it with a bottle-spout brush.
    101AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:42
    Same goes for drinking straight from a PET bottle — oral bacteria transfer in and rot starts. It's the same with water bottles.
    Pour it into something else, or drink it waterfall-style, but avoid drinking straight from the spout.
    124AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:49
    Re: #101
    I've been drinking without letting my mouth touch it for years now.
    Because of that, no suspicious clumps form inside even after days go by.
    Strictly speaking, airborne bacteria and mold probably still get in,
    but out of the hundreds of bottles I've gone through doing this,
    I've only once found a hazy bit of mold —
    and that was one I'd forgotten about and left sitting for a long time.
    113AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:45
    Just soak the packing and the lid in Kitchen Haiter (bleach) and you're fine, right?
    115AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:45
    Re: #113
    ✕ Kitchen Haiter
    ○ Soak in OxiClean
    114AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:45
    Re: #92
    This is exactly why I won't buy ones where the mouthpiece is a separate part.
    I only go for ones with a plain tube-shaped opening,
    where the packing either comes off or is bonded on as one piece,
    so I don't have to take it apart every time.
    119AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:48
    Re: #114
    Credit to Thermos — their dishwasher-safe model comes apart easily.

    133AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:53
    Re: #114
    I want to use mine in winter too and drink out of the cup lid,
    so wouldn't that rule out the cup type?

    Though I think this issue applies to the direct-drink type as well.
    148AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:58
    Re: #119
    Thermos is out of the question!
    That puffy silicone part sticking out drives me crazy!
    It has to be something simple like a Zojirushi.
    Re: #133
    Couldn't you just carry a small separate cup?
    122AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:49
    An adult bringing their own water bottle just screams poor.
    Inbound tourists will laugh at you —
    like, 'Going on a picnic or something?' lol
    136AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:54
    Re: #122
    If you're scared of a stroke or heart attack, carry a water bottle.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Slime in a water bottle is distinct from pigment stains like tea discoloration — it forms when bacteria and biofilm grow by feeding on the moisture and sugars left in gaps around the packing and spout. In the thread, posters repeatedly noted that stainless steel bottles can’t handle chlorine bleach (like Haiter) but can handle oxygen bleach (like OxiClean). There were also points that barley tea, being nutrient-rich, spoils easily at room temperature, and that mineral water — unlike chlorine-treated tap water — lets bacteria multiply more readily; however, this isn’t a problem unique to water bottles so much as one tied to how well the beverage itself keeps, and should be read as distinct from structural issues with the bottle (packing that’s hard to take apart, narrow direct-drink spouts). Running it through a dishwasher isn’t a cure-all either — taking the parts apart and washing them individually remains the basic approach, which lines up with what the original article says.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (News Speed+) thread “My water bottle gets ‘slimy’ even though I think I’m washing it properly — we asked an infection-control expert what causes that ‘slime’ and what care you should actually be doing“.

  • “AI Will Just Copy It” — Game Developer Cancels Public Demo Release

    On October 16, Alliance Arts announced it is scrapping the general public release of the demo for its PC game “PUKEY GODDESS SHOT TRICK,” originally planned for October 19, and switching instead to a limited online demo session for selected participants. The company cited concerns that AI and similar tools could be used to quickly imitate the demo’s visuals and content and put out copycat games before the full release, as well as the difficulty of managing playthrough videos. On 5ch, while some argued that opt-outs from AI training should be made even stronger, others pointed out that this game itself resembles other titles, sparking a broader debate about where to draw the line between manual imitation and AI-driven imitation, and about the structural problem where whoever releases first gets treated as “the original.”

    On October 16, Alliance Arts announced it is canceling the general public release of the demo for its PC game “PUKEY GODDESS SHOT TRICK” and switching instead to a limited online demo session for selected participants. The decision stems from concern that, using the demo as a basis, works imitating the game’s visuals and content via AI and similar tools could be released before the full game ships.

    The demo had originally been scheduled for release on October 19. Among the reasons for canceling the public release is also the difficulty of managing the posting and streaming of playthrough videos. The company reportedly planned to release it under certain restrictions, but concluded that proper management wasn’t feasible under its current operational setup.

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

    2AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:43
    Opting out of AI training really does need to be strengthened even more.
    That's basically a human right at this point.
    4AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:47
    Apparently once something gets buzz, AI clone games show up on Roblox and the like within days.
    5AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:51
    This game's a ripoff too, though —
    of that one where a pig plays Russian roulette.
    9AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:13
    Games really are all about the idea, huh.
    But if it comes to this, maybe my dream timeline of a new Dark Souls dropping every year until we hit Dark Souls 20 could actually happen.
    We'd have to dig through an ocean of low-effort garbage to find it, though.
    AI, evolve faster!
    42AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:10
    Re: #9
    Digging through a pile of mass-produced, unbalanced AI Dark Souls clones to find something decent sounds like pure torture…
    In the end, as the bad currency piles up, people start avoiding even the legit soulslikes, and nothing survives except the trusted original.
    10AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:25
    The PC version always gets left out of stuff — so consistent it's almost impressive.
    59AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:55
    Re: #10
    You can't even release something like this anywhere but Steam to begin with.
    13AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:34
    A Buckshot Roulette knockoff is now worried about getting knocked off lol
    17AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:37
    Re: #13
    Kind of has the same vibe as when Palworld itself said it welcomes Palworld-likes.
    14AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:34
    On the anime side, there was already an incident where AI-generated footage covering the still-unanimated parts of Re:Zero (the light novel) got leaked online.
    If you've got even part of the source material, AI can fill in the rest.
    21AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:40
    Re: #14
    Watching someone recreate FF6's story as an AI-generated anime made me wonder — even if Square Enix has no plans to monetize that themselves, is it really okay to just let this slide?
    45AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:13
    Re: #14
    "Got made."
    "Gets leaked."
    "Incident."
    "Can fill in the rest."

    …Why are you phrasing all of this like it's a bad thing?
    18AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:37
    The annoying part is that since the AI side ships its finished version first,
    the original ends up looking like it copied the AI.
    That's exactly why they can't even release a demo anymore.
    22AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:41
    Re: #18
    Nothing's going to change unless this actually happens and a court sets a precedent, but for small studios — let alone solo indies — even filing a lawsuit is a massive burden.
    You'd end up too busy to make games at all.
    Early access would be the last thing on your mind.
    20AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:39
    That said, games like Suika Game or Exit 8 (8番出口) — the kind that could've been instantly ripped off even without AI — are still recognized as "the original."
    Was that just good timing? Also, they both started out quietly.
    23AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:43
    Re: #20
    Ripoffs back then were made by hand, and copying by hand takes time,
    so there was enough of a head start to get recognized as the original.
    These days, though, the knockoff launches basically at the same time.
    31AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:51
    It's kind of weird how a ripoff that's carefully hand-made gets a pass,
    but one made with AI doesn't.
    The process is different, but you're doing the same thing either way.
    34AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:53
    Re: #31
    It's not fine — that's literally why Palworld got sued.
    37AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:54
    Re: #31
    Back then, people only copied a game after it already hit big, so the original never got buried — if anything, it worked as free promotion.
    With AI, the knockoff steals the buzz and makes the original feel stale before it's even out.
    That's a pretty different situation.
    35AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:54
    Steam Next Fest 2026 is reportedly going to feature more than twice as many demos as last year — how many of those are going to be generative-AI "junk"?

    Then again, entries to the Hayakawa SF Contest (a Japanese sci-fi literary award) reportedly doubled year-over-year too.
    If you look at it as an era where anyone finally gets a shot at becoming the creator they always dreamed of being, using AI isn't necessarily a bad thing.
    39AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:57
    Re: #35
    Hard to say.
    Creation isn't something you can just reproduce on demand — that's exactly why even manga artists only get called "the real deal" after landing two hits.
    I guess the ones who survive will be whoever can use AI well, still put themselves into the work, and still make something everyone actually finds fun.
    47AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:21
    A race where whoever makes something genuinely original ends up losing.
    50AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:27
    Re: #47
    If it's a ripoff of a ripoff, getting copied yourself doesn't really sting.
    But having something you poured your heart and soul into get stolen — that's rough.
    51AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:28
    Relying too heavily on how easy AI generation makes things can get ugly on the dev side too,
    since it becomes much easier for producers and directors to just force their own taste through.
    53AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:34
    Re: #51
    I bet there are already quite a few people suffering through this, lol.
    First off, once some idiot gets the idea that AI saves time, deadlines get crushed.
    Then there's no time left to even check what's actually been made.
    In the end, nobody even knows what they're building anymore.

    Well, if you're just making something like a business app with nothing but mechanical features, maybe that's fine.
    But for actual creative work, it's unthinkable not to look closely at what you've made.
    If people in that field get their time squeezed like this, it's going to end in disaster.
    This isn't some throwaway short drama for Chinese phones, after all.
    68AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:18
    Copyright doesn't protect a single thing about a game.
    71AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:23
    Re: #68
    These days live-service games just keep repeating the same loop: "copy an existing game for one event → by the next event that content is unplayable anyway, so the copied parts are already gone" lol.
    It's basically a criminal business model of sorts.
    80AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:47
    I've seen Steam suspend a store page a few times when there's a complaint filed over blatant plagiarism.
    But for indies it's unclear, and since it's not same-day action, the damage could end up pretty severe.
    81AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:49
    Re: #80
    That's exactly the thing that'll get abused — spamming AI-generated takedown reports against the original, I mean.
    84AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:55
    Re: #80
    Since the AI version gets released first,
    the copy ends up being treated as the original.
    82AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:52
    If a big company uses AI to rip something off and then reports the original,
    it's the original that gets taken down.
    85AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:56
    Re: #82
    That's not gonna happen.
    87AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:59
    Re: #85
    The AI side is the one releasing first, you know?
    89AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:06
    Re: #85
    Developer: "Our in-development trailer went viral, we'll release in six months."
    ↓
    AI [side]: "We're releasing in one month, demo drops right away too."

    This is already happening.

    There's no such thing as "the original" anymore.
    92AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:10
    Re: #89
    Bottom line up front: a scenario where "AI decides on its own to move up the release date and drop a demo" is not something that happens in actual game development.

    This story is a meme (joke post) commonly seen on social media (especially X/former Twitter) that exaggerates or satirizes "how far future AI dev environments might evolve," or a joke modeled on a specific hypothetical game-dev scenario.

    Here's a 3-point breakdown of why this couldn't happen in reality, and why jokes like this go viral.
    —snipped—
    95AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:13
    Re: #92
    Guess you don't get it unless someone spells it out as "a developer who used AI to rip people off," huh?
    98AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:16
    Re: #95
    Before criticizing someone else, fix the sloppy exaggeration in your own writing.
    101AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:19
    Being able to turn an idea into something real right away sounds like an advantage for indies, no?
    Unlike big companies, they can use AI as much as they want.
    104AnonymousOct 20, 2026 11:26
    Re: #101
    Just like how director and programmer are separate roles,
    the person who's good at coming up with ideas isn't necessarily the person who's good at implementation.
    These days the "implementation" part basically just becomes "being good at using AI,"
    but even so, people who can do both well are still pretty rare.

    Background and Key Points of This Debate

    The backdrop here is a real and growing trend: people using generative AI to quickly build similar games based on demos and playthrough videos published on platforms like Steam, then releasing them ahead of the original. What split opinion in the thread was the ambiguous line between hand-made imitation games (which tend to get a pass) and AI-made imitations (which draw all the criticism), plus the structural problem that platform takedown responses can’t keep pace, letting whichever side releases first get recognized as “the original.” There was also talk that next year’s Steam Next Fest will reportedly feature more than twice as many demos as the previous year, raising concerns about how much of that could be low-effort AI-generated junk. Note that Alliance Arts’ announcement itself was framed around concerns over imitation works leaking out before release, and the original article does not explicitly state whether the company had actually suffered any such damage.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry (Geha)) thread “[Sad News] “AI Will Just Copy It” — Game Developer Cancels Public Demo Release.”

  • Shuri’s Husband Ryoki Miyama Sparks Backlash Over Fan Club BBQ Fees — ¥35,000 for Middle Schoolers

    Ryoki Miyama, formerly of BE:FIRST, announced the participation fee for a fan-club-only barbecue event he’s holding next month, and it became a hot topic on 5ch’s Geisoku Sokuhou+ board. With fees set at ¥35,000 for middle schoolers and ¥15,000 for elementary schoolers, and coming right after this year’s reported hotel-tryst scandal, many in the thread pointed to his “high-price strategy.” Some took a hands-off stance, saying “he’s earning the money himself, so it’s nobody else’s business,” while others expressed shock at the price gap, citing former Johnny’s idol Yuhei Yokoyama’s BBQ event, which charged just ¥9,800. There was also puzzlement that elementary and middle school-age fans even exist in the first place.

    Ryoki Miyama’s “¥35,000 for middle schoolers” fan-club-only BBQ event fee sparks controversy — the “high-price strategy” accelerates after the hotel-tryst scandal

    On October 18, Ryoki Miyama, formerly of “BE:FIRST,” updated his Instagram with a short video that appears to be a teaser clip for a new song.

    Miyama is active across many fields, but the “participation fee” for a barbecue event he’s holding a month from now has caused a stir.

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

    4AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:08
    Memories of Kikkoman
    35AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:16
    Re: #4
    If they're serving Kikkoman oolong tea and sliced bananas, I'd pay ¥35,000 😤 (riffing on the famously bare-bones school lunch meme)
    56AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:22
    Re: #35
    Don't care.
    Don't care about any of this.
    12AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:11
    Just hit up your wife's family for cash — they're loaded lol
    17AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:12
    He's not leeching off Shuri, he's earning it himself, so what's everyone's problem? What's with all the nitpicking?
    27AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:14
    Re: #17
    Yeah, you can tell he's getting desperate now that things have soured and he can't mooch off her anymore lol
    36AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:17
    You'd think nobody would actually go, but there's always somebody who will…
    108AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:35
    Re: #36
    Even this guy has fans. He's pretty average-looking too — I don't get the appeal.
    64AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:24
    So there really are elementary and middle school fans — fine if so, but that's an amount that's tough to swing without parental help. Imagining how they'd scrape the money together is honestly a little chilling.
    70AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:25
    Re: #64
    Hoping Bunshun picks this one up lol (Bunshun = the tabloid magazine Shukan Bunshun)
    77AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:27
    Re: #64
    True. They're probably not even part of his target fanbase anyway.
    103AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:35
    Re: #64
    Isn't it more likely the parent is the actual fan and just can't leave the kid at home alone? Though a middle schooler should be old enough to handle staying home by themselves…
    83AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:29
    https://ogre.natalie.mu/media/news/music/2026/0202/RYOKIMIYAMA_art202602.jpg
    85AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:30
    Does this guy even have fans?
    109AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:35
    Re: #85
    There's a parent-and-kid fan duo on YouTube. Apparently they're still throwing money at him, and they go around trolling his haters.
    104AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:35
    Ran Ito's dinner show charges ¥40,000 even for babies, so a discount for elementary schoolers almost makes this look generous by comparison
    113AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:36
    Re: #104
    Given the age of her fanbase, nobody's bringing an actual baby anyway.
    114AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:36
    Re: #104
    That's about par for the course at the New Otani (hotel).
    118AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:40
    Re: #104
    So they're squeezing pension money out of old men now?
    116AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:40
    He's really not that good-looking — does he even have fans? It's not a trendy K-pop-style face either, more of an old-school Showa-era rugged-handsome look.
    120AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:40
    Re: #116
    If anything, isn't it more K-pop style…?
    117AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:40
    Is he going to be in the Tora ni Tsubasa movie too?
    121AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:40
    Re: #117
    Doesn't look like he's been cast in it.

    Background and key points of this story

    Ryoki Miyama, formerly of BE:FIRST, made this announcement amid growing backlash after a reported hotel tryst with a married woman earlier this year, which is exactly why the steep participation fee drew so much extra attention. The thread split between two camps: those defending him with “he’s earning it himself, so it’s not a problem,” and those raising concerns about “is it really okay to put this kind of financial burden on child fans?” Comparisons were also drawn to former Johnny’s idol Yuhei Yokoyama’s BBQ event (¥9,800) and to Ran Ito’s dinner show pricing, though it’s worth noting that venue, content, and scale all differ, so a straight price comparison isn’t entirely fair. The fees reported here are simply the figures announced by the event organizers — actual attendance numbers and what happens on the day itself remain unknown for now.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Sokuhou+) thread “Actress Shuri’s husband Ryoki Miyama — fan-club-only BBQ fee sparks controversy, ¥35,000 for middle schoolers, ¥15,000 for elementary schoolers, ‘high-price strategy’ after hotel-tryst scandal.”

  • NY Dollar-Yen Slides to 158.45-55 as Rising US Rates, Oil Prices Fuel Yen Selling

    The yen fell in New York foreign exchange trading on the 19th, closing at 158.45-55 to the dollar, down 50 sen from the previous Friday’s close. After last week’s US CPI and PPI data showed accelerating inflation, US long-term interest rates climbed to 5.14%, driving yen-selling and dollar-buying as markets focused on the widening Japan-US rate gap. Rising oil prices were also viewed as a headwind for Japan’s economy through higher energy costs, further pressuring the yen. On 5channel threads, opinions clashed between those who see the weak yen as a tailwind for exporters like the auto industry, and those who argue it merely reflects accelerating capital flight into overseas investment; the discussion also touched on comparisons of Japan’s and South Korea’s government debt levels and past currency-intervention lines.

    [NQN New York = Mina Inaba] The yen fell in New York foreign exchange trading on the 19th, closing at 158.45-55 to the dollar, 50 sen stronger than the previous Friday’s close against the dollar. Strong US inflation worries and a same-day rise in US long-term interest rates weighed on the yen. Rising US crude oil prices also encouraged yen selling.

    Last week’s US consumer price index (CPI) and producer price index (PPI) data for September showed that price increases are accelerating. Markets increasingly expect the Federal Reserve (Fed) to hold rates steady at its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on the 27th-28th, then raise rates at the December meeting.

    Amid inflation concerns and expectations of higher rates ahead, US long-term interest rates closed at 5.14% in bond trading on the 19th, up 0.07 percentage point from the previous Friday, spurring yen selling and dollar buying as markets focused on the widening Japan-US rate gap. In US crude oil futures trading, the front-month WTI (West Texas Intermediate) contract closed at $103.66 a barrel, up 2% from the previous Friday. The view that higher energy costs would hurt Japan’s economy also weighed on the yen.

    Source: nikkei.com / Original article here

    3AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:31
    Bet this has nothing to do with window sash factories anyway

    Seriously, the sash manufacturing industry is invincible
    How would it even get hit by this?
    34AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:46
    Re: #3
    No joke, there's a boom in demand for swapping aluminum window sashes for resin ones under energy-saving rules — it's a windfall, a total windfall
    4AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:32
    Japanese companies are paralyzed and in chaos from cyberattacks (unauthorized-access incidents), yet the Nikkei stays optimistic
    This lying Nikkei index is finished
    6AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:33
    Re: #4
    So what if there's a cyberattack?
    Does that even affect anything?
    57AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:58
    Re: #4
    No, it's a setup where you can't turn a profit unless you sell yen
    Right now selling yen is literally the only way to make any money
    13AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:34
    The Japan-US rate gap has narrowed more than 2 points since the Kishida era, yet the yen still won't strengthen at all
    Why's that??? Whose fault is it???
    19AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:36
    Re: #13
    Well, it's Kuroda's fault
    While the whole world was hiking rates, he kept negative rates all by himself
    and we got grilled for it (yakitori — skewered and cooked, i.e. Japan got burned)
    42AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:51
    So even joint Japan-US intervention can't stop the weak yen
    It did claw back to 155 once, though
    56AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:58
    A weak yen is in the national interest
    It's a tailwind for the auto industry, a core pillar, so it strengthens Japan's economy
    63AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:03
    Re: #56
    Everyone but Toyota is struggling, and overseas local production is now the norm — no benefit flows back home
    66AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:04
    Re: #56
    A weak yen might be in the national interest, but
    obviously it's a losing bet to just sit on yen, so the sharper people keep piling into overseas investment
    and now it's full of people who profit more when foreign economies grow than when Japan's does
    62AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:03
    Are factories ever coming back to Japan?
    65AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:04
    Re: #62
    Because there's no workforce left
    Wages are low here, and plenty of other countries actually have people
    71AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:07
    Once it crosses 160 the media starts kicking up a noisy fuss, so
    157-158 is the sweet spot for a happily weak yen
    78AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:11
    Re: #71
    Pretty sure economic benefit has nothing to do with whether the media makes noise lol
    88AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:18
    Re: #71
    Staying in that range works out just right for stock prices too
    The pace of rate hikes is what'll make the real difference
    89AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:18
    Meanwhile the won isn't even dropping
    97AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:22
    Re: #89
    Japan vs. Korea gross government debt (% of GDP)
    Japan: 200%
    Korea: 50%
    106AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:39
    Re: #97
    Net debt-to-GDP of 136% is the worst in the world, Korea's is 9.3%
    Even a grade-schooler could see Japan's on the edge of a cliff
    109AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:40
    Re: #106
    Yet the won isn't exactly strong either, is it
    119AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:58
    Re: #106
    Household debt-to-GDP ratio
    Korea: 88.6%
    Japan: 61.1%
    98AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:26
    Apparently the amount of yen individuals sell just to pay for overseas subscriptions is huge too
    Even the AI tools companies are rolling out are foreign-made, so of course this won't stop
    113AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:45
    Re: #98
    Japanese people invest overseas plenty too
    and if Japanese stocks rally, foreign investors will just cash out their gains and leave.
    Whether it's French government bonds or the old 'Mrs. Watanabe' retail-FX crowd,
    things get messy whenever Japanese investors swing to extremes lol
    What makes it worse is the Japanese themselves don't even realize they're doing it.
    99AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:28
    Well of course — she went and hinted that tax cuts might be funded with more government bonds
    110AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:42
    Re: #99
    Seems like it wasn't a bureaucrat-written script, just an off-the-cuff remark
    She scrambled to put out the fire that afternoon, making excuses on X too
    This person is genuinely dangerous
    105AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:38
    This, exactly this. Takaichi isn't even trying to steer the yen stronger.
    She keeps hinting at more government bonds, and still says a weak yen has both good and bad sides.
    In the current situation, a weak yen is bad, full stop.

    I stayed up all night putting this together for you guys, here it is. [Permanent archive edition]

    ■Chart 1: government bond yields
    https://i.ibb.co/C52h1Vfn/img.png

    ■Chart 2: currency strength
    https://i.ibb.co/R4D2wj57/img.png
    118AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:58
    Re: #105
    The Takaichi administration's just living it up lol
    It might be bad if you center ordinary citizens, but
    whether the yen or rates go down or up,
    there's always some company that profits either way.
    It's complicated, isn't it.
    114AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:49
    They slam Toyota for investing overseas or Japanese people for buying US stocks through NISA, saying it drains yen out of the country
    then slam foreigners for 'buying up Japan' when they invest here instead
    nothing but inward-looking people like this
    125AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:04
    Re: #114
    LOL
    Guess they've got no money, no brains, no status — nothing lol
    117AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:56
    Japan's economic decline is outpacing even the IMF's and think tanks' forecasts
    Getting out of Japan, economically speaking, is a must
    Beyond the bare minimum you need to live on, you should hold it all in foreign-currency assets
    Looking at the real effective exchange rate, the yen is still overvalued — it's not too late to start now
    124AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:04
    Re: #117
    The IMF has had tax-hike-happy Finance Ministry bureaucrats on secondment there, so who knows how reliable that is lol
    Though apparently Finance Minister Katayama is being sent there next.
    120AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:00
    It's alarming that the yen isn't acting as a safe-haven currency anymore
    Even though Japan's public safety record is arguably still #1 among major economies right now?
    122AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:03
    Re: #120
    Becoming a safe haven takes stable public safety, sure, but it also requires economic stagnation — so in a state like Japan's now, with economic activity picking back up, it won't function as a safe haven

    The super-strong yen during the DPJ government era happened simply because the DPJ ran austerity fiscal policy during the double punch of deflation and the Lehman Shock, stalling the economy
    123AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:03
    Re: #120
    The exchange rate's just too unstable
    Can't trust the yen at all these days
    127AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:06
    The currency of a country that serves as a haven for fleeing capital
    should ideally be stable
    If it's swinging around this wildly,
    the euro, steady in the 1.0-1.25 range, is the better pick
    137AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:12
    Re: #127
    Basically it just means few people around the world see this as a crisis yet.
    The world swings up and down with Japan at the center of it,
    so in that sense, Japan actually is stable.

    Background and key points of this discussion

    A weaker yen against a stronger dollar is often explained by the ‘interest rate differential trade’: the wider the gap between Japanese and US interest rates, the more capital flows toward higher-yielding dollar assets. As the thread notes, Japan’s government debt is considered among the highest of any major economy as a share of GDP, and concerns over fiscal sustainability are sometimes cited as one factor undermining confidence in the yen. On the other hand, whether a weak yen truly benefits exporters like automakers is hard to generalize — it varies company by company depending on how much production has moved overseas and how supply chains are structured, so the notion that ‘a weak yen equals a blanket national benefit’ is a frequent point of real-world debate. There’s also a history of the yen being bought as a ‘safe haven’ during financial crises, though some argue that function tends to weaken when domestic economic activity is robust — and the disagreements in the thread reflect these underlying structural issues.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (Breaking News+) thread ‘[Forex] NY Dollar-Yen Falls to 158.45-55 as US Rate Rise and Oil Prices Spur Yen Selling‘.

  • Jun Oguri Drops Honorifics With Actor 24 Years His Senior, Leaves Co-Stars Baffled — 5ch Reacts: ‘Guess Kotaro Wasn’t Making Bank’

    Actor Jun Oguri (43) appeared on the broadcast on the 19th of Nippon TV’s ‘Daigo no Geinin Ryoshusho SP’ and revealed that he’s been "footing the bill" for an actor 24 years his senior — and that he addresses the man by his bare name, without any honorific. The episode marked the show’s first broadcast in a primetime golden-hour slot, and his co-stars reportedly looked visibly thrown by the revelation. On 5ch, the consensus formed that the actor being addressed without honorifics is Koutarou Yoshida, and the discussion spread to cover the pros and cons of dropping honorifics for someone older, opinions on Yoshida’s standing as an actor, and differences in how actors of the same generation found success.

    Jun Oguri Reveals Famous Actor 24 Years Older He’s Been “Footing the Bill” For — Shock First-Name Address Leaves Co-Stars Baffled by Mystery Relationship: “Wait, what?” “Huh?!”

    Actor Jun Oguri (43) appeared on the Nippon TV series “Daigo no Geinin Ryoshusho SP” (airing Mondays at 9:00 PM), in the episode broadcast on the 19th, and revealed an actor 24 years his senior whom he’s been “footing the bill” for.

    Oguri appeared as a special guest for the show’s first-ever broadcast in a primetime golden-hour slot.

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

    3AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:28
    Kotaro… wasn't he making bank?
    4AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:28
    Re: #3
    Maybe because he's mainly a Shakespeare stage actor
    68AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:49
    Re: #3
    He's really only blown up on TV in the last 10 years or so
    5AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:28
    Wait, so Yoshida wasn't actually famous for that long?
    34AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:38
    Re: #5
    First time I remember seeing him was as a minor side character in the 2007 Taiga drama 'Fuurin Kazan' — barely any screen time at all
    Well, that's about how it goes even for guys who 'became known through TV'
    48AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:41
    Re: #5
    He broke out after being in the TBS drama 'MOZU'
    78AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:55
    Re: #5
    I knew her from 'Hanako to Anne'
    Re: #20
    On the surface she's just the mom running a tonkatsu shop, but secretly she's a former special agent
    I knew her from 'Moving'
    7AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:29
    He probably thinks he's being funny, but
    no matter who you are, you shouldn't drop the honorific for someone older than you
    13AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:32
    Re: #7
    That's just you being salty about it
    Go away
    23AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:34
    Re: #7
    Did you use '-san' for Asahara too, even though you weren't a follower? (referring to Shoko Asahara, the Aum Shinrikyo cult leader)
    61AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:47
    Re: #7
    What a stubborn old fossil lol
    8AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:29
    Oguri genuinely seems to have some kind of delusions about his own standing, doesn't he
    52AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:43
    Re: #8
    There was drama when he set up his own talent agency too
    18AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:32
    The truth is that Tatsuya Fujiwara and Koutarou Yoshida, both trained hard under Yukio Ninagawa, are just guys who yell loudly on stage
    25AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:35
    Re: #18
    Forget Yoshida — Tatsuya Fujiwara being overrated has always been a mystery to me
    20AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:33
    The Korean actress co-starring with Oguri is gorgeous
    Japanese actresses can't compete
    26AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:35
    Re: #20
    If I've never even heard of her, she probably isn't that big a deal
    112AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:10
    Re: #20
    This person lol
    s.rbbtoday.com/imgs/zoom/1033683.jpg

    www.rbbtoday.com/article/2026/08/13/251958.html
    28AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:36
    Yoshida feels like he just appeared out of nowhere
    He was already a pretty old guy from the very start
    43AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:40
    Re: #28
    'Already an old guy from the start' lmao
    54AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:43
    Re: #28
    Going from stage to network TV — his agency probably sets aside a window to push a guy at some point
    Koutarou Yoshida's media exposure clearly jumped after 'Mozu no Sakebu Yoru,' and Shinta Furuta's after 'IWGP'
    46AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:41
    Re: #13
    Using polite language with people older than you, senior to you at work, or above you in standing is just common sense
    You're the one who lacks it, so get lost
    79AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:56
    Re: #46
    If he's the one in the higher position, isn't he the one who should be treating him, not the other way around?
    118AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:12
    Re: #46
    If you've only ever had shallow relationships, you probably can't understand this
    But there are special relationships that go beyond that, and it's fine for them to exist
    Don't go lecturing everyone about 'common sense' with your own tiny little ruler
    Though I have no idea whether these two actually have that kind of relationship
    47AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:41
    There's a tiny chance it could be Akio Otsuka (5ch slang for 'a faint, particle-level possibility')
    89AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:00
    Re: #47
    Dammit lmaooo
    91AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:01
    Re: #47
    He did voice acting work too, and the vibe is similar
    94AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:02
    Re: #47
    Akio Otsuka and Koutarou Yoshida are actually good friends, you know
    73AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:51
    83AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:57
    Re: #73
    There's a bit of a Mei Nagano vibe to that
    86AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:57
    Tomio Umezawa works in popular theater, but he's loaded — probably thanks to all the ohineri (cash tips tossed to performers on stage)
    90AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:01
    Re: #86
    Self-employed gigs pay well — bands and comedians too
    92AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:01
    Re: #86
    He's been popular for ages and shows up in the media plenty. It's not like he's rich just because he's in popular theater lol
    97AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:04
    Shinya Kote and Jiro Sato kind of suddenly appeared out of nowhere too, if you think about it
    Yo Yoshida's the same way
    Isn't the entertainment industry basically just about whether some patron-type figure decides to pull you up?
    It's definitely not that fans or viewers' voices are what push someone up
    103AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:07
    Re: #97
    Feels like there's some kind of 'push this guy' campaign going on. No idea who's backing it though lol
    Though there are also people like Susumu Terajima or Ren Osugi where you can kind of tell where they came from
    115AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:11
    Re: #97
    It's all just industry manufacturing, nothing more
    They ramp up the TV exposure until you end up with someone the public likes
    There's basically zero cases of ordinary people hyping someone up into stardom on their own
    119AnonymousOct 20, 2026 10:12
    Koutarou Yoshida
    Weekly Josei Jishin, April 2016
    Porsche Boxster (3rd generation, 981 model)

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    Thread posters noted that Koutarou Yoshida, an actor trained on Yukio Ninagawa’s stage productions, grew his TV recognition starting from a minor role in the 2007 Taiga drama ‘Fuurin Kazan’ and on through dramas like ‘MOZU’ and ‘Mozu no Sakebu Yoru.’ Opinions split over whether addressing someone older without an honorific is acceptable, depending on how deep one views the relationship between the two parties — some condemned it outright as simply a matter of manners, while others argued it’s fine given a sufficiently special relationship. It’s worth noting that the article itself never explicitly confirms that the actor Oguri named on the show is Koutarou Yoshida; the thread’s reaction is based on inference from the name “Kotaro” appearing in posts, and doesn’t go beyond that.

    *This article is composed as an excerpt/summary of the 5ch (Geinou Supo Sokuhou+) thread “[Entertainment] Jun Oguri Reveals Famous Actor 24 Years Older He’s Been “Footing the Bill” For — Shock First-Name Address Leaves Co-Stars Baffled by Mystery Relationship.”

  • Morning Musume Faces the “Wait, Are They Still Around?” Debate

    A thread went up on 5ch’s Hello! Project board about the public’s reaction of “Wait, is Morning Musume still a thing?” It started from the gap between the public’s perception—frozen at golden-era hits like “LOVE Machine” and “Renai Revolution 21″—and what the current members and follow-up groups like Juice=Juice are actually up to now. Some pointed out the group’s last big hit was nearly 30 years ago, while others drew a contrast with AKB48’s 20th-anniversary appearance on NHK’s Kohaku Uta Gassen, which pulled high ratings—sparking disagreement over just how much media exposure actually matters.

    1AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:29
    Apparently so
    3AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:36
    That's just "Ankasu" talk (a derisive 5ch nickname mashing ANGERME's name with "kasu," meaning trash)
    56AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:16
    Re: #3
    ANGERME isn't recognized by the mainstream either
    5AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:36
    Morning Musume isn't doing this for the general public's sake.
    Even if the general public knew about them, it's not like the general public would actually pay money for it
    15AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:48
    Re: #5
    They've spent forever basking in a hit song from a quarter-century ago, yet not only does nobody show up to current shows chasing that nostalgia—they don't even perform that quarter-century-old hit live anymore. It's a mystery of a group
    7AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:37
    Both "Renai Revolution 21" and "Chokotto LOVE" played within a single commercial break, and it really drove home that the public's impression is stuck entirely in the golden era
    8AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:39
    Even if some middle-aged guy says "wait, you're still around?" nobody's going to care, lol
    9AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:40
    Thanks to Juice=Juice, people are at least getting to know them now
    12AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:46
    Seems like the public needs to forget about them once before they can be a hit again
    13AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:46
    Variety shows perform Morning Musume's songs but never actually invite the members on
    14AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:47
    Yeah, figured. Even as a fan club member, when I go to Hello! Pro concerts it's more like "oh right, she's in the group" level of recognition for me
    17AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:51
    At the very least, I'd want younger people to at least know them as "Juice's little sister group"
    19AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:57
    Juice is a lost cause for that.
    You'll have to find someone else
    because unlike the other Hello! groups, Juice=Juice is now the only unit still branding itself as a "little sister" act
    Even once every Morning Musume member becomes their junior, they're still the stubborn "baby sister who doesn't care if you've got a problem with it" type
    From their very debut they never called themselves "Hello! Pro"—they've always gone with "little sister unit" instead
    20AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:59
    Re: #1
    AKB48 got high ratings performing on Kohaku for their 20th anniversary,
    but Morning Musume never gets invited
    24AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:06
    Re: #20
    Showing up on media regularly to keep your presence felt really matters—
    AKB's center Ito Momoka went viral just for running on "All-Star Thanksgiving Festival"
    21AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:00
    Nobody needs to brag about not knowing something
    if anything, be ashamed of your own ignorance
    22AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:04
    Hello! Project itself had basically been forgotten and turned into a fossil
    when Juice=Juice showed up on TV, the reaction was more like "oh, Hello! Project still exists?"
    nobody would even imagine there are other groups like ANGERME or Tsubaki Factory in there too
    23AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:05
    Re: #22
    The public knows Morning Musume's heyday, but they've never once heard of "Hello! Project"
    they don't even realize Juice is part of Hello! Project
    25AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:09
    Re: #24
    Last year Ito wasn't even center yet—she was a total nobody (lit. "air member," slang for someone with zero presence)
    26AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:11
    "LOVE Machine" would shine too if Juice=Juice covered it
    27AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:11
    I think Morning Musume is actually more recognized than Hello! Project as a whole
    31AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:13
    Re: #27
    It's not even close—we're talking a gap of two digits, not one
    Hello! Project as a brand name has less recognition than even Berryz Koubou
    33AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:14
    Re: #27
    Well, obviously—but that's peak-era Morning Musume
    Ever since they started numbering the generations, they've had zero public recognition
    Even topping the handshake-event sales charts over and over to fake a "comeback," not a single song actually hit
    41AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:24
    Re: #27
    These days it's Juice
    28AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:12
    Honestly, if you say "Morning Musume," even I still picture Nacchi, Gotou-san, or my favorite Ichii-chan's faces from back in the day on TV
    unless you're the type who actually goes to shows in person or one of the hardcore fans (nicknamed "wolves"), nobody's going to casually call them "Musume" or "Morning" lol
    29AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:12
    Well, they were popular 30 years ago
    and almost nobody who was popular 30 years ago is even still in the group
    30AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:12
    The point is that after finally stepping back from relying on peak-era OGs (veteran former members) for the 20th anniversary,
    it actually matters that a new generation is going viral on its own
    32AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:14
    Re: #30
    Who? Morning Musume?
    34AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:16
    Why'd they let Maria, their most recognizable member, graduate?
    35AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:16
    No idea about the 18th generation, but the current lineup's "LOVE Machine" is lovely
    their performances of the old songs are great
    36AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:17
    For us, it's kind of like Seifuku Kojo Iinkai (Uniform Improvement Committee, a veteran idol group famous for decades of rotating members)
    37AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:21
    Normies (ordinary non-fans) probably only know up through the 6th generation
    42AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:24
    Re: #37
    Even when 5th-gen Ogawa got caught by a tabloid, the reaction was "who's this?"—
    so yeah, it really is only up through the 4th generation
    38AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:23
    "Wait, are they still around?" is fine, but please stop with "you still like LOVE Machine, Renai Revolution, Piece?"
    those were genuinely mainstream hits, not just fan favorites
    40AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:24
    Does that go all the way up to the grandpas too?
    For some reason, old-school fans from the Central era (an earlier management-agency period for the group) actually rate the current members' performances highly
    44AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:37
    Everyone knows the Yomiuri Giants, but nobody outside baseball fans knows the current starting lineup—it's the same deal with Morning Musume
    46AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:44
    Just Itomomo and Kawayui alone (member nicknames) would outright beat the rest of Morning Musume combined
    who cares about "skill"—that kind of talk is just noise
    48AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:00
    Even back in 2017 when I first got into Hello! Project, it was already like that, lol
    49AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:01
    It's been 30 years, so there must be plenty of people hearing about them for the first time

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Morning Musume formed in 1997, born out of an audition on the TV show "ASAYAN," and had a golden era defined by the explosive 1999 hits "LOVE Machine" and "Renai Revolution 21." The group has kept going for nearly 30 years since, continually swapping out members. What split the thread was how to read this "frozen name recognition." On one side were voices treating it as a problem that only the golden-era songs and image have stuck in the public’s mind, while the current members and Hello! Project as a whole go unrecognized. On the other side were voices arguing that, since the business model runs on a fixed fan base built around the fan club and handshake events, broad public recognition doesn’t really matter in the first place. The comparison to AKB48’s high-rated 20th-anniversary Kohaku appearance also came up, raising the question of whether media exposure directly determines whether a group stays known after a generational turnover. One point readers might easily misread: this "never heard of them" reaction doesn’t itself signal the group’s decline—it stems from a difference in how the group operates.

    *This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Hello! Project board) thread “The Public Be Like: “Wait!? Is Morning Musume Still Around?”“

  • 1 Million Savers Blow Past Japan Post Bank’s ¥13 Million Cap — Private Banks Fume Over Push to Scrap It: ‘That’s Basically a State Bank’

    Japan Post Bank caps its ordinary savings accounts at ¥13 million, and the number of customers nationwide who have gone over that limit has now reached roughly 1 million. Since the ¥9.7 trillion in excess deposits earns no interest at all, Japan Post Bank has asked the government to scrap the cap. Private banks, however, are pushing back hard, arguing it would strip away the deposits their whole business model relies on. Because the government holds a stake in Japan Post Holdings, the cap has historically existed to stop an implicit government guarantee from distorting competition — so whether to remove it is anything but a simple call. On 5ch, the thread ranged widely: debate over whether Japan Post Bank is effectively state-run, questions (and answers) about why it even wants the cap lifted, and speculation over where the oddly specific ¥13 million figure came from.

    The number of Japan Post Bank customers exceeding the ¥13 million cap on ordinary savings accounts (roughly equivalent to a regular deposit account) has reached 1 million. The ¥9.7 trillion in excess deposits earns no interest, putting customers at a disadvantage. The bank has asked the government to remove the cap. Private financial institutions, which compete fiercely for the deposits their businesses are built on, are pushing back hard, calling it an unfair encroachment on private business.

    The government holds a stake in Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank’s parent company. Regulations exist precisely so an implicit government guarantee doesn’t distort the competitive landscape. The savings cap was set by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Financial Services Agency…(continued in the paid edition, 1,408 characters remaining)

    Nikkei, October 20, 2026, 2:00 AM

    Source: nikkei.com / Original article here

    7AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:38
    >The government holds a stake in Japan Post Holdings, Japan Post Bank's parent company.

    That's basically a state bank.
    72AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:11
    Re: #7
    Like the old phone monopoly or the national railway — still basically state-run, just with a private-sector coat of paint.
    8AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:38
    I mean, interest these days might as well not exist anyway 😡
    157AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:46
    Re: #8
    Compared to a few years ago,
    it's actually gotten decent.

    With ¥10 million even in a regular savings account
    you get about ¥50,000 a year in interest now.
    Used to be like ¥100 a year even on ¥10 million 😭
    18AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:47
    Honestly the one genuinely useful thing about Japan Post Bank is that there are tons of places to pull out cash with zero fees.
    So just keep your money somewhere with a better rate normally, and transfer it over to Japan Post fee-free whenever you actually need cash, no?
    105AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:24
    Re: #18
    Basically using it as a piggy bank for spare change at that point.
    23AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:49
    Never really thought about Japan Post's cap, but
    once you're over ¥10 million you'd just spread it across other banks
    or buy government bonds with it.
    25AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:51
    These are customers who are fine with the excess earning no interest, right?
    Why is Japan Post Bank itself so desperate to add interest that it's lobbying the government for it?
    If they're that dying to pay out interest, just raise the rate on deposits within the existing limit.
    69AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:11
    Re: #25
    I could argue against that, but there's something to it too.
    Looking at the big picture, I end up agreeing with that take.
    38AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:56
    Private financial institutions are kind of washed up at this point, though
    80AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:14
    Re: #38
    Just split it up and park it at a brokerage or an online bank.
    40AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:57
    The further out into the countryside you go, the more you appreciate how incredible the postal savings network really is.
    Having an ATM even at a post office way out in the middle of nowhere is seriously impressive.
    117AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:31
    Re: #40
    Yeah, even places with no convenience store still have a post office.
    45AnonymousOct 20, 2026 07:59
    Re: #1

    Japan Post Bank is scarier than even Norinchukin Bank (the big agricultural co-op bank that took huge losses).

    Japan Post Bank is using your deposits to buy both US Treasuries and Japanese government bonds, so it's taking losses on both fronts at once.
    That's why it's cutting staff costs and hiking fees to try to plug the hole.

    On top of that, it's making it harder to actually withdraw your own deposits.

    If you think 'it's my money, of course I can withdraw it,' go to a post office and try pulling out ¥1 million.
    They'll refuse you.
    50AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:01
    Re: #45
    You can withdraw ¥1 million just fine.
    Source: me, just did it.
    175AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:00
    Re: #45
    Lol, here comes the conspiracy-theory uncle.
    52AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:02
    Having a nationwide network of fee-free ATMs is a huge edge for them, honestly.
    Doesn't really feel fair to everyone else, though.
    58AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:07
    Re: #52
    Most of the major city banks are basically free too, except Mizuho.
    59AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:07
    Re: #52
    Keeping that whole ATM network running isn't free either, mind you.
    82AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:14
    Feels like you could just spread ¥10 million at a time across different banks, but
    I guess once you've got that much, juggling that many accounts gets annoying too.
    Business funds would just sit in a checking account anyway, so who's actually depositing this much personally?
    87AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:16
    Re: #82
    Once you're elderly, splitting your money across multiple accounts just becomes impossible to manage.
    91AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:18
    Re: #82
    For regional banks ¥10 million is the number to watch, but with the megabanks you don't really need to worry at all.
    98AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:21
    Re: #82
    If you're the type who can park ¥10 million each in megabanks that aren't going to collapse, you'd probably be better off putting the rest into gold or something.
    You're not going to spend that much cash anyway — someone like that is probably already rich enough to live off dividends.
    83AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:14
    Re: #67
    Middle-class people aren't holding it in cash lol.
    It's either a loan or NISA (Japan's tax-free investment account).
    99AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:22
    Re: #83
    A loan by itself isn't an asset.
    It depends what the loan is backing.
    If it's real estate, the value might rise down the road —
    though it's more likely to fall.
    If that's not what you meant, you should've said 'mortgage,' not just 'loan.'
    118AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:32
    Re: #83
    Wait, what? A loan?

    Holding assets through NISA?
    Guess you don't realize NISA only has a tiny contribution limit.

    That's kind of sad.
    96AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:20
    I just stuck ¥10 million into a 10-year fixed deposit and forgot about it.
    Wasn't planning to use it anyway.
    100AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:22
    Re: #96
    Nah, just buy government bonds with it.
    102AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:23
    Re: #96
    If you're not gonna use it, dump it all into the new NISA and buy S&P 500 or an all-world index fund.
    119AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:32
    I've got ¥20 million parked in Japan Post Bank.
    133AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:37
    Re: #119
    You're throwing away interest on nearly half of that.
    Move ¥10 million of it to an online bank and you'd be earning roughly ¥100,000 a year pre-tax.
    140AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:40
    Re: #133
    Well, if it's not already set up, at this point I'd tell my parents online banking isn't worth it either, since the risk of AI-driven attacks just keeps climbing anyway.
    150AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:41
    Re: #133
    My husband dumped the entire inheritance into Japan Post Bank because he's convinced it can never fail.
    It's not my money though, so there's not much I can do about it.
    126AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:36
    Why ¥13 million instead of a clean ¥10 million, I wonder?
    134AnonymousOct 20, 2026 08:37
    Re: #126
    Something like — so that if you've got ¥10 million sitting there and a bonus payment lands, you're still under the cap.
    196AnonymousOct 20, 2026 09:15
    Re: #126
    I recall it used to be ¥10 million quite a while back, so maybe they bumped it up because of inflation?

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    The ¥13 million cap on ordinary savings accounts exists under authorization from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the Financial Services Agency, specifically to keep the government’s stake in Japan Post Holdings — and the implicit government guarantee that comes with it — from distorting competition with private banks. Behind the push to abolish the cap is Japan Post Bank’s own concern that the low limit keeps it from attracting wealthy depositors’ money, and the thread featured a noticeable back-and-forth between posts questioning that motive and posts explaining it. What’s easy to miss, though, is that this cap only applies to ‘ordinary savings’ accounts on their own — a separate ‘time deposit’ category carries an identical cap, so combining the two effectively allows deposits of up to ¥26 million. The oddly specific ¥13 million figure, meanwhile, is simply the result of a previous ¥10 million cap being raised over time, adjusted along the way to track shifts in prices and interest rates. There’s more nuance here than a simple ‘encroachment on private business’ versus ‘benefit to customers’ framing can capture.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “1 Million Exceed ‘Postal Savings’ Cap — Private Financial Institutions Push Back Against Removal Request.”