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  • The Brain Is Actually Two Organs That Grew From Different ‘Seeds’ Front and Back — 5ch: ‘Well, the Brain Started as Gut Anyway’

    Research from Stanford University and others has revealed that the human brain — which looks like a single continuous organ — actually developed from two different origins at its front and back, making it, in effect, “two organs.” At an extremely early stage, just about a week after fertilization, the researchers found that the cluster of cells destined to become the forebrain and midbrain, and the cluster destined to become the hindbrain (which governs breathing and heartbeat), had already branched apart by activating separate genes (Otx2 and Gbx2). On 5ch’s Science News+ board, the thread filled up with quips like “well, the brain started as gut anyway” and trivia about whether the brainstem or the cerebrum is evolutionarily older, alongside a lively philosophical debate over which brain actually produces consciousness.

    What We Call the “Brain” Turns Out to Be a Combination of Two Different Organs — Front and Back Grown From Separate “Seeds”

    Research conducted at Stanford University and other institutions in the United States has revealed that our brain, which appears to be one continuous whole, actually grew from cells that form two separate “seeds” at the front and the back.

    The front, which handles language and thought, and the back, which handles life-sustaining work like breathing and heartbeat, go their separate ways from the very moment the brain’s precursor forms — making them, in effect, two organs.

    Source: nazology.kusuguru.co.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:21
    Keeping yourself alive isn't something you consciously think about, after all.
    3AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:23
    When you trace it back, the brain started out as gut, after all…
    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:48
    Re: #3
    Exactly right — the gut is the real mastermind behind the whole human body!
    4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 22:46
    Hasn't this kind of been said for a while? Like how the brainstem and cerebellum are old while the frontal lobe is new, and so on.
    7AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:01
    Brain organoid: 'Now which one am I, I wonder?'
    8AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:04
    >>The front of the brain (the forebrain and midbrain) contains the regions responsible for language, consciousness, and abstract thought.

    >>The back, meanwhile — located where the skull meets the neck — makes up most of what's called the brainstem, and handles the 'autopilot' functions that keep us alive: breathing, sleep, heartbeat, and hunger regulation.
    12AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:14
    Re: #8-10 are just the body text of Re: #1.

    Couldn't combining Re: #8-11 help explain the brains of people with mental illness?

    Couldn't combining Re: #8-11 help explain the brains of people with intellectual disabilities?
    9AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:05
    >>In fact, it's long been known that in the fetus, cells positioned toward the front become the forebrain and cells positioned toward the back become the hindbrain.
    10AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:06
    >>What the researchers focused on was an extremely early stage called 'gastrulation,' occurring about a week after fertilization.
    >>At this stage, they found, the cells destined to become the brain already split into two clearly distinct groups.
    >>The first group is the seed of the forebrain and midbrain (the anterior neural ectoderm), marked by activation of a gene called Otx2.
    >>The second group is the seed of the hindbrain (the posterior neural ectoderm), marked by activation of a different gene called Gbx2.
    16AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:04
    The person posting above always seems to slide — kind of 'sluggishly' — from rational, objectively shared scientific talk straight into their own private alternate universe.
    Maybe Re: #1's research will eventually shed light on the mechanism behind this weird glitch in information processing too.
    17AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:32
    Right, right.
    There's a real possibility that we — the motor nervous system — are just slaves being puppeted by the endocrine system for the sake of never-ending feeding and reproductive behavior lol
    18AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:59
    By the way, I don't actually know, but where's the main site of hormone secretion inside the brain? If it's the brainstem, then that theory's probably basically right lol
    We're the slaves who developed as a terminal tissue wrapped around the tip of the gut/reproductive nervous system lol
    24AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:31
    Re: #18 The brain is made up of six structures: the cerebrum, cerebellum, diencephalon, midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata.
    26AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:32
    Re: #18 The midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata together are called the brainstem.
    27AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:33
    Re: #18

    Cerebrum: governs thought, memory, and reason.
    Cerebellum: integrates balance and posture control.
    Diencephalon: controls the autonomic nervous system and endocrine function, and is linked to emotional function.
    Brainstem: the midbrain contains the nucleus of the oculomotor nerve and moves the eyeballs. The pons governs taste, hearing, and facial muscles. The medulla oblongata governs life-sustaining functions like breathing, circulation, and digestion.
    19AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:03
    Which one creates consciousness — the front or the back?
    20AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:06
    If that's right, maybe the brainstem has its own separate consciousness from 'us' lol
    21AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:08
    Well, it's probably about on the level of an insect's, lol
    22AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:12
    Then there's reflexes too.
    We can actually become conscious of reflex movements, so the question is whether we're only conscious of the movement after it happens via the tactile system, or whether we're conscious of the actual command to move itself lol
    23AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:25
    Maybe what current AI is missing is the 'back' brain.
    25AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:31
    If that's true, that's rough lol
    At least I definitely have zero awareness of consciously moving my gut or heart lol
    How would you even go about reasoning out what the brainstem is doing lol
    30AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:39
    Re: #25 Everyone does it unconsciously.

    If it were done consciously, you'd stop breathing and your heart would stop the moment you fell asleep, so you'd die.
     And if you got drunk and passed out, you'd die too.
    28AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:34
    Re: #26
    Good, then, lol
    The cerebellum handles movements you can't really be conscious of either, lol
    29AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:36
    Oops, my mistake lol — actually, eye movements ARE something we're conscious of, so that's not right, huh lol
    31AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:42
    Facial expressions too — we're super conscious of those, so that's wrong too, huh lol
    Though you could also say we're mistaking emotion for facial expression lol
    But eyeballs, we definitely move those ourselves. No wait, there's probably an 'automatic mode' for that too lol
    Maybe the current theory is only looking at the 'automatic mode' cases lol
    39AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:04
    Re: #38 Sorry, anchor mistake — I meant Re: #37.
    40AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:06
    I feel like there's also 'one' down in the lower body somewhere…
    41AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:07
    Re: #37 So what's going on with people who have bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness)?

    During a manic episode they're out and about being active,
    but during a depressive episode they shut themselves in their room and won't step outside at all.

    That's pretty odd behavior for someone who's supposedly medicated, isn't it?
    43AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:12
    Hawaii Department of Health Warns Travelers About a Parasite That Infects the Human Brain
    2019/05/31
    https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESdwHrOzAVn0CqwYnC8jvpNTIg4FTmyMq1YZltV10H4ELpw5BjwZRd1tPmG0OdOEpIFkugEsiURaAG4iOfRA2RM5jiIWgYQhHV9UEKU2CRhGUAAEYCIJkpZiJB0OCvpOR0q100X5S7R9ldMPtF7s3Aw-3_Ni7Vo7NJ
    The Hawaii Department of Health has issued a warning that cases of a parasite infecting the human brain are on the rise. Over the past decade there were only 2 reported cases of this parasite infecting humans, but 17 were confirmed in 2017, 10 in 2018, and already 5 so far in 2019.
    45AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:15
    Re: #44

    Why fruit flies are used in research:
    Short generation time: they grow from egg to adult in about two weeks, allowing experiments across multiple generations in a short period.
    Genetic similarity to humans: many genes involved in human diseases are shared with fruit flies, which helps with analysis.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The key point of this research is that it traces the brain’s origins all the way back to an extremely early stage of fetal development — the “gastrulation” period, about a week after fertilization. It was already known that the future brain’s cells occupy different positions at the front and back, split even at this stage into a forebrain/midbrain group activating the gene Otx2 and a hindbrain group activating Gbx2. What this study newly demonstrated is that this split is developmentally independent enough to be called a difference in “seed” or origin. The division of labor — with the front handling language, thought, and consciousness, and the back (the brainstem) handling automatic control like breathing and heartbeat — corresponds to this difference in origin. The thread saw plenty of trivia-style banter like “the brain started as gut anyway” and “the cerebellum and brainstem are older,” as well as an extended philosophical debate over which brain consciousness actually resides in. Some posts speculated that this research might explain the causes of mental illness or intellectual disabilities, but it’s worth noting that this speculation goes beyond what the study itself reported and is not currently backed by medical evidence.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary from the 5ch (Science News+) thread “[Nazology] What We Call the ‘Brain’ Turns Out to Be a Combination of Two Different Organs — Front and Back Grown From Separate ‘Seeds’.”

  • Switzerland international MF Granit Xhaka admits to forging COVID vaccine certificate

    Sunderland midfielder and Switzerland international Granit Xhaka has admitted on his own Instagram account to forging his COVID-19 vaccination certificate. According to Swiss media reports, Xhaka had declared that he received his first dose in January 2022 and his second in November of that year, but it emerged that his actual second dose was administered on November 8 — three days earlier than declared. The Lucerne public prosecutor’s office is investigating him on suspicion of document forgery, and he could face criminal prosecution if found guilty. On 5channel, users raised questions about the case itself alongside a broader debate over the merits of vaccine policy.

    Soccer King — Sep 21

    Sunderland’s Switzerland international midfielder Granit Xhaka admitted on the 21st, via his official Instagram account, to forging his COVID-19 vaccination certificate.

    Swiss outlet Blick reported that the Lucerne public prosecutor’s office in Switzerland is investigating Xhaka on suspicion of forging his COVID-19 vaccination certificate. The player was said to have received his first vaccine dose on January 25, 2022 and his second on November 11 of that year, but his actual second dose was administered on November 8, exposing a discrepancy in the record.

    Source: soccer-king.jp / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:14
    Why's he already "guilty" before the trial even happens lol
    66AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:27
    Re: #2
    Switzerland's a civil-law country, so unlike Japan it has a preliminary judicial inquiry. I think this just means that if the prosecutor's preliminary inquiry finds him guilty, it could go to full prosecution in court (rather than being settled with a summary order) — probably.
    10AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:16
    Corona vaccine —
    shortened to "Korochin" (a slangy mashup of korona + wakuchin)
    12AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:17
    The quasi-mandatory COVID vaccine push was modern humanity's biggest mistake
    13AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:17
    Guess it's the same overseas too — it comes down to personality, whether someone can properly access medical services or not
    16AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:20
    Soccer guys really do commit crimes all over the world, huh
    17AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:20
    Gotta admit, the Djokovic approach — "I'm anti-vax! Got a problem with that?" —
    is the most refreshingly honest way to handle it
    18AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:22
    If he's got a Swiss bank account, can they even collect the fine?
    19AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:22
    Poor guy — for pro athletes, their body is their livelihood.

    Would they even compensate him for lost income if the vaccine caused problems?
    20AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:24
    Society was the one that went crazy — don't go convicting a sane person over this
    21AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:25
    So this happened 4 years ago?
    Sounds like one of those "arrested on an unrelated charge" situations
    25AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:29
    Xhaka, Dzeko, Jota, that whole crowd
    29AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:35
    Re: #25
    Switzerland, Bosnia, Portugal, and so on~
    26AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:29
    If only he had Djokovic-level mental strength
    27AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:30
    I haven't gotten it either and I'm not dead, so the vaccine's not really necessary
    28AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:31
    I'm not anti-vax exactly, I'm just anti-reservation, so I never got it.
    Because of COVID my usual barber shop switched to appointment-only, so I stopped going — now I'm on year 5 of cutting my own hair
    31AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:36
    Any anti-vax soccer players besides Ronaldo and Xhaka?
    32AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:37
    What was the actual reason for shifting the paperwork by 3 days?
    Seems like he was distrustful of the vaccine, but the fact is he did get both doses
    34AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:45
    Can't they just let this one slide?
    35AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:46
    Xhaka's brilliance when playing for the national team is the real deal
    36AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:48
    I wonder if he couldn't have signed his player contract without the certificate
    38AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:52
    Anti-vaxxers don't want to admit it, but it's a fact the vaccine is what brought the pandemic to an end
    40AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:53
    Embolo with the sex crime, Xhaka the anti-vaxxer, and Shaqiri fined for that political gesture back in the day —
    the Swiss national team sure has a colorful cast
    49AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:04
    Wait, Xhaka was anti-vax?
    That's kind of shocking
    50AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:06
    Wait, it's not that he never got the shot — he got it 3 days before what he declared??

    Is that even a crime?
    72AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:32
    Did Djokovic end up never getting the shot at all?
    73AnonymousSep 22, 2026 08:33
    Re: #72
    Guess he stuck to his principles

    Background and Key Points of This Story

    It’s worth noting that the investigation here isn’t about the rights or wrongs of vaccination itself, but suspected document forgery — falsifying the content of an official certificate. Xhaka is said to have actually received both doses, with only a 3-day discrepancy, but because Switzerland’s vaccination certificate system, introduced during the pandemic, was a requirement for travel and entry to venues, a false entry is treated as an issue affecting the credibility of the system itself. On the thread, questions about motive — “why did he need to shift the dates by a few days?” — got mixed together with a broader debate over vaccine policy itself, and the discussion often drifted from the actual substance of the case. It’s worth keeping these two threads separate when reading it.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5channel (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Soccer] Switzerland international MF Xhaka admits to forging COVID vaccine certificate… could face criminal prosecution if found guilty.”

  • “Bad News Coming for Xbox Soon” Sparks Speculation — 5ch: “PS Gets Sad News Like Every Day”

    Speculation spread across the Hardware/Industry (“Geha”) board after an overseas journalist posted that “bad news is coming soon for Xbox.” Some commenters guessed the news might actually be the 15-hour monthly cap on Xbox Cloud Gaming that Microsoft has already officially announced, while others voiced worries about the introduction of in-game ads. Meanwhile, plenty of replies flipped the topic onto the PS5 instead, saying “PS5 gets bad news like this literally every day” — a reaction many took as just the usual back-and-forth between the two camps.

    1AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:06
    Wonder what it could be.
    5AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:13
    So that means bad news is coming for PS?
    45AnonymousSep 22, 2026 03:24
    Re: #5
    Other way around.
    It's become an MS tradition to drop bad news of their own right on top whenever PS gets some.
    6AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:15
    The Japanese government is getting serious about content policy, so I think Xbox has no choice but to keep pulling out of consoles more and more.
    If MS doesn't withdraw from consoles, they'll probably slap sanctions on MS's core OS business instead.
    25AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:40
    Re: #6
    That'll just end with them throwing money at some random mobile game maker or anime, nothing more.
    7AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:16
    PS gets sad news like every single day. Xbox only gets it once in a while — still got a long way to go.
    9AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:23
    PS5 has so little good news going for it that even an unconfirmed rumor about possible bad news for Xbox counts as good news for PS5.
    10AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:23
    DLSS5 is amazing.

    Does PS6 even have AI?
    12AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:26
    Wouldn't it be hilarious if Microsoft dropped Kojima already.
    13AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:26
    Xbox pulls out of discs, gets dogpiled by the industry for it — and the whole thing ends in mutual annihilation.
    16AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:30
    Bad Xbox news always follows bad PS news — it's become such a running gag that rumors like this keep popping up 🤣🤣
    19AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:32
    Whenever things go bad for Sony, they start screaming ‘What about MS! What about Nintendo!’ — so yeah, that's basically what this is.
    20AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:34
    Here we go again, PlayStation's about to catch another boomerang lol (when your own dig comes back to hit you)
    27AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:42
    So that means bad news is coming for PS, huh.
    29AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:46
    Xbox is only just getting there? PS gets sad news every single day without even a warning.
    31AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:48
    Xbox already flopped this generation — what worse news could there possibly be left? 😠
    32AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:49
    Is there really any worse news than the world's own Kojima running for the exit?
    35AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:51
    A rumor that bad news is coming… I don't even know how I'm supposed to react to that…
    36AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:52
    I see, so bad news is coming for PS.
    38AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:53
    If someone told me ‘there's bad news for Sony,’ honestly I wouldn't feel a thing.
    And yeah, that just means I'm completely numb to it by now.
    69AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:56
    Wasn't there a leak about the 15-hour monthly cloud cap? Isn't that probably it?
    70AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:57
    Re: #69
    What leak? The 15-hours-a-month thing is an official Microsoft announcement.
    76AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:09
    Re: #70
    It barely made any noise, so I mistakenly thought it wasn't official, my bad lol.
    Depending on the price, this basically kills off the whole ‘play via cloud only, no Xbox or PC needed’ style of gaming.
    83AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:27
    Re: #76
    In the end subscribers just never grew and the running costs kept piling up, I bet.
    Right when he took the job he dropped all the ‘Xbox’ branding and I thought, wow, this guy's really committed to hardware — but if he was just racking up losses the whole time, well, that explains it.
    85AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:49
    Whaaat—
    87AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:56
    Re: #85
    Was there ever a disclaimer like ‘*Selects the game’ back in the day?
    90AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:05
    Even if they say ‘ads inside the game,’ it's going to look unnatural no matter how they pull it off.
    I'd honestly be happy if, say, random convenience stores in Forza Horizon 6 turned into real 7-Elevens or Lawsons and you could check their current promo by getting close — but at that point it's not really an ad, it's a collab.
    93AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:18
    Re: #90
    The ads in Microsoft's own Solitaire Collection are annoying, plain and simple.
    They chop the game up and force-feed you ads in between.
    94AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:22
    Re: #93
    I'm on Ultimate so I don't get ads — wouldn't know, sorry.
    102AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:48
    Re: #93
    Chopping the game up like that is annoying lol.
    Then again, throwing up ads on startup or resume wouldn't play well with Quick Resume either — it's a tough spot.
    96AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:26
    Re: #1
    ‘Even worse’… like Xbox is somehow already in dire straits or something.
    Just look at the Geha board, look at it.
    106AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:59
    Re: #96
    On the Geha board, Xbox is the winning console, after all. Everybody's got one.

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    The claim that “bad news is coming for Xbox” originated from a post by an overseas journalist, and no concrete details had been confirmed as of this writing. The leading candidate raised in the thread was the 15-hour monthly cap on Xbox Cloud Gaming that Microsoft has already officially announced — a sign that subscriber growth has stalled and that the cloud-only business model is running into trouble. In-game advertising also came up as a topic, but this has already been rolled out in some free titles like the Solitaire Collection, and there’s no confirmation it will expand to flagship titles — it remains speculation for now. Reactions split between those who saw the rumor as a real sign of business trouble and those who wrote it off as just another round of the usual back-and-forth, including the reflexive pivot to bashing the PS5.

    *This article was compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Hardware/Industry, or “Geha”) thread “Journalist: ‘Bad news for Xbox is coming soon’.”

  • Men Pick the Instant Ramen With the Best Noodles — 5ch: “Better Than Some Restaurants”

    A survey conducted by Nlab (ITmedia) in cooperation with the polling site “Voice Note,” asking men nationwide “Which instant ramen series has the best noodles?”, became a hot topic on 5ch’s News Speed+ board. According to the article, second place went to Sapporo Ichiban (Sanyo Foods). On 5ch, discussion centered on differing opinions about the texture of Ra-Oh’s noodles, whether Sapporo Ichiban counts as merely “safe” or as a “true classic,” and posters’ regional attachments to instant ramen like Umakatchan, food-stall ramen, and Marutai — with these differences in taste becoming the main point of debate.

    Nlab, with cooperation from the survey site “Voice Note,” conducted a survey of men nationwide on the theme “Which instant ramen series has the best noodles?”

    Which series did most men name as having “the best noodles”? Let’s take a look!

    ●No. 2: Sapporo Ichiban (Sanyo Foods)

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

    2AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:38
    Ra-Oh's noodles are slimy and gross
    98AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:00
    Re: #2
    Especially the tonkotsu flavor.
    The shoyu one's fine though
    196AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:16
    Re: #2
    Wouldn't go as far as saying it's bad, but I can say it's not the best
    8AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:41
    Umakatchan
    Marutai Ramen
    Nissin's Shio Ramen
    And that "old-fashioned Chinese-style soba" one, forgot the maker
    15AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:43
    Re: #8
    The old-fashioned Chinese-style soba one is Maruchan (Toyo Suisan).
    It's shoyu-only now… the miso version used to be so good
    31AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:46
    Re: #8
    Sorry! The old-fashioned miso version is still around!
    17AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:43
    Chicken Ramen, with the flavor soaked right into the noodles, is the best, obviously
    201AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:18
    Re: #17
    I never really liked Chicken Ramen, but lately my new thing is crushing it into quarters inside the unopened bag, then tossing a piece or two into a bowl as a snack when I'm a little hungry
    22AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:44
    Re: #1
    http://xxup.org/k8rUC.jpg
    http://xxup.org/ArpgK.jpg
    25AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:45
    Are there really ramen shops that bad? Even Japan's "worst ramen shop" made its name as a gimmick — the ramen itself was actually good.
    32AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:46
    Re: #25
    The cheap Chinese-style soba I once had at Kourakuen made me think instant noodles were actually better
    28AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:45
    The source is old media.
    The source is garbage, that's why it's causing arguments (´・ω・`)
    63AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:53
    Re: #28
    Wait, you think it's print media?
    30AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:46
    Charumera's tonkotsu got its noodles renewed, and it does a great job recreating fresh tonkotsu ramen noodles.
    Lately that's the only instant ramen I buy
    44AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:50
    Re: #30
    Huhh~~~~~
    34AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:47
    At the end of the day it's instant — nothing beats fresh noodles
    65AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:54
    Re: #34
    Instant ramen's gotten pricier too, so at that point cheap fresh noodles are the better deal
    35AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:47
    It's Chicken Ramen after all.
    One of a kind, standing alone at the top
    36AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:48
    Re: #35
    That one's more of a snack
    37AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:48
    If you want tonkotsu instant ramen from Kyushu, it's "Yatai Ramen" (food-stall ramen).
    Anyone who says Umakatchan is a poser
    205AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:18
    Re: #37
    Gotta be Maruchan's now-discontinued Bari Uma Tonkotsu Ramen
    39AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:48
    Chicken Ramen's actually not that good.
    Can't understand why it sells so well.
    70AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:55
    Re: #39
    Chicken Ramen's good though.
    Boiling water was such a hassle that
    I just started gnawing on it dry,
    and kept gnawing until it was gone
    40AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:48
    Haven't eaten instant ramen in like 20 years
    45AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:50
    Re: #40
    What do you even eat then?
    42AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:49
    Speaking of Ra-Oh
    55AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:52
    Sapporo Ichiban always comes up in these threads, but is it really that good?

    My impression is more like, "back in the Showa era people said even this was tasty"
    61AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:53
    Re: #55
    It tastes like the best of "safe and unremarkable"
    238AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:25
    Re: #55
    Re: #61
    Curry is Vermont.
    Ramen is Sapporo Ichiban.
    Butter is Snow Brand.
    Milk is Megmilk.
    Yakisoba is Maruchan.
    Beef, pork, and chicken are domestic.
    126AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:06
    The guys who always show up in threads like this:

    – The old man who "hasn't eaten it in 20 years"
    – The Marutai stick-ramen supremacist
    – The crazy person who brings up cup ramen even though it's a bagged-ramen thread
    137AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:07
    Re: #126
    Marutai stick ramen is great lol
    (*once in a while, anyway)
    167AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:11
    Re: #126
    Oh, so it's fine to bring up frozen ramen today!? (´・ω・`)
    133AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:07
    139AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:07
    Gotta be red miso ramen🍜
    203AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:18
    That certain ramen from ◯tai was awful — rubbery texture and a weirdly greasy smell. Though it was a 15-year-old one I dug out from the back of a drawer
    234AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:24
    Re: #203
    If you're forced to name a flaw with Marutai, that'd be it — good eye, I thought, until I saw it was aged 15 years lol
    215AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:20
    I can't forget the taste of Umaisho ramen I ate as a kid while the adults were drinking.
    Probably wouldn't taste that great if I had it now though.
    These days I'd go with Sapporo Ichiban Shio Ramen, I guess

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    This survey, conducted among men nationwide via “Voice Note,” is notable for framing the question narrowly around noodle quality — “which instant ramen series has the best noodles” — rather than overall popularity. Second place went to Sapporo Ichiban (Sanyo Foods), while the identity of the No. 1 pick is left to the original article. The thread split mainly over two points. First was the evaluation of Ra-Oh, with some calling its noodle texture “slimy” while others defended it. Second was how to place Sapporo Ichiban — some dismissed it as merely “safe” or “a Showa-era standard,” while others pointed to that very status as a sign of its steady, enduring support. On top of that, many posts expressed attachment to regional instant ramen brands like Umakatchan, Yatai Ramen, and Marutai, making for an interesting mismatch between the nationwide ranking and people’s personal, hometown loyalties. Note that this article is excerpted from a Nlab piece, so readers should check the original article for details on the No. 1 pick itself.

    *This article is compiled as an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (News Speed+) thread ““I consider it the king of instant ramen” — Men vote for the No. 1 “instant ramen series with the best noodles,” with one saying “I think it’s tastier than some restaurants”.”

  • Japan’s Tech Decline Goes Viral: 5ch Says ‘Working Is for Losers’ Has Become the Norm

    A service that once symbolized Japan’s technical prowess quietly shut down this past March without so much as a ripple of attention — that revelation, from a Daily Shincho article, sparked a lively debate on 5ch’s News Express+ board over “why Japan got overtaken by China and South Korea in cameras and smartphones.”

    In the thread, opinions varied widely: some blamed a labor culture where the spread of non-regular employment has entrenched a “working is for losers” mentality, others pointed to the neglect of STEM fields and underfunded universities, and still others questioned Japan’s shift toward a tourism-driven industrial structure. No single explanation won out. Posters also traded specific claims about China’s development system and technology transfer, and the discussion branched out into labor, education, and industrial policy.

    Daily Shincho, September 22

    Turn on the TV or glance at your phone, and all that greets you is one depressing headline after another. Looking at the sorry state of things, who wouldn’t be tempted to mutter, “things used to be better”? This piece takes a close look at the many faces of a “sinking Japan,” whose cracks have grown too numerous to hide.

    The smartphone, now more common in households than the television, has come to “rule” modern life. But did you know that behind the endless stream of new gadgets hitting the market, a service that once showcased Japan’s technical prowess to the entire world quietly closed its doors this past March?

    Source: dailyshincho.jp / Read the original article

    11AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:31
    With cheap labor costs, why not go back to being "the world's factory"?
    Except the Japanese just don't work anymore, period.
    26AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:32
    Re: #11
    Too little reward, too much criticism, too much exploitation — people are just exhausted.
    30AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:33
    Re: #11
    Ever since non-regular employment became widespread, the "working is for losers" mentality has really taken root in our labor culture.
    It's impressive how skilled Japanese people in their 40s have gotten at just bailing on jobs without notice (バックれ, "ghosting" an employer).
    200AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:48
    Re: #11
    Japan's labor costs are awkwardly in-between — too high.
    If you want to make cheap stuff, Vietnam or Cambodia are cheaper.
    Re: #38
    Re: #62
    They heavily favor STEM and heavily disfavor humanities,
    so everyone ends up aiming for STEM.
    Japan produces way too many useless humanities grads.
    17AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:31
    Re: #4
    They overtook us all at once in just the past 2-3 years.
    Having your own massive domestic market is a huge advantage.
    29AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:33
    Re: #17
    It's the sensors, you know?
    38AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:34
    Why not just take a page from China's playbook?
    I bet they're poaching top talent, both domestic and international, with big salaries.
    62AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:36
    Re: #38
    We already know how they do it.
    They've got a massive labor surplus, so they run engineers in three shifts around the clock for insane development speed.
    It's a brute-force move only China could pull off — not just Japan, nobody else in the world could do it lol
    72AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:37
    Re: #62
    Huh.
    Three shifts is wild.
    126AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:42
    Re: #62
    Also, Japan's excessive safety regulations hold back innovation.
    Self-driving cars are nearly practical in China and the US, but in Japan the police, legacy media, and accident victims' families immediately start crying "safety!" and nothing ever moves forward.
    59AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:36
    Industrial espionage, honeytraps, poaching engineers, technology transfer, politicians —
    if we'd taken these seriously, things might be a bit different.

    Although, how much can you really do against an opponent capable of stealing even the F-35's blueprints?
    73AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:38
    Re: #59
    They built the J-35 off the F-35's blueprints, but they couldn't replicate the crucial part — the engine — so it ended up with two small engines instead. Cracked me up lol
    78AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:38
    Re: #59
    It's the result of undervaluing engineers for too long.
    When the economy went bad, engineers were the first ones let go.
    These days, the people who got cut are working at the Japanese subsidiaries of foreign companies.
    83AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:39
    Re: #63
    You can say that now, but not for long.
    We'll be overtaken in the blink of an eye.
    94AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:40
    Re: #83
    If that happens, so be it, no?
    Why don't you just leave Japan already.
    144AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:43
    Re: #83
    We haven't been overtaken once in 20 years.
    So which country's going to do it, and when?
    Go ahead, use your psychic powers to predict the future.
    95AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:40
    Well, it's a country with an average age of 50 where no kids are being born.
    107AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:41
    Re: #95
    If we're going there, China and South Korea have it even worse.
    143AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:43
    Re: #107
    Japan has the highest aging rate in the world.
    170AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:45
    Re: #107
    It's not that bad lol
    100AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:41
    Re: #92
    Why not hurry up and do it, then?
    116AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:41
    Re: #100
    They're already doing it, big time.
    They've already started grabbing market share.
    Even Apple has started using Chinese-made memory chips.
    135AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:42
    Re: #116
    Why do you keep staying in Japan?
    Why don't you just go back where you came from?
    142AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:43
    Re: #135
    Reality's harsh, huh.
    111AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:41
    Smart people have stopped going into STEM fields
    and are all heading into medicine or finance instead.
    When a society doesn't have enough STEM talent, it falls hopelessly behind in commercializing cutting-edge tech.
    That's the real reason Japanese companies keep losing.
    166AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:45
    Re: #111
    On top of that, there's no money going into universities.
    Fund universities instead of making high school free.
    180AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:46
    Re: #166
    I mean, didn't (former PM) Abe say people shouldn't bother going to university?
    259AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:53
    Re: #166
    Just fund STEM — cut the humanities budget.
    136AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:42
    Slurping up public subsidies (公金チューチュー, slang for businesses that live off government subsidies) is the most profitable racket around.
    No wonder we ended up like this.
    139AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:43
    Re: #136
    This is a crime committed by a lazy Japanese government. In China, everyone involved would've been arrested.
    179AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:46
    Re: #136
    Subsidy-driven governance really isn't a good thing.
    162AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:44
    This is the result of Japan, as a nation, pursuing the business model of an industry-less developing country — like turning itself into a tourism-based economy.
    169AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:45
    Re: #162
    So France is a developing country now? lmaooooooooooo
    176AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:46
    Re: #162
    Also there's the skimming that comes from everything being concentrated in Tokyo — or rather, that's probably what sustains the Tokyo concentration in the first place.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The catalyst this time was a Daily Shincho article reporting that a service once seen as a symbol of Japan’s smartphone and camera technology had quietly shut down this past March. In the thread, opinions split over the single question of “why Japan got overtaken by China and South Korea.” Voices citing labor culture (e.g., the entrenchment of a “working is for losers” mindset amid rising non-regular employment), voices citing the neglect of STEM fields and underfunded universities, and voices citing a shift in industrial structure toward a tourism-based economy all appeared side by side, with no single answer prevailing. Specific anecdotes also came up, such as China’s “three-shift” development system and the J-35 fighter jet allegedly being built from leaked F-35 blueprints — but it should be noted these are unverified claims made within the thread, not facts drawn from confirmed reporting. There was also back-and-forth over international comparisons of aging rates and the merits of labor deregulation (the Takenaka reforms), though some replies containing pointed personal attacks on specific politicians or discriminatory language have been excluded from this article.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (News Express+) thread “‘Even Our Signature Cameras Have Been Overtaken by China…’ ‘Total Defeat to China and Korea in Smartphones’ — Why Has Japan Become a Has-Been?.”

  • Door-to-Door NHK Sales Visits Return: Outsourced Canvassing Scrapped in 2023 Is Back

    It has emerged in reporting on the 21st that NHK has resumed door-to-door sales visits carried out by outsourced companies — a practice it had scrapped back in 2023. The move comes against a backdrop of continued deficits since that year’s license fee cut, and NHK plans to pilot the program first in urban areas like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, with expansion to other regions under consideration. NHK says it will also address past criticism of unannounced visits by sending written notice in advance. On 5ch, reactions centered on whether the sales pitch commonly used in these visits — that a device can detect from outside whether a household owns a receiver — is even true, along with the legality of pretending not to be home or keeping doors locked, and regional differences in payment rates.

    It has emerged on the 21st, through reporting to NHK, that the broadcaster has resumed outsourcing door-to-door sales visits aimed at signing new viewers to receiver contracts. NHK had ended outsourced door-to-door sales in 2023, but with deficits continuing since that year’s license fee cut, it is now strengthening its sales operations in hopes of boosting license fee revenue.

    NHK explained that it “decided to expand face-to-face approaches on a trial basis.” Given that door-to-door sales have previously drawn criticism over sudden visits and how they were handled, NHK says it will send written notice in advance and proceed only with the resident’s understanding.

    According to those familiar with the matter, the resumption of outsourced visits will begin in urban areas such as Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, with expansion to other regions to be considered going forward. Compensation will reportedly be paid based on sales results, though at a lower rate than before the program was scrapped. Some within NHK reportedly doubt it can return to its former scale, so how far it spreads remains uncertain.

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

    8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:43
    > Strengthening the sales operation to boost license fee revenue.
    Wow, these guys have absolutely no clue what they're in for…
    56AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:57
    Re: #8
    Brazen as hell, like straight-up criminals lol
    9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:43
    This is gonna bring the Tachibana Circus back to life (Takashi Tachibana, the anti-NHK activist infamous for confronting collectors on camera)
    59AnonymousSep 22, 2026 01:13
    Re: #9
    He's been in custody for 10 months on defamation charges.
    17AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:49
    I don't even own a receiver, but the door-to-door guy still shows up saying 'oh, we can pick up a signal coming from here~'
    There's no such device that can tell which houses are receiving a TV broadcast from the outside — that's flat-out fraud.
    33AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:10
    Re: #17
    Of course it's fraud.
    It's technically impossible to begin with.
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:55
    Apparently 90% of people in the countryside have an NHK contract.
    Meanwhile in Tokyo not paying is basically the default.
    Guess that's another education-level gap, huh?
    28AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:06
    Re: #23
    Out in the countryside people treat NHK and the post office like they're the law.
    160AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:30
    Re: #23
    NHK license fee payment rate: highest is Akita at 96.5%, lowest is Okinawa at 46.3%… national average 76.9%, down slightly [Shokou-san★]
    https://asahi.5ch.io/test/read.cgi/newsplus/1782215031/
    First published in 2012
    29AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:07
    They run unverified — even fabricated — tabloid stories
    without any fact-checking,
    never issue a correction or apology,

    and now they're going to hire thugs to do door-to-door sales?
    That's basically organized crime.
    34AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:11
    Bring it on — I'm dead serious about not owning a TV.
    If they start lecturing me on my own property, I'm calling the cops.
    Pressuring someone into signing a contract can count as coercion, so I'll report every single NHK visitor who shows up.
    42AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:26
    NHK rang the bell at the run-down apartment I used to live in, and when I played dead, the guy actually tried turning the doorknob to check it was locked.
    Makes you wonder what would've happened if it hadn't been.
    44AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:30
    One came by last week.
    If they're not outsourcing anymore, does that mean it was an actual NHK employee?
    79AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:05
    These lunatics who think 'no contract = not paying.'
    And they keep coming back regularly, too.
    83AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:17
    Re: #79
    Seriously, this.
    'I don't have a receiver' — end of conversation.
    Nothing more to say.
    87AnonymousSep 22, 2026 02:53
    Playing dead is the best strategy.
    Engaging with them is just a waste of time.
    100AnonymousSep 22, 2026 03:31
    Re: #87
    Forget just playing dead — except for friends who've told me in advance, I never open the door for anyone, not even deliveries.
    Even if they yell 'I can hear you in there! Open up!' and pound on the door, I just leave it until they get tired and go away.
    There is zero obligation to open the door.

    We live in a world where even a regular person could get abducted or killed for opening up.
    Anyone who shows up when only kids are home is basically a criminal just for that alone.
    94AnonymousSep 22, 2026 03:19
    In an era rampant with 'yami baito' scam gigs (shady, often criminal part-time jobs recruited online), pulling this door-to-door stunt is just going to get you ignored.
    226AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:54
    Re: #94
    AI has already drafted a manual for handling NHK home visits.
    101AnonymousSep 22, 2026 03:33
    Just start by collecting from the foreigners living in Japan.
    111AnonymousSep 22, 2026 03:43
    Re: #101
    Even Japanese people barely watch TV anymore — you think foreigners are watching it?
    167AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:44
    Japanese people these days have gotten incredibly stingy — plenty don't want to pay the NHK fee, but almost nobody actually doesn't want to watch NHK.
    Even people who claim they never watch it will turn straight to NHK the moment there's a disaster or an election.
    170AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:53
    Re: #167
    I don't even have a TV, and online election live-streams are more than enough for me.
    174AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:00
    Re: #167
    Excuse me? I don't want to watch it.
    Don't need it.
    I don't even want a TV because of NHK.
    Just scramble the damn signal already.
    205AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:44
    Re: #1
    Apparently for apartment renters, they're planning legal action demanding personal info from property management companies, then forcibly collecting from everyone one by one.
    207AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:45
    Re: #205
    They can't even get past building security to reach the front door — how the hell are they gonna collect, genius lol
    213AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:50
    Re: #207
    It's not 'collection.'
    What are you even thinking?
    It's a contract, isn't it?

    To begin with, 'collection' is a word that only applies to forced seizure by public authority.
    That's not a term His Majesty NHK — supposedly built on voluntary contracts — is allowed to use.
    218AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:51
    Re: #207
    Are you an idiot? Even if you're not home when the complaint gets served, they can use public notice service, get a default judgment against you, and enforce it anyway.
    239AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:00
    They told me: 'No TV? Doesn't matter.
    If you own a smartphone, you're obligated to sign a contract.
    If you own a computer, you're obligated to sign a contract.
    If your car has a nav system, you're obligated to sign a contract.'
    What am I supposed to do with that?
    243AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:03
    Re: #239
    Call ALSOK." (a major Japanese private security firm)
    245AnonymousSep 22, 2026 07:04
    Re: #239
    Just tell them 'go ahead and sue me' — that's all you need.

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    NHK’s license fee revenue has been running at a deficit ever since the fee cut in 2023. The outsourced door-to-door sales program being revived now is the same one that was scrapped that same year, and this restart is limited to a trial in urban areas like Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya — whether it returns to its former scale remains uncertain. Opinions in the thread split mainly on two points. One was whether the sales pitch claiming there’s a device that can detect from outside whether a household has a receiver is even real — most commenters agreed it’s technically impossible. The other was how to handle these visits: several posts agreed that pretending not to be home or keeping the door locked is legally fine, and that there’s no obligation to respond to demands for a contract or payment. Meanwhile, claims about forcing disclosure of renters’ personal information or compelling payment through legal action are easy to misunderstand — worth remembering that the license fee is a voluntary contract, not a tax-like ‘collection.’ Regional gaps in payment rates (Akita at 96.5%, Okinawa at 46.3%, etc.) also came up, but that data is from a 2012 release, so it should be read with caution when drawing conclusions about regional character today.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News Plus) thread “[NHK] Door-to-Door Sales Visits Return: Outsourced Canvassing Scrapped in 2023 Is Back.”

  • ‘I Can’t Bear to Watch Uber Delivery Riders’ — Is Capitalism Cruel? 5ch Weighs In

    A thread on 5ch’s freewheeling “Nandemo Jikkyo G” (general live-chat) board asked whether capitalism is simply too cruel, after the original poster watched Uber Eats and other delivery riders pedaling around town on their bikes. The poster floated “mild capitalism” as an alternative, but replies quickly pushed back, citing the realities of communist states and the inequality baked into American society. The discussion spread to historical points about how humans have traded and divided labor since the hunter-gatherer era, and speculation about whether AI will widen or narrow the wealth gap going forward. Opinions on delivery work itself ended up split right down the middle.

    1AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:42
    Yeah, I'll admit that's rough to watch
    2AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:43
    So what would an ideal society even look like, then?
    5AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:45
    Re: #2
    Not sure, but something like 'mild capitalism,' I guess
    7AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:47
    The old misconception that communism makes life easier
    You just get hit with brutal quotas and exploited instead
    9AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:47
    Re: #7
    There's also a misconception that capitalism doesn't have quotas either
    10AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:48
    Maybe we don't feel that way about taxi drivers because we're used to seeing them napping peacefully in their cars
    22AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:53
    Re: #10
    True, taxis don't really trigger that feeling
    11AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:48
    Isn't delivery work mostly a side gig for most people doing it?
    49AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:12
    Re: #11
    Used to be
    Now it's people's main job
    13AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:49
    I don't really think it's pitiable — what happens to other people isn't my problem
    16AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:50
    Re: #13
    It is cruel though — your rank in life gets decided by money alone, and people with money never spare a thought for how hard the people below them are working
    17AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:51
    You get these clueless Japanese people who go to China
    saying, 'It's so convenient here, everything gets delivered to your door with just one smartphone'
    but they conveniently forget
    that it only works because of countless delivery workers
    18AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:52
    Re: #17
    You might want to choose your words more carefully
    20AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:52
    Still better than the old feudal system, though, right?
    82AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:41
    Re: #20
    Structurally, sure, I guess
    Back then everything you did was dictated for you
    And honestly, now is the golden age for the ruling class too — old-time royalty actually had to go to the battlefield, but today's elites start wars while keeping themselves safely out of harm's way
    24AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:53
    Just look at America, the most advanced capitalist society there is
    That's where capitalism ends up
    Of course Trump got elected — it was inevitable
    26AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:54
    Re: #24
    How is that any different?
    48AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:11
    Re: #24
    Still better than the Soviet Union or Cambodia, which actually tried to be communist
    27AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:55
    No need to treat them like some object of pity
    28AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:55
    Re: #27
    At least nobody's doing that job because they actually want to, right?
    29AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:56
    No matter how hard guys like us work, lifetime earnings top out at maybe 300 million yen (~$2M) if we're lucky
    And that's after pouring most of our lives into labor
    31AnonymousSep 22, 2026 05:58
    Re: #29
    300 million's plenty for me — how much do you want?
    If you want more than that, why not start a company like Maezawa or Son did? (famous Japanese entrepreneurs)
    35AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:00
    People really need to stop unconsciously looking down on blue-collar workers
    Once your basic humanity gets called into question, it's over for you
    36AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:02
    Re: #35
    Uh, I am blue-collar
    39AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:05
    Honestly, Japan is basically the ideal capitalist society
    It's kind to the weak, so prices stay low

    Though those low prices only work because workers' wages (labor costs) are kept down lol
    So basically Japan
    maintains a low-cost society by having everyone work for low pay
    which is exactly what lets old folks and people on welfare (namapo, slang for public assistance recipients) avoid ending up homeless
    41AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:07
    I did 'side-FIRE' and drive for Uber now (side-FIRE: retiring early while keeping some income on the side)
    Nobody bossing me around, working whenever I feel like it for as long as I want — that's a genuine luxury
    43AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:09
    Re: #41
    See, now you're even lying just to keep your self-esteem intact
    45AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:10
    Re: #41
    More like communism in a delivery box
    47AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:11
    Once AI surpasses humans in every field, an equally prosperous communism for everyone might not be such a pipe dream
    53AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:16
    Re: #47
    AI is a tool for rich people to use — workers are just going to lose their jobs
    I can only see a future where the poor become an even bigger class
    57AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:18
    Humans have been capitalist since the days of hunting and bartering — this is just the default state
    64AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:23
    Re: #57
    Were there people back then who got meat without hunting for it themselves?
    68AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:28
    Re: #64
    Sure there were
    Dividing up different jobs based on who's suited for what has been going on since the Yayoi period (roughly 300 BC–300 AD)
    75AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:35
    Re: #64
    There's confirmed evidence that trading-company-like middlemen existed as far back as Mesopotamia
    Something like, 'I'll tell you where the good hunting grounds are, so hand over a cut of what you catch in return'
    78AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:39
    Sure, capitalism has its cruel side, but I don't think Uber drivers specifically have it that bad
    Seems like it works fine as a way to earn money using your spare time
    81AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:40
    Re: #78
    But what if it were your own parent doing Uber?

    Dressed all shabby, riding some grimy bike
    92AnonymousSep 22, 2026 06:49
    Re: #78
    I use it sometimes, but it kind of makes me feel guilty

    Background and Key Points of the Debate

    The question of whether capitalism is “cruel” is a theme that keeps resurfacing on 5ch, but this time it was triggered by something close to home: food delivery work. What stood out in the thread was how sharply opinions split along the same axis — whether to view delivery work as “exploited, miserable labor” or as “flexible work that lets you set your own hours” — with people reading the very same job in completely opposite ways. Many defended capitalism by pointing to the failures of communist states (the Soviet Union, Cambodia, and so on), but this framing simplifies things down to “the only alternative to capitalism is a historical communist state,” and there was little discussion of reformist paths like the “mild capitalism” the original poster raised at the outset. Economically testable topics also came up, such as the ceiling on lifetime earnings and the relationship between prices and wages, but it’s worth noting that within the thread these were argued purely from personal impression rather than verified data.

    ※This article is compiled and summarized from the 5ch (Nandemo Jikkyo G) thread “Isn’t capitalism just too cruel? I can’t stand watching Uber riders on bikes.”

  • OpenAI Faces Projected $278 Billion Cumulative Deficit Through 2030, Leaked Documents Show

    A confidential presentation OpenAI showed to investors has revealed that the company expects a cumulative free cash flow (FCF) deficit of $278 billion (roughly ¥43.6 trillion) over the five years from 2026 through the end of 2030. On 5ch, the figures sparked discussion about the poor profitability of generative AI businesses, the electricity and water consumption tied to building data centers, and the differing revenue structures of rivals like Google, which has other income streams such as search and advertising.

    1AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:19
    LOL, this thing's already washed up (owakon, net slang for a has-been/done-for trend) 😅
    >A confidential presentation reveals that US-based OpenAI expects a cumulative free cash flow (FCF) deficit of $278 billion (roughly ¥43.6 trillion) over the five years from 2026 through the end of 2030
    2AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:20
    Can this even turn a profit?
    6AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:21
    Re: #2
    All AI runs at a loss — it needs astronomical, never-ending capital investment.
    44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:37
    Re: #6
    Yikes…
    This isn't even a scale a regular company can handle anymore.
    3AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:21
    There's no way to make money on generative AI alone
    Unlike a normal software business, the cost ratio never comes down
    I bet in a few years it'll just be a division of Microsoft
    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:21
    It's getting to the point where hiring actual humans is cheaper.
    8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:23
    Fall even slightly behind on development and you lose to the competition, so they have to keep pouring in enormous sums of money forever.
    9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:24
    Rough times for SoftBank
    Honestly, it was always crazy that we got to use an AI that answers anything for free in the first place
    15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:26
    Re: #9
    Apparently they've recently hired 30,000 middle-aged guys to answer questions by hand now
    10AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:24
    Just get Microsoft to foot the bill.
    11AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:25
    Sharp observation.
    And here's where it gets interesting.
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:25
    Seriously, just stop jacking up chip prices.
    14AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:26
    It's not just development costs — data centers are guzzling way too much water and electricity too
    AI will probably revolutionize the world, but the wall in front of it is way too high
    Maybe the public even being able to use it is just a temporary thing
    23AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:28
    Re: #14
    Just put all that revolutionary potential toward solving the energy problem instead.
    92AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:58
    Re: #14
    But if they can't show the public a return, they can't recoup the cost
    All they're really doing is using ordinary people worldwide as guinea pigs to cut down on hallucination rates
    16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:27
    If they actually want to recoup their money on generative AI, how much would they need to charge per month for ChatGPT?
    28AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:30
    AI is eventually going to go paid across the board — and current paid plans will get price hikes on top of that
    There's no other way this goes
    Being able to use AI for free at all is just abnormal
    43AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:37
    Re: #28
    Good riddance
    AI tacked onto everything is annoying — just hurry up and disappear already
    68AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:47
    Re: #28
    To avoid that, they need to update the architecture so it can match current performance with far less compute
    83AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:55
    Re: #28
    US AI companies tried to collude on pricing and Trump shut that down, and Chinese firms are chasing them by every means possible, so raising prices is going to be tough
    39AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:34
    They're basically lending money to buy GPUs with those same GPUs as collateral.
    53AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:42
    Re: #39
    If a Japanese company tried a scheme like that, the US would crush it instantly.
    45AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:38
    Of course free cash flow looks like that
    Isn't that value just shifting over into the equipment they invested in?
    63AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:44
    Re: #45
    Isn't the punchline going to be 'built all these data centers, and then nobody used the AI'?
    46AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:38
    Then why is Google able to roll AI into Search and YouTube, and even cut prices on its Gemini plans?
    67AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:47
    Re: #46
    Google already makes its money from ads and search, whereas OpenAI has no other way to earn
    Google's AI arm is probably still bleeding huge losses too
    They haven't disclosed it so we don't really know — there's no way it's profitable on its own, even if the company as a whole is
    60AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:43
    If Claude becomes the enterprise standard and Gemini the consumer standard, isn't ChatGPT in trouble?
    106AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:09
    Re: #60
    I think for businesses, the Gemini bundled into Google Workspace is going to end up with an overwhelming share
    69AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:48
    Re: #63
    So as a business, it only really counts as a loss once it reaches that point
    Which means calling today's investment spending a 'deficit' right now isn't really something to worry about
    70AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:49
    Re: #69
    The problem is they haven't figured out how to monetize it
    79AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:54
    Re: #74
    AI's upfront investment is on a whole different order of magnitude — honestly you'd need to pour in every dollar in the market and it still wouldn't be enough
    85AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:55
    Re: #79
    And that's exactly why Japan got left behind
    82AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:55
    'We'll slow down AI development.'
    'We can't build data centers.'

    Yeah, this is how you lose to China
    96AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:00
    Re: #82
    Don't you know Chinese AI has been using distillation?
    99AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:02
    Re: #96
    Everyone does distillation (training a smaller model on a bigger one's outputs) — even US companies do it to each other

    There's no way to stop it and it's not illegal, so pointing it out doesn't accomplish anything
    87AnonymousSep 21, 2026 17:56
    LLMs are burning through cash at a rate that dwarfs past tech giants
    102AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:06
    'The companies and investors went bust, but the data centers they built stuck around' feels like a totally plausible scenario
    That's basically what happened with 19th-century railroads — most of the companies blew up, but the tracks stayed
    103AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:07
    Re: #102
    What are you talking about, the trains are still running lol
    107AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:12
    The fact that AI is chewing through massive amounts of electricity and water
    Water especially is finite, so it's such a waste
    109AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:15
    Re: #107
    Can't they just use seawater?

    Background and Key Points of This Discussion

    The “$278 billion cumulative deficit” cited here is a free cash flow (FCF) figure, which differs from accounting net profit/loss. FCF tends to run negative while capital spending is front-loaded, and posters in the thread noted that “the money invested is just shifting into the value of the equipment.” At the same time, the thread voiced concern over profitability, since OpenAI lacks other revenue streams like search or advertising and has little room — unlike Google or Microsoft — to offset AI investment losses with profits from other businesses. The electricity and water consumption of data centers, along with rising semiconductor prices, were also discussed as structural cost pressures facing the AI industry as a whole.

    ※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanademo Jikkyo G) thread “OpenAI: ‘Sorry investors! We’re going to be in the red for 5 more years and need close to $300 billion in debt lol’“.

  • Yen Slides to Low-¥157 Range as US-Japan Rate Gap Refuses to Narrow

    In New York foreign exchange trading on Monday, the 21st, the yen fell to the low-157 range against the dollar. It had closed the previous Friday, the 18th, in the upper-156 range amid wariness over possible Bank of Japan currency intervention, but at the BOJ’s policy meeting that day, an additional rate hike was approved even though two of the nine board members voted against it, leading markets to scale back expectations of another hike anytime soon. Meanwhile, with views circulating that the US Federal Reserve may raise rates once more before year-end, traders bought back dollars on the assessment that the US-Japan interest rate gap won’t narrow. Reactions on 5ch were split — from frustration with the government’s and the BOJ’s handling of the situation, to skepticism that the rate gap alone explains the weak yen, to voices welcoming the resulting stock rally.

    [NEW YORK — Takeshi Kise, LONDON — Daisuke Ichikawa] In New York foreign exchange trading on Monday, the 21st, the yen was trading in the low-157 range against the dollar. In New York trading the previous Friday, the 18th, wariness about a possible yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention by the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan had spread, and the yen closed in the upper-156 range.

    According to market sources, the BOJ on the 18th conducted a “rate check” — contacting financial institutions to ask about exchange rate levels, a step normally taken as a precursor to intervention. Wariness about intervention remains strong in Monday’s market too, but the yen is being sold on the view that the US-Japan interest rate gap won’t narrow.

    The BOJ decided on an additional rate hike at its policy meeting on the 18th, but with two of its nine board members voting against the decision, markets scaled back expectations of an early further hike. Meanwhile, there is a view that the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will raise rates once more before the end of the year.

    Source: yomiuri.co.jp / Original article here

    10AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:09
    This is what happens without intervention.
    How much longer can they keep intervening, anyway?
    41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:23
    Re: #10
    It's the BOJ itself being slow to act.
    And Takaichi is making them even slower.
    15AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:11
    A pathetic rate hike.
    Whether there'll even be another one is unclear.
    Of course the yen's going to keep weakening.
    24AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:16
    Re: #15
    In the end the US-Japan rate gap is what moves the exchange rate the most.

    Since nobody knows whether the BOJ will keep hiking from here,
    it's reasonable to think the gap won't close.
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:15
    That rate check was pointless.
    29AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:18
    Re: #22
    Well, before the rate check the yen briefly touched the 158 range,
    so the rate check did push it back by about 2 yen.

    News article:

    "Yen falls, briefly hits 158 range — sold off despite BOJ rate hike, on 2 dissenting votes"
    Global Markets
    Sept 18, 2026, 12:27 PM (updated 6:56 PM) [Subscriber-only article]
    https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUB1809Y0Y6A910C2000000/
    33AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:20
    Re: #1
    No sense of judgment on the people who were shrieking "serves you right, investors!" just because it briefly touched 153 and they thought that meant a strong-yen trend.
    45AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:28
    Re: #33
    Back under PM Ishiba it was even in the 140 range at one point.
    53AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:31
    Re: #1
    Just sell off all the US Treasuries that are causing the weak yen and rising prices — problem solved.
    56AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:32
    Re: #53
    No way the Takaichi cabinet can do that when they just handed over 80 trillion yen (to the US).
    58AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:33
    The rate gap never closed, so heading to 160 is just the natural next step.
    63AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:39
    Re: #58
    Moving closer to US rate levels would be suicide.
    65AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:41
    A country that never figured out what graphics-card price swings were telling them.
    What a joke.
    113AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:10
    Re: #65
    iPhone prices — the US price only went up $100,
    but the yen price went up by about 80,000 yen.
    Surely people had figured it out by then?
    69AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:43
    If dollar-yen keeps crashing, per-capita GDP could fall below $30,000.
    83AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:48
    Re: #69
    It's just the rankings slipping — the actual suicide count is at an all-time low.
    In real life, QOL (quality of life) is higher now than back when it was 80 yen to the dollar.
    Watching Americans work two jobs just to get by despite high salaries reminds me of Japan's strong-yen era, when unpaid overtime was the norm and people worked every waking hour.
    72AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:44
    Nikkei futures are surging.

    Can't wait to see how much my holdings jump when trading resumes after the holiday 😊


    Thank you, PM Takaichi 😊
    77AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:46
    Once industry goes down the drain, people like Re: #72 come crawling out 🤣 (noting that down)
    73AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:45
    The yen — trash that's somehow below the trash dollar lolololololololol
    80AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:47
    The policy rate would need to be around 5% for the yen to actually strengthen.
    Though that would be the end of the Japanese economy.
    84AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:48
    Re: #80
    And then people show up insisting something that's already finished isn't finished 🤣 (noting that down)
    85AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:48
    Re: #77
    "Naphtha shortage will wreck Japan! Stocks will crash!"
    "Rate hikes will crash stocks! A Truss-style shock!"


    The old guys on 5ch keep wishing for disaster and being dead wrong every single time, lol.
    86AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:49
    Re: #85
    Idiot, I've been onto this the whole time.
    You couldn't get back up in the meantime, so just give up 🤣🤣
    94AnonymousSep 21, 2026 23:56
    The rate gap is just a convenient excuse.
    Turkey's policy rate is 37%, and its currency is still garbage.
    Switzerland's rate is 0%, yet the franc has been stronger than the dollar for years now.
    Just admit Japan has become a declining nation already.
    This isn't about interest rates — the yen simply has no value. None.
    97AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:00
    Re: #94
    Nice one! You actually get it, don't you ^q^
    102AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:03
    Blaming Japan for the weak yen in the first place is misguided.
    US rates are staying elevated because of the Iran war that America started.
    105AnonymousSep 22, 2026 00:04
    Re: #102
    A currency's value is a nation's value.

    Background and Key Points

    The Bank of Japan decided on an additional rate hike at its September 18 policy meeting, but with two of its nine board members voting against it, markets grew more convinced that another hike isn’t coming anytime soon. Meanwhile, expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise rates once more before year-end led traders to buy back dollars on the view that the US-Japan interest rate gap won’t easily narrow. The previous Friday, the BOJ had conducted a “rate check” — asking financial institutions about exchange rate levels — which isn’t intervention itself but a practical step normally taken ahead of one; markets still read it as a warning sign. In the thread, some questioned whether the rate gap alone explains things, pointing to the weak Turkish lira despite its high policy rate and the resilient Swiss franc despite a zero rate as evidence that “a currency’s value comes down to national strength.” The yen was still in the 140 range at points during the Ishiba administration, which is part of why shifts in its level get tied so readily to opinions of whoever is in power.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5channel (News Express+) thread “[FX] Yen in low-157 range against the dollar… dollar buybacks on view that US-Japan rate gap won’t narrow“.

  • 26% of Correspondence High School Graduates Have No Set Career Path — 5ch: “If You Can’t Even Make It to High School, I Doubt You Can Make It to a Job”

    A new report highlights a growing gap: as correspondence high schools (tsūshin-sei kōkō, part-time/distance-learning schools) rapidly absorb more students with a history of school refusal (futōkō), career-support systems at these schools haven’t kept pace. Even though the job-offer ratio for high school graduates remains a seller’s-market 3.6-to-1, a full 26% — one in four — correspondence high school graduates reportedly finish school with no set career path. On 5ch’s Breaking News+ board (ニュース速報+, one of the site’s main current-events forums), the thread split between harsh skepticism over whether correspondence-school students can hold their own in the workplace, and pushback arguing that plenty of people with a history of school refusal go on to become perfectly capable working adults. Some commenters also pointed the finger at the private-school subsidy system itself, suggesting it’s fueling an oversupply of correspondence high schools.

    Hiring screenings for high school graduates, which began on the 16th, continue to reflect a seller’s market with a job-offer ratio of 3.6-to-1. Correspondence high schools, meanwhile, see one in four students graduate with no set career path. Even as enrollment surges — driven largely by students with a history of school refusal — many of these schools still lack the know-how to provide adequate career guidance.

    In mid-September, at the Tokyo campus of Shiseikan Koto Gakuin (in Meguro, Tokyo), a staff member from Jinjibu — a company specializing in job-hunting support for high schoolers — gave a lecture on interview preparation.

    The school operates as a “sa[tellite campus]…” affiliated with the correspondence-based Kashima Gakuen High School (Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture)…

    Source: nikkei.com / Original article here

    2AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:08
    I mean, that's assuming university is the goal in the first place…
    4AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:09
    Re: #2
    Right, probably just there for the equivalency exam (daiken, a GED-style diploma).
    9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:10
    Re: #2
    You'd hope they'd at least finish a vocational school on top of it.
    5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:10
    What kind of workplace can a correspondence-school kid actually hold down?
    117AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:05
    Re: #5
    A mail-order company, maybe?
    Re: #14
    Ugh, a third-tier private university ('wataku' — slang for a no-name private school) though…
    7AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:10
    Companies don't want this kind of hire anyway.
    16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:12
    Re: #7
    Why would you say something that harsh?
    12AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:11
    Even the full-time public high school I went to in Tokyo had weak career guidance.
    44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:21
    Re: #12
    Yeah, unless you're at a commercial or technical high school that actually gets job listings sent to it, guidance is probably half-assed everywhere.
    Besides, if you're in high school, you should be figuring it out yourself anyway.
    14AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:12
    They go to some bottom-tier ('F-rank') university, get buried under student loan payments,
    and the ones who actually profit are retired bureaucrats landing cushy post-retirement jobs and loan companies.
    22AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:14
    My daughter stopped going to school in middle school because of some kind of orthostatic dysregulation disorder, so we reluctantly enrolled her in a correspondence high school where she only had to show up twice a week.
    As she got older her symptoms improved and getting good grades turned out to be a breeze — she got to pick basically any university she wanted through the designated-school recommendation system lol.
    Felt almost like cheating, it was that easy. She could pick whatever school was on the list lol.
    She actually could've gone somewhere fairly well-known, but she said she didn't want to spend that much time commuting,
    so she ended up at a decent-enough school near home instead lol.
    164AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:19
    Re: #22
    By 'well-known university' you mean something like Higashi-Osaka U, right? [a jab implying it just sounds like a mashup of Tokyo University/'Todai' and Osaka University/'Handai']
    50AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:22
    A society that's become more accommodating toward school refusal is fueling the growth of correspondence high schools chasing subsidy money.
    65AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:28
    Re: #50
    Prefectural correspondence high schools got phased out and converted into credit-based schools, and yet private 'wide-area' correspondence high schools have exploded in number.
    Both correspondence high schools and correspondence universities get more private-school subsidy funding for every student enrolled, so you end up with a flood of excessive advertising.
    The online astroturfing is pretty intense too.
    67AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:28
    Re: #16
    Well, it's the internet — you're allowed to say what you actually think here, no?
    69AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:31
    Re: #67
    Honestly, telling people the hard truth is the kinder move.
    68AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:29
    On the matter of: if you can't manage to attend high school, I don't see how you'd manage to show up for a company job.
    72AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:34
    Re: #68
    That's mostly true, but surprisingly, plenty of people with a history of school refusal go on to do just fine as working adults.
    And conversely, plenty of people who had zero trouble attending school fall apart once they actually start working.
    70AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:31
    Re: #7
    Correspondence universities are even worse, honestly — they can't handle in-person interaction at all.
    139AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:09
    Re: #70
    Isn't a correspondence university just something retirees do for fun after they retire?
    163AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:19
    Re: #139
    Back in the day, high-school-educated civil servants trying to climb the ladder used to use them.
    Now that there basically aren't any high-school-only civil servants left, they market it as 'lifelong learning' (scare quotes intended) to reel in people with a degree-envy complex.
    Wonder what'll happen to the Open University of Japan — the grand hall of parachute jobs for the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and NHK retirees.
    170AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:23
    Re: #139
    To get a nursing license.
    To get a teaching license.
    So a current Keio University student can slap an extra credential on their name.
    Because they just want the status of 'being a university student.'
    71AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:31
    You do at least get a high school diploma out of it, so you could go somewhere like Sanno Junior College [a well-known correspondence-friendly junior college],
    then transfer into another university's third year.
    73AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:34
    Re: #71
    The thing is — would someone proactive enough to pull that off even end up in correspondence school to begin with?
    75AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:35
    You'd be better off working while attending night school.
    78AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:38
    Re: #75
    If you can get into night school, honestly, better to go without working at all.
    77AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:38
    Isn't 'correspondence' supposed to be a study format for people who already have jobs?
    79AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:38
    Re: #77
    Isn't that night school (teiji-sei), not correspondence?
    80AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:39
    Re: #77
    Mostly it's kids with a history of school refusal, or people juggling some other vocational school on the side.
    102AnonymousSep 21, 2026 18:59
    Figure skating bronze medalist Ami Nakai reportedly went correspondence so she could focus on her sport, but that's the exception to the exception — most kids end up there simply because they can't function socially.
    If they can just manage to scrape by as a freelance part-timer (whether that's actually enough to live on, who knows), that should count as a win at this point.
    If they had enough social functioning to attend school at all, there's bound to be some under-enrolled high school nearby that would still take them these days.
    107AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:01
    Re: #102
    Most idols go correspondence these days too.
    111AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:04
    Re: #102
    Same with high school baseball —
    national sports-meet and Olympic development-squad athletes
    spend class hours training and don't have time to study.
    105AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:01
    Re: #78
    Back in the bubble era, I did the cram-school-by-day, high-school-at-night cycle,
    dropped out in year three, got my equivalency (daiken), and went straight to a national university.
    These days I'm on about 5 million yen a year, which is actually less than what part-time work paid back in the bubble.
    118AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:05
    Re: #105
    Wouldn't it have been more efficient to just get the equivalency through cram school alone?
    Was night school more like a backup plan?
    150AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:15
    Yuzuru Hanyu also went to a correspondence high school.
    You bottom-feeders couldn't beat him even standing on your heads.
    156AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:17
    Re: #150
    So what university did he go to then?
    178AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:26
    Re: #150
    Don't make stuff up — that was the sports program at Tohoku High School, a private school.
    Same school where Yu Darvish reportedly used to lay out a futon in the back of the classroom and sleep during class.
    Around that time, shogi's Sota Fujii probably got flooded with enrollment offers from correspondence high schools angling for a publicity boost.
    Smart, and he turned them down without hesitation — pretty cool.
    180AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:28
    So what about the other three-quarters —
    don't tell me it's correspondence university too.
    185AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:29
    Re: #180 N High School into ZEN University, probably [both are well-known internet-based schools run by the same group].
    198AnonymousSep 21, 2026 19:35
    Re: #180
    Probably, yeah…

    Background and Key Points of This Topic

    Correspondence high schools have grown rapidly in recent years as a safety net for students with a history of school refusal (futōkō). Because private schools receive subsidy funding tied to enrollment numbers, there’s a built-in incentive to advertise aggressively to pull in students, and commenters on the thread pointed to exactly that structural incentive. At the same time, the “3.6-to-1 job-offer ratio” cited as evidence of a seller’s market applies to high school graduates as a whole, not specifically to correspondence-school graduates — and neither the original article nor the thread clearly separates the two, so it’s unclear whether correspondence-school graduates are actually sharing in that same favorable market. Commenters also brought up cases like figure skater Ami Nakai, shogi player Sota Fujii, and figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, who chose correspondence schools to balance their sport or discipline with academics — but these are exceptional students who already had a clear path forward, a very different situation from the 26% who graduate with no set plans at all. Keeping that distinction between the exception and the average in mind is a useful frame for reading the article as a whole.

    *This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Breaking News+) thread “Correspondence High Schools’ Thin Career Support — Enrollment Surging, Yet 26% of Graduates Have No Set Path.”