Latest from Japan

Morning Musume.’s Fukumura Seika, Sato Masaki, and Inaba Mio are each set to hold solo tours, sparking buzz on 5ch’s Hello! Project board that this could open up a one-person slot in the Hello! Project performer unit “M-line Special.” The trigger is timing: M-line Special’s spring tour traditionally kicks off in early March, and this year’s schedule overlaps with the solo tours. Thread posters pointed to the past precedent of Kudo Haruka performing with M-line Special while also doing solo activities, and speculation flew over who might step in next — Kudo herself, Jokoryo Moe (currently returning from studying abroad), or Hasegawa Emi (who has a CD release coming up) — with no consensus reached.

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Hello! Project) thread “Fukumura, Sato, and Inaba are holding solo tours, which opens up one slot in M-line Special.”

On the October 7 episode of TV Asahi’s talk show “After My Husband Falls Asleep,” Miki Fujimoto shared her personal approach to making “mom friends”: asking about their husbands’ jobs. When the remark was picked up by online news outlets, a thread on 5ch’s Entertainment & Sports News+ board split right down the middle, with some calling it “rude, basically the same as asking someone’s annual income,” and others saying “it’s just small talk, I don’t see the problem.” Male users chimed in with their own confession — “I’m the type who wouldn’t want to be asked about my job” — turning the thread into a broader debate about the gap between tatemae (social niceties) and honne (true feelings) in mom-friend relationships.

10/10 (Sat) 17:00

A remark Miki Fujimoto made on the October 7 episode of TV Asahi’s talk show “After My Husband Falls Asleep” is making big waves online.

The Mikity-style theory came out during a conversation about “making mom friends” with guest Rosa Kato. The moment it was picked up as online news, the comments section split cleanly down the middle, with users who appear to be women launching into a debate so heated it practically screamed “Objection! Objection! Objection!” (a nod to a famous catchphrase from a classic Japanese TV debate segment).

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

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment & Sports News+) thread “Miki Fujimoto’s take on ‘asking mom friends about their husbands’ jobs’ splits the internet: ‘It’s basically as rude as asking their income’ vs. ‘What’s wrong with it?’.”

Yasuda Dai Circus’s Kuro-chan appeared on an ABEMA program airing on the 9th and casually revealed that his savings amount to “¥130 million,” stunning his co-stars, who said “Why would you just say that so easily?” On the 5ch entertainment/sports news thread, opinions split between those saying the amount is modest given his decades of TV exposure and name recognition, and those praising him for saving without being a spendthrift. Some also pointed out that “savings” likely refers only to his bank account balance and may not include assets like stocks or mutual funds, while others worried that publicly naming a specific figure could make him a target for crime.

Yasuda Dai Circus’s Kuro-chan casually reveals his savings — co-stars stunned: “Why would you just say that so easily?”

Kuro-chan of the comedy trio Yasuda Dai Circus appeared live as MC on ABEMA’s “Tokimeki Fanfare SECOND” (Fridays 7pm) on the 9th, and revealed his current savings amount.

During the show, ABEMA announcer and host Kanna Fujita said, “At the end of every episode, we decide the MVP — whoever among today’s ‘Crew-chan’ (the newcomer talent cast) did the best. It’s decided by viewer votes.”

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

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Hayabusa+) thread “[Entertainment] Kuro-chan casually reveals his savings, “¥130 million” — co-stars stunned: “Why would you just say that so easily?”.”

During the live broadcast of TBS’s “All-Star Thanksgiving Festival ’26 Autumn,” gunshots suddenly rang out in the studio, kicking off a surprise segment: the popular “Detective Tsuda” corner from Wednesday Downtown. As host Kouji Imada called for someone to solve the case, a call came in from “Drum,” a character from the drama VIVANT, and a monitor lit up showing Masato Sakai as “Nogi” — who then nominated Tsuda, creating a two-layer crossover stunt. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports News+ board, reactions split roughly down the middle between “I want to see this as its own standalone show” and confusion along the lines of “the in-jokes went so far I couldn’t tell what show I was watching.” The thread also veered into discussing the historical standings of the festival’s famous quiz championship.

10/10 (Sat) 23:25

TBS’s “All-Star Thanksgiving Festival ’26 Autumn: 70th Broadcast Anniversary Special” aired on the 10th. During the show, “Detective Tsuda,” the popular recurring segment from Wednesday Downtown, kicked off.

Near the end of the broadcast, gunshots suddenly rang out in the studio and one of the festival’s assistants collapsed. As MC Kouji Imada called out to the cast, “Hold on, everyone! We’ve got to solve this! Is there anyone here who can solve this case?”, a call came in from “Drum” of VIVANT, and a monitor lit up showing Masato Sakai as “Nogi.” After hearing Drum out, Nogi said, “That sounds serious. Normally I’d rush over myself, but… is there anyone there who might be able to solve it?” before declaring, “Let’s leave it to Mr. Tsuda! Everyone, please back him up!”

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

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “‘All-Star Thanksgiving Festival’ Live Broadcast Shocker! ‘Detective Tsuda’ Kicks Off! VIVANT’s Masato Sakai Makes the Call — Drum Steps In as Partner.”