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On October 9, Demon Kakka of the rock band Seikima-II appeared as a guest commentator on TOKYO MX’s “5-ji ni Muchu!” and spoke candidly about Japan’s credentialist society. The show featured a viral article in which a social-media influencer and University of Tokyo medical school graduate argued that “academic pedigree is nothing more than the result of a paper test taken at age 18, yet it’s used as a tool to look down on others.” When host and announcer Minoru Aoi asked whether Kakka had ever felt the pressure of Japan’s credentialism, he replied, “I can’t say I’ve really felt the pressure, but I do think I’ve benefited from it.” Kakka’s own background as a Waseda University graduate sparked a divided debate on 5ch over the reputation of his specific faculty, how tough admission was back then, and how views on academic credentials differ overseas.

Demon Kakka of the rock band Seikima-II appeared live as a guest commentator on the October 9 broadcast of TOKYO MX’s “5-ji ni Muchu!” (weekdays, 5 p.m.), where he let slip his honest feelings about his own academic background as a Waseda University graduate.

In that day’s “Daily BINKAN Ranking” segment, the show introduced an article noting the buzz around remarks from a University of Tokyo medical school graduate and influencer, who said: “To cut to the conclusion, academic credentials in Japan are nothing more than the sum of one’s test scores at age 18 — yet they end up being used as grounds for looking down on others.”

Tying this back to the article, host and announcer Minoru Aoi asked Demon Kakka, “Have you ever felt something like the pressure of a credential-based society?” Kakka answered, “I can’t say I’ve really felt that pressure, but I do think I’ve come out ahead because of it.”

Source: hochi.news / Read the original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Geisoku Speed+) thread “[TOKYO MX] Waseda Grad Demon Kakka Speaks Frankly About Japan’s Credential Society: “I Can’t Say I’ve Felt the Pressure, But I Do Think I’ve Come Out Ahead”.”

Around October 5th, a giant advertisement for the new “Gogo no Kocha” (Afternoon Tea) CM featuring Snow Man’s Meguro Ren appeared inside the ticket gates at the Hachiko exit of Shibuya Station, serving the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line and Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line. Fans rushed in to photograph it, and when one poster revealed on social media that they “told a big lie to get the gate staff to erase their entry record and let them out,” criticism spread that this amounted to illegal gate entry. On 5ch threads, discussion ranged from questioning why the poster bragged about it so proudly, to corrections over misunderstandings about IC card entry rules, to a broader debate about Meguro Ren’s standing as an actor and his future career direction.

10/9/2026

Around October 5th, a giant advertisement for the “Gogo no Kocha” (Afternoon Tea) CM featuring Snow Man’s Meguro Ren went up inside the ticket gates at Shibuya Station’s Hachiko exit (Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line / Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line), drawing crowds of fans.

The ad is for the newly released “Gogo no Kocha TEA LATTE with ESPRESSO / CREAM & MILK,” which hit shelves on October 6th, and features a photo of Meguro wearing a beret as the key visual.

Source: jprime.jp / Original article here

*This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Entertainment/Sports News+) thread “[Snow Man] Meguro Ren fans draw backlash for illegal station entry after “telling a big lie to get their entry record erased” to photograph giant station ad [Ailuropoda melanoleuca★]“.