May 15, 2026 18:46:00

Headline news for May 15, 2026

McDonald's Japan launched the Happy Meal 'Chiikawa' at McDonald's restaurants nationwide on Friday, May 15, 2026. The toys feature the popular character 'Chiikawa' and other characters dressed as McDonald's crew members. The first wave of toys will be available from Friday, May 15 to Thursday, May 28, and the second wave from Friday, May 29 to Thursday, June 11.

News Release | McDonald's Official
https://www.mcdonalds.co.jp/company/news/2026/0508a/

To avoid overcrowding and hoarding, sales are restricted. On the first release date, May 15th, and the second release date, May 29th, only customers who present a 'Happy Meal Chiikawa Purchase Voucher' distributed through the official McDonald's app will be able to purchase the items. During this period, there will also be a limit of four items per person.

Incidentally, on the same day of the same month in the past, we published the following article.

It has been discovered that the wrinkles on your fingers that form when you get soaked in a bath or pool always follow the same pattern - GIGAZINE

NVIDIA is leading the way to make Japan a leading country in 'sovereign AI.' What exactly is sovereign AI, which NVIDIA is proposing as essential for Japan to become an AI-powered nation? - GIGAZINE

A gel that breaks down alcohol in the stomach has appeared, proving effective in preventing hangovers - GIGAZINE

'There are still many issues with iPadOS that Apple needs to fix,' a heavy iPad user lists the things he wants improved - GIGAZINE

A humorous video titled 'Kemono Friends 2: The Hell Theory' thoroughly examines the idea that 'Kemono Friends 2' was created with 'hell' as its motif - GIGAZINE

Jeans with dramatically ripped fabric at the back are trending - GIGAZINE

An AI created by training a GPT-4 with female influencers, which will act as your girlfriend for $1 per minute, earned approximately 10 million yen in one week - GIGAZINE

Why are scientists arguing that octopus farming should be stopped? - GIGAZINE

How to spot counterfeit magnetic cards such as bank cards and gift cards - GIGAZINE

HP releases update that causes printers to refuse to print if non-genuine ink is used, sparking outrage among users - GIGAZINE

Weeds that plague golf courses are found to pass on the 'memory of being mowed' to their offspring - GIGAZINE

◆ Ideas (notes, miscellaneous things)

Architects and related personnel will be taking the photos.
This is the emergency access point to the Hato Sablé headquarters that we were directed to.

Only people in the construction industry and fire departments would be happy about this lol pic.twitter.com/gho0CVHYAx
— Shunichi Kikuchi @marumori (@kiku5445) May 14, 2026

If that's too much trouble, just remember this: The more colors you put on the bags, the more people will be competing for the 'light and valuable parts' of the crude oil.

However, carbon black, the main component of black, is different. It is mainly produced by incompletely burning the heavy oil remaining after crude oil has been distilled at the refinery in a high-temperature furnace. Although it is also petroleum-based, it uses the 'heavy leftovers' rather than lighter parts like naphtha. Even if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked, the damage will be relatively small. Furthermore, white is made from an ore called ilmenite, which is a different system from crude oil.

This is crucial.

The choice of 'black and white' is partly a design decision, but it's also a matter of chemical wisdom: to avoid as much as possible the parts of the crude oil barrel that are currently difficult to reach Japan, and to finish the bags using only the parts that are relatively easy to reach. To be precise, it's not that we don't use them at all, but it's a choice to avoid them as much as possible.

'Dad, please don't die.' A story about a man who, after hearing of a friend's death, decided to pass on his 'views on life and death' to his son... It's unclear how much of it got through, but his son listened silently until the end - Togetter

It looks as if it's always been there, but this is the bench from my shop that was stolen the other day. 'There's only one bus that comes here on Saturday nights, so why did it get stolen?' - Togetter

Chef Akari Hasegawa's 'extremely meticulous meal' of horse mackerel and cucumber, perfect for summer, is creating a buzz. 'Dishes that you can only encounter by making them yourself nourish the soul' → Praise from those who have already made it - Togetter

A foreign man who lived in Japan for 30 years and ran a curry restaurant for 18 years had his visa renewal denied due to stricter requirements. While there are stories that evoke sympathy, a calm and rational solution based on the facts is needed. - Togetter

I witnessed a father yelling at and hitting his elementary school-aged son at an electronics store. When I asked, 'Is something wrong?', the father became even more enraged. → How should I have handled this? - Togetter

Former executive of the All Japan Buraku Liberation Association arrested for extorting 1 million yen from a female owner of a men's spa → Group photo of the organization resembles 'Battles Without Honor and Humanity' - Togetter

I made eye contact with a huge dog while out for a walk, and it kept looking at me even after I passed it, so I was about to ask if I could pet it when I saw this: 'It knew I wanted to pet it' - Togetter

'I'm so broke I've set up a sign at home with bananas and tape that says '960 million yen' - Togetter'

There's a shop near Ikebukuro West Exit where you can buy kebabs for 300 yen. I asked them how they could make a living at such a low price, and they said, 'Our customer base has quadrupled, but we're still making ends meet.' - Togetter

Adult cavities are on the rise, with bacteria entering through gaps in treated fillings and causing recurrence. Cavities are decreasing among younger generations.

A friend who runs a day care service hired a woman who had only ever worked night jobs, and although he honestly wondered if she would be suitable, this is what happened - Togetter

Pharmacists are so skilled they can identify what medicine it is just by looking at it, isn't that amazing? 'Isn't it all Hi-Lemon?' → They actually got the correct answer left and right, they're like weirdos (in a good way) - Togetter

Police dog Pomeranian, looks like it's out for a walk even while 'investigating,' reveals its hidden talent [Miyazaki Prefecture]: Asahi Shimbun

◆IT & Gadgets (Internet, Software, Hardware, Mobile)
Hiroaki Takagi @ Home Diary - The proposed amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act has serious flaws, a repeat of the 2001 'media regulation' bill, and requires revision. Addendum (morning of the 15th): Even the concept of 'acquisition' itself is problematic...

Recently, as I mentioned in my last diary entry, I've been using a generation AI to analyze the structure of the proposed R8 amendment to the Personal Information Protection Act. However, completely unrelated to that, while casually glancing at the amended text, I noticed a serious problem in an unexpected place. I had been distracted by the complexity of the reinterpretation provisions and the overall structure, and overlooked the 'penalties,' which clearly have a serious flaw that will leave a lasting and serious problem unless corrected in the Diet.

The provision in question is the new Article 180 (newly established), which consists of the following articles:

[Vol.1] The definitive modern snapshot camera with diverse expressive capabilities that awakens your senses. Introducing the compact digital camera 'LUMIX L10'. | LUMIX Magazine

To put it in terms that LUMIX users will find easy to understand, the sensor and engine are the same as the G9PROII and GH7, the AF performance is the same as the S1II series, and the battery is also the same as the G9PROII and S1II series.

Studio Code Beta: Accelerate WordPress Development with AI

LINE and Yahoo! re-propose acquisition of Kakaku.com, raising price to compete with European fund - Nikkei

Adding just one line, `context: fork`, to a Skill makes the context in Claude Code much cleaner | DevelopersIO

Yasutaka Tsutsui: 'I'm still alive and I can keep writing,' 'When I think I'm out of ideas, more come to me'... AI novels are 'completely worthless': Yomiuri Shimbun

Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun report 'AI search infringes copyright,' US startup prepares to contest the claim at first hearing in district court - Nikkei

The first hearing in the lawsuit filed by Nikkei and Asahi Shimbun against Perplexity, a US startup providing a search service using AI (artificial intelligence), seeking damages, was held on the 14th at the Tokyo District Court. Nikkei and Asahi argue that Perplexity infringed their copyright by reproducing and using their articles without permission. Perplexity has indicated its intention to contest the case.

Data was lost after formatting an SD card without thinking carefully. 'They should have called it 'initialization'.' 'I should have Googled it, but it was too easy to do.' - Togetter

Someone on social media posted a quiz asking, 'Can you read my child's name, XX?' Nobody could read it, and the mom seemed pleased, but the child will have to repeat that exchange for the rest of their life - Togetter

A part-time employee at Matsuya used 'BeReal.' during work hours, resulting in company information being leaked onto social media... The employee who made the post is expected to face severe disciplinary action - Togetter

A media report by a University of Tokyo research group claiming that this technology could potentially allow data that previously took an hour to download to be processed in one second has drawn a flood of criticism - Togetter

'When I woke up this morning, 2 million yen was missing from my personal bank account.' A story about a PayPay account being illegally accessed and 2 million yen being used for fraudulent ticket purchases - Togetter

Things you should know before shouting 'Kyodo News is rubbish!' (with additional information) | kkasai

Three major banks to utilize Mythos, public-private partnership for risk management; system shutdown and modification also being considered - Nikkei

Cognitive biases surrounding indicators - kawasima

Why Zero Knowledge Proof is Necessary in the Age of AI Agents

America's cutting-edge AI 'Claude Mythos': High performance, but also risks of misuse. Japan begins discussions on countermeasures in a public-private working group | NHK News | Generative AI, Artificial Intelligence, IT, Internet, Cyberattacks

Rakuten Mobile Chairman Mikitani on roaming collaboration with KDDI: 'The most important thing is not to inconvenience users' - Keitai Watch

[Toyota's First Electric Motorcycle] Land Hopper Unveiled! The Land Cruiser Chief Engineer Shares the Development Secrets Behind Its Specialization for Off-Road Driving! - YouTube

Rakuten's Mikitani says he will 'consider it comprehensively and in the long term' regarding the increase in mobile phone charges - Keitai Watch

Controlling Concurrent Knowledge Updates with Temporal - LayerX Engineer Blog

Elon Musk, who attended the dinner at the US-China summit, sat alone and looked out of place. 'It was so much like us at a drinking party, it was really damaging,' 'So typical of a Twitter user...' - Togetter

Earnings Report: Kioxia's Net Profit Rises 48-fold to 869 billion yen for April-June, Driven by Expanding Memory Demand - Nikkei

'Japan's flagship LCD' faces a critical test: JDI's 12th consecutive year of losses casts doubt on its ability to maintain its listing: Asahi Shimbun

Cost Optimization Achieved by Migrating to Amazon ElastiCache for Valkey at ASKUL Corporation | Amazon Web Services Blog

What are IT engineers thinking about their future careers these days? ...I want to hear what different people have to say: 'What can I really do?', 'Maybe I should switch to a different job?' - Togetter

◆Anime, Games, and Manga (Subculture)
[THE Escape Highway] Stupid Game Exploration #67 Part 1 'Is the Tomei Expressway the End of the Century?' [Justice Side, sort of] - Nico Nico Douga

[OCTOPinbs] A werewolf game where you beat up an arsonist disguised as a firefighter [VOICEROID commentary/OCTOPinbs] - Nico Nico Douga

Regarding Game Center Arashi, the reason why fictional games that don't actually exist started appearing towards the end is similar to the reason for Xevious, where individual game worldviews are contradictory... | Answer by Mitsuru Sugaya | note Q&A

Regarding Game Center Arashi, towards the end, fictional games that didn't actually exist started appearing. Was this because, like with Xevious, they wanted to reflect the individual worldviews of other games as well? I think games like Galaga, Donkey Kong Jr., Pengo, and Mr. Do would have been fine (I would have loved to see Arashi playing those).

#OtakuHarmHistory [Beware of Misinformation] The origin of 'Usomatsu' comes from the story of a female otaku who liked Osomatsu-san and was exposed as lying about meeting a handsome man who resembled Osomatsu-san. It is not a word that was forcibly linked to Osomatsu-san in order to unilaterally label fujoshi and female otaku as liars - posfie

Announcement of Change in President - Studio Ghibli

Our President and CEO, Hiroyuki Fukuda, will be stepping down from his position at the conclusion of the General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for June 22nd. His successor as President and CEO will be Kenichi Yoda (General Specialist, Business Division, Content Strategy Headquarters, Nippon Television Network Corporation), who is currently a Director, effective June 22nd.
Hiroyuki Fukuda, who is also the President and Representative Director of Nippon Television Holdings, Inc., has concurrently served as the President and Representative Director of our company. During this time, the system in which the Nippon Television Group supports and backs up Studio Ghibli's various operations, and the efforts of both companies to cooperate in program production and event production have been strengthened, resulting in certain achievements in the business cooperation between Nippon Television and Studio Ghibli.
Furthermore, with Kenichi Yoda, who handles event businesses such as concerts, exhibitions, and stage performances at Nippon Television and is the main person in charge of Studio Ghibli at the company, taking on the role of President and CEO of our company, we will be able to explore various initiatives in collaboration at a level closer to the actual production. By combining the resources of both companies, we aim to create something new.
Furthermore, Hiroyuki Fukuda will continue to serve as a director, and there will be no other changes to the board of directors. Studio Ghibli intends to continue its various creative activities as before.

'yagoo,' also known as Tanigo, will directly oversee talent management, strengthening overall support for Hololive members - GAME Watch

[AnimeJapan 2026] KADOKAWA Booth Recording Video - YouTube

TV Anime 'Kuroiwa Medaka Doesn't Understand My Cuteness Season 2' Teaser PV - YouTube

'Mononoke: The Movie - Chapter 3: The Serpent God' Trailer | Nationwide Release on May 29th (Fri) - YouTube

TV Anime 'Reincarnation Petals' Character PV | [F. Nightingale] - YouTube

TV Anime 'Reincarnation Petals' Character PV | [Sinner Army] - YouTube

'Mobile Police Patlabor EZY' File 2 Official Trailer 60 seconds - YouTube

'Made in Abyss: The Movie - Part 1 - Dawn of the Journey' Revival Screening - YouTube

Virtual Boy Nintendo Classics Additional Titles [May 14, 2026] - YouTube

RoadOut Launch Trailer | PS5® - YouTube

'GRANBLUE FANTASY: Relink - Endless Ragnarok' | 2nd trailer 'Strength & Darkness' - YouTube

[Genshin Impact] Episode Nico 'Silent Golden Thread' - YouTube

'NITRO GEN OMEGA' Launch Trailer - YouTube

Fortnite x Overwatch Gameplay Trailer | Play Now (Part 3) - YouTube

'Arcade Archives Mr.Do!' now available! - YouTube

Blades of Fire Version 2.0 - Launch Trailer - YouTube

[Update Added] 'Oh no, this is a huge problem!' Regarding the legendary (and infamous) scene of 'The World's Most Skilled Assassin,' author Mayu Shinjo makes a shocking confession... 'It's a cultural loss' - Togetter

Major publisher KADOKAWA has announced an early retirement program for employees aged 45 and over with five or more years of service, sparking various reactions, including comments like, 'At 45 and over, they're from the job-hunting ice age generation.' - Togetter

Is creating a sense of 'self-discovery' the most important thing in knowledge-unlocking games? The human brain experiences intense pleasure when 'the dots connect'...Game designers share their theories - Togetter

◆Sports, Entertainment, Music, and Film (Entertainment)
'Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Glogoo' Special Animation 'Welcome Back, Star Wars' (with interview footage) | Narration: Hideaki Ito | Theatrical release on May 22nd (Fri)! - YouTube

Sega Sammy Baseball Club Announces End of Activities | News Release | Sega Sammy Holdings

During soccer coaching, when dividing into teams for a mini-game, one child said, 'Wow, this team is doomed.' The coach then said, 'Okay, let's change teams,' but the child wasn't placed on either team. - Togetter

Japan National Football Team's 26-man World Cup squad decided; Kaoru Mitoma and Takumi Minamino left out; Moriyasu's press conference [Details and video available] | NHK News | Japan National Football Team, 2026 Football World Cup, Soccer

YOASOBI, Fujii Kaze... Copyright Law Amendments: Overseas Hits That Changed the Tide: Asahi Shimbun

Former Carp player Ryutaro Hazuki, indicted for 'zombie cigarettes,' reveals at first trial: 'There were other Carp players around me who were using them.' | Hiroshima Toyo Carp | Chugoku Shimbun Digital

◆New products (clothing, food, shelter)
Rare fillet steak, in a luxurious size. 'Domestic Snow Country Raised Log Fillet Cutlet' now on sale | Matsunoya | Matsuya Foods