Culture
Pokémon Cards, Ohtani, and Japan's Quiet Shift on Western Culture
Three culture stories ran in parallel: Bloomberg framing Pokémon cards as a legitimate asset class, Ohtani's 0.82 ERA pulling him into Cy Young territory next to a viral Yamamoto prank, and a long historical thread arguing that Japan no longer worships Western culture unconditionally — it now selects only the 'authentic' parts.