A 'too cute to be real' Taiwanese cheerleader trainee went viral in Japan, and the discussion turned to why so many young women in Taiwan chase cheerleading and influencer careers. With a university-entry rate above 90% and a weak idol industry, Japanese users saw echoes of their own credential grind.
A stock-tips YouTuber in his forties was stabbed and seriously wounded in Busan on July 13 by a man in his twenties, who was arrested for attempted murder; Korean media report the suspect had lost money following the YouTuber's stock recommendations. Japanese commenters split between blaming the attacker under the 'investing is at your own risk' principle and cold disdain for influencers who hype supposedly guaranteed stock picks, with some warning that Japan's own influencer-driven investing boom could produce similar trouble.