Why This Topic Landed in Japan
The "fake Ichiran" story tapped a familiar reflex of criticizing China's imitation culture, sharpened by the comic image of a shop that vanished right after media showed up. Singapore's caning guidelines became an outlet for Japanese netizens frustrated with their own country's handling of bullying — many framed it as "Japan should learn from this," even as others pushed back on human-rights and male-only grounds.
Key Reaction Themes
- Exasperation at imitation culture — "Can't they survive without copying?" sarcasm toward the counterfeit shop.
- Laughing at the getaway — Amusement that the shop disappeared the moment reporters arrived.
- Support for harsh punishment vs. rights debate — Praise for caning as a deterrent, set against objections on human rights and the male-only rule.
What Japanese Netizens Are Saying
- "They left the whole shop behind? Were they abducted?"
- "Copy it and it's not even tasty — what were they trying to do?"
- "How very Chinese of them."
- "Can't they survive without copying? Can't they compete with something original?"
- "If China stopped copying, it wouldn't be China anymore."
- "Why not just open under your own name from the start? If it's good, customers come eventually."
- "Do they have no human rights?" (on Singapore's caning)
- "It says caning applies only to male students — so men have no human rights, apparently."
- "Caning sounds good. In Japan let's do paddlings."
- "Honestly it's more humane — tossing kids into juvenile prison, a garbage dump, never reforms them."
- "This is wonderful, I don't see any reason to oppose it."
- "In Japan the victim transfers schools and that's the 'amicable' resolution."
- "Japan, which can't even isolate the bully, is below this."
- "They should apply it to girls too."