This year was a roller coaster of ups and downs — mostly downs. (And it's not over, because the official disintegration of SMAP is yet to happen.) A lot of people made mistakes and bad decisions, and in the case of the embarrassing nonmove of the Tsukiji fish market, old sins were literally dug out of the ground.
It was, however, a year that saw progress in addressing some crucial problems plaguing Japanese society, like bullying in schools, overwork and overtime in the corporate world, the lack of child care facilities and how women are left with the raw end of the deal when it comes to infidelity. (I'm looking at you, Enon Kawatani and Becky.)
Here are some of the good, bad and the ugly of what various people said or shouted out loud in 2016.