"Life Rebuilding Gym" Introduces "Muscle Verification" for Membership Screening. Biceps for Identity Verification, Abs for Credit Assessment.

A gym inundated with people seeking to rebuild their lives has announced new membership criteria. Instead of ID cards, they scan bicep bulges, and instead of credit information, they scan abdominal definition to determine approval. "Past debts manifest in fat," the examiner coldly declares.

2025-08-21

Translations: JA

Muscle Arena

"Life Rebuilding Gym" Introduces "Muscle Verification" for Membership Screening. Biceps for Identity Verification, Abs for Credit Assessment.

The exclusive membership gym “Reborn Physique,” which attracts people wanting to rebuild their lives, has introduced a revolutionary new membership screening system this month that is sending quiet but certain shockwaves through society. Instead of ID cards, they 3D-scan bicep bulges, and instead of credit information, they scan abdominal definition, with AI determining approval or rejection. “Past debts manifest in fat” – this is what the examiner reportedly states without changing expression to membership applicants.

This system, which the gym has dubbed the “Muscle Credit System (MCS),” is extraordinarily innovative. First, at the biometric authentication gate installed at the entrance, applicants flex their biceps. High-resolution 3D scanners measure the volume, density, and hardness when flexed of the biceps. This completes identity verification as “proof of firm determination.” Next, they lift their shirts for an abdominal scan. AI instantly analyzes the clarity of the rectus abdominis outline and subcutaneous fat thickness to calculate their “self-management ability,” essentially their credit score.

“Modern society isn’t lenient enough to give opportunities for recovery to those who have accumulated debt called laziness in their sagging bellies.” Founder Go Kanemoto, who himself boasts 3% body fat, emphasizes this while holding a protein shaker. “We merely assist in building assets called the future with honest currency called sweat. This isn’t selection, it’s an aptitude test for the future.” These words have transcended the realm of fitness and reached a kind of philosophical domain.

This extremely avant-garde system immediately caused a social phenomenon. Long lines of people betting their life’s recovery while munching protein bars form daily in front of the gym. On social media, hashtags like “#MuscleVerification” and “#AbdominalBankruptcy” dominate trends. Those who pass the screening are praised as “Muscle Elite” and speak of their day’s training menu like war stories, while those who fail are branded as “Fat Debtors” and disappear dejectedly into convenience store chicken corners.

Expert opinions on this movement are sharply divided. Professor Yamagishi of Toto University (Contemporary Sociology) warns, “This is the dystopia at the end of personal responsibility doctrine. It’s the ultimate form of lookism that judges human value by appearance under the pretense that anyone can achieve it through effort.” Meanwhile, management consultant Mr. Hayamizu praises it as “an extremely rational and transparent credit model. A wonderful invention that objectively quantifies individual reliability, persistence, and self-management ability,” and the debate continues to heat up.

The government cannot sit idly by either. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Financial Services Agency have announced the establishment of an expert committee to develop “Ethical Guidelines for Social Selection Based on Physical Characteristics,” considering the impact this “muscle standard system” evaluation has on society. However, Mr. Kanemoto himself remains unfazed, stating, “We’re merely contributing to health promotion. There are no legal or ethical issues whatsoever.”

Will sweat become holy water that washes away past mistakes, or will it become a tattoo carving out a new class-divided society? A future where “pectoral interviews” are introduced in job hunting and “back muscle assessments” in real estate contracts may already be just beyond our abs.

Stakeholder Comments

Go Kanemoto (Founder): “Abs are a resume. You can’t write lies there.”
Screening AI: “Beep… Body fat percentage over 25%. Insufficient commitment to life. Rejected.”
Man who passed screening (32): “Now I’m a winner in life. Until yesterday, I was just a blob of fat.”
Woman who failed screening (28): “It’s over… All my credit information is written on my belly pooch…”
Mr. Biceps: “My bulge proves his existence. Is there any greater truth?”
Body Fat-kun: “Just because I exist doesn’t mean life is over. I’m an energy source, you know.”
Professor Yamagishi (Contemporary Sociology): “When society starts demanding muscle, where do intelligence and reason go? This is extremely concerning.”
Rival gym trainer: “We still accept seal stamps and residence certificates! Please come with peace of mind!”
Protein Shaker: “They say what’s inside matters, but in the end, the world judges by appearance (the container).”
Ministry of Health official: “We welcome improvements in public health, but we must also protect the human rights of unhealthy citizens… It’s very troubling.”

International Expressions

Haiku

In ab grooves deep / Tomorrow’s fate is decided / Summer sweat drops fall
Sweat is currency / Fat deposits are the debt / Under summer sky
Show your bicep flex / And thus your life game begins / Morning dew glistens
Rejection beeps sound / Belly fat trembles with fear / Autumn wind arrives
For second chances / Drinking protein in moonlight / Dreams of new muscle
Muscles have become / The new metric for class gaps / Society divides
Fat burns away now / Wishing past mistakes burn too / Summer heat rises
Before the scanner / Holding breath, sucking belly / Judgment awaits all
Life’s measuring stick / Has become the upper arm / Future uncertain
Muscles speak volumes / Eloquently of futures / Spring cherry blossoms

Kanji / Chinese Characters

人生再建希望者殺到身分証明上腕二頭筋信用情報腹筋割目判定過去負債脂肪顕現

Emoji

💪➡️📄✅ / 🍮➡️📄❌ / 🏢➡️🏋️➡️✨

Onomatopoeia

Whirrr, Click! Flex flex! Beep beep beep… Beep beep beep… Murmur murmur… Gulp… “Approved!” Yaaaaay! “Rejected…” Silence… Shuffle shuffle… Glug glug (sound of drinking protein)