An annual anti-Christmas protest held by Japan’s Revolutionary Alliance of Unpopular Males did not materialise this yr because the group did not put of their paperwork.
The long-running protest group, whose slogan is “smash Christmas”, has marched on Tokyo’s streets each Christmas Eve for the final 17 years.
It describes itself as a “psychological safety net for unpopular people all over the world” and the title for its members in Japanese, “himote”, particularly refers to males who aren’t in style with ladies.
Christmas Eve is seen as one of the crucial romantic date nights of the yr in Japan however this yr, Tokyo’s streets have been a bit emptier.
The group posted on X earlier than the large day: “Concerning this yr’s Crush Christmas demonstration, as a result of varied circumstances our consultant was unable to go to hold out the appliance course of, and so the demonstration has been cancelled.
“We sincerely regret this, and deeply apologise to you, comrades.”
One follower replied saying he had been “looking forward to it again this year”.
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Final yr about 15 members of the group marched for half an hour close to Tokyo’s Shibuya Station.
Crushing Christmas is not the Alliance’s solely goal: Valentine’s Day, Halloween, White Day and classism additionally make it onto the record.
In Japan, White Day falls a month after Valentine’s Day and is a day when males give presents to the ladies who handled them on Valentine’s Day.
Halloween made it onto the record in 2016 after the group obtained “numerous petitions calling for the destruction of Halloween, which is becoming established as a new event for popular people in Japan”.
No costumes have been allowed on the Halloween smashing occasion.
The group was based in October 2006, after its secretary normal Furusawa Katsuhiro “returned home heartbroken after having confessed his feelings to a woman” and being rejected, in response to the Alliance’s web site.
“He came across a passage in the Communist Manifesto and had a sudden realisation: ‘Being unpopular is a class issue!'” says the web site.
He then based the “Revolutionary Unpopular Alliance”.
In the meanwhile, regardless of the paperwork issues over Christmas, the group’s different annual marches look to be going forward.
