Every year, a group in Japan rallies against the evils of Christmas. This year, however, “circumstances” led them to take a break from protesting the popular holiday.
Culturally, Japan has completely taken the Christ out of Christmas. The holiday here is geared towards couples, with Christmas Eve operating more as a glorified date night.
That doesn’t sit well with the group Kakuhidou (Full name: 革命的非モテ同盟; kakumeiteki hi-mote doumei, Revolutionary Alliance of the Unloveable). The group was founded in 2006 by Furuzawa Katsuhiro after he was rejected by a woman to whom he’d confessed his feelings.
Since then, Kakuhidou has railed against Japan’s major couples holidays. It regularly holds demonstrations in February to protest Valentine’s Day, March to rail against White Day, and December to oppose Christmas, calling for the celebrations to be “pulverized.”
The goal with the Christmas protests, the group has stated, is to “protest Japan’s romance capitalism Christmas culture.”
“The scorn and contempt shown to people disconnected from romance, or those without a romantic partner, during this period is clearly wrong,” the group’s third and current leader, Akimoto Takayuki, told Asahi Shimbun.
“I don’t care about being tarred and feathered if what we do helps people anxious about spending Christmas alone take a positive outlook.”
To say that Kakuhidou has never been wildly popular is an understatement. Its demonstration last year near Shibuya Station was attended by 10 people.
The group hasn’t updated its website since 2020. However, it maintains an account on X that keeps its 1,100 or so fans up to date.
This year, Kakuhidou let everyone know that, due to “various circumstances,” they hadn’t secured the permit required to hold the demonstration, forcing its cancellation.
In response, eight people expressed their profound disappointment.
Fortunately for them, Valentine’s Day is coming up fast.
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