The Japanese and English-speaking sides of the Internet have rather different tastes in memes. While both come up with stuff that’s equally funny, to get the joke, you need to have at least some understanding of the language and cultural background of the other. However, “gen alpha memes,” or “brainrot memes” that have been rapidly emerging in recent years, seem to be able to cross all cultural boundaries – and are currently a hit in Japan too. Shogakukan, a major Japanese book and comic publisher, recently announced the results of this year’s survey regarding trending topics and buzzwords among grade schoolers, revealing that “Italian brainrot” was the most popular word among young girls this year.
As reported by Oricon, the survey was conducted by JS Research Institute (in charge of major shoujo manga publication Ciao and girls’ magazine Pucchigumi) and Corocoro Comic Research Institute (in charge of long-running shounen manga magazine Corocoro Comic). The two research entities examined the most popular buzzwords, favorite games, celebrities, hobbies, etc. among elementary school-aged girls and boys.
According to JS Research Institute, the most popular buzzword among readers of Pucchigumi in 2025 was Italian brainrot, followed by idol-themed rhythm game Himitsu no AiPri at second place. The hit character Labubu also found its way into the top 5 most popular buzzwords, landing in fifth place. While Ciao’s most popular buzzword ranking was dominated by words and expressions like yabai (crazy; sick), sore na (I know, right) and maji (for real), Corocoro Comic Research Institute reports that Italian brainrot also made its way into top 5 most popular buzzwords among boys at second place. The most popular buzzword among elementary school boys was Naruto dance, a TikTok dance meme. As Italian brainrot managed to score a high position among both girls and boys, Corocoro Comic Research Institute suggested recent trends show that “internet memes transcend gender.”
Much like in the West, Japan has also seen a surge of “brainrot memes” featuring AI-generated characters such as Tralalero Tralala, Ballerina Cappuccina and Tung Tung Tung Sahur. The most notable meme of this sort emerging from Japan is the song “I’m in love with Tung Tung Tung Sahur,” which garnered over 29 million views in 3 months on YouTube (and even more on other platforms) and initiated its own TikTok dance trend.
On a related note, looking at most popular games among elementary school-aged girls, first place was claimed by Animal Crossing: New Horizons, followed by Minecraft in second place and Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket in third. Splatoon 3 was ranked fourth, while Roblox was ranked number five. The games most of the boys had on their wish list this year included Donkey Kong Bananza, Mario Kart World, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Minecraft and Super Mario Party Jamboree.
Similarly, in this year’s TV survey which interviewed 3,000 Japanese people of all ages on their favorite video games, Minecraft was ranked number one on the extensive list of “100 best games among the Japanese.” The 2011 sandbox was also cited the most popular game among players in their teens. While Shougakukan’s research sample was of a slightly younger generation, it still isn’t surprising to see Minecraft maintaining its strong presence as (one of) the most well-received non-domestic titles in Japan.
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