About

Bringing Japanese Culture to X also known as Applying Japanese Culture refers to a TikTok meme trend where internet users jokingly show how they are incorporating Japanese culture in their countries. The "Applying Japanese Culture" trend appears to have started in the Philippines, where internet users posted videos mimicking stereotypical Japanese phrases and practices, like saying "Itadakimas!" before eating a meal. Many videos in the "Bringing Japanese Culture to X" trend take place in regional American cities like Boston and Baltimore, with teenage boys posting videos crossing the road and stopping midway to bow to a car as thanks for letting them pass. The audio clip incorporated into this trend features the song Sparkle by Radwimps, which also featured in the animated film Your Name. The trend is similar to memes that mock the fetishization of Japanese culture, like Thing, Japan.

Origin

One of the earliest "Applying Japanese Culture" videos on TikTok^[1] was posted by @lowessz0 on September 18th, 2025. The video showed two girls in the Philippines crossing a road and then pausing mid-way to bow to a car, thanking the driver for letting them pass. The post gathered over 5 million views and 600,000 likes in a month.

Spread

Other TikTokers began adopting the trend in October 2025, as seen in an October 3rd, 2025 post by TikToker^[2] @luvenis3, captioned, "POV: Applying Japanese culture to the U.S." The video gathered over 4 million views and 500,000 likes in two weeks.

On October 7th, 2025, TikToker^[3] @mazu_tsaki posted a video captioned, "Bringing Japanese culture to Boston," showing him and his friends crossing a road and stopping in the middle of the crosswalk to bow to a car. The post gathered over 6 million views and 1 million likes in ten days.

On October 8th, TikToker^[4] @yshunrae posted a video showing her and her school friends "applying Japanese culture" in their school cafeteria by pressing their palms together and yelling "Itadakimasu!" before eating their meal. The post gathered over 6 million plays and 1 million likes in a week.

On October 10th, 2025, TikToker^[5] @labububoys69 posted a video captioned, "Bringing Japanese culture to Ottawa," gathering over 2.9 million plays and 500,000 likes in a week.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References