A year ago, J-pop star Kyary Pamyu Pamyu released a song with lyrics and a promotional video that were as saccharine as a chocolate bunny. The song was titled ¡°Easta¡± ¡ª a play on Easter and ¡°a good start¡± in Japanese ¡ª and the video had dancing eggs, capybaras and fried-egg UFOs shooting laser beams.
While far from being one of her biggest hits, Kyary¡¯s 14th single charted at No. 15 and was billed as Japan¡¯s first Easter dance song. It was also tied in to an Easter sales campaign by retail giant Aeon. The tune may be entirely forgettable, but it signaled a renewed push to commoditize the Christian festival in Japan.
In Western countries, some Christians celebrate Easter with a church visit, a big lunch, and hunting or noshing on Easter eggs, either the decorated hard-boiled ones or the chocolate variety.
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