News On Japan

Akihabara’s shady art salespeople surprisingly adhere to state of emergency guidelines

Apr 13 (soranews24.com) - Anyone whose ever strolled through Tokyo’s Akihabara district or comparable areas like Osaka’s Denden Town have likely encountered euliens (pronounced “eh-oo-lee-en“).

These are people who stand on the street and try to aggressively draw people into their “galleries” and purchase their very expensive new-agey airbrushed landscape paintings.

Their name is a portmanteau of e uri (“picture selling” in Japanese) because that’s what they do, and “alien” because the whole thing’s really weird. It’s similar to what’s called an “art student scam” in other parts of the world in that the pictures are said to be sold under the pretenses that the pictures are original works by student artists when really all that’s being sold are glorified posters.

Compared to other pushy street salespeople I always found them to be relatively innocuous. Still, I never understood how anyone could get successfully roped into such a purchase, but it must happen enough for these things to be perennial fixtures in the otaku marketplace landscape.

However, with a recent climb in the numbers of infected in Tokyo, a state of emergency has been declared with non-essential businesses being advised to suspend operations to the time being. This move has been criticized for its lack of assertiveness, leaving it up to individual companies to regulate themselves.

And while you might not expect it, the eulien have heeded the call too and began to take measures to help curb the spread on 7 April.

While it might look like the eulien store is completely open among the avenue of shuttered shops, there has been one significant change: no one is standing out front trying to shake people down. That might not seem like a lot but it’s a core component of the eulien business model. It’d be like if KFC stayed open but only sold Pepsi and gravy without any chicken.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

A passenger car was captured speeding across the frame from left to right by a security camera just moments before a fatal crash in Iida City, Nagano Prefecture, that claimed the lives of four vocational school students.

A fire broke out on the evening of April 25th on an electronic billboard attached to the Yodobashi Camera commercial complex in front of JR Osaka Station, prompting a large emergency response. No injuries were reported.

Organic fluorine compounds known as PFAS—suspected to be harmful to human health—have been detected at concentrations exceeding the national provisional target in rivers and groundwater at 242 sites across 22 prefectures, according to a government survey.

The Japanese government will begin issuing blue tickets for bicycle traffic violations in April 2026, with fines including 5,000 yen for ignoring stop signs and up to 12,000 yen for riding while using a smartphone.

A 26-year-old woman was arrested in the early hours of April 24th in Kasuya Town, Fukuoka Prefecture, on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. While admitting to the offense, she claimed, "I ate chocolate that contained alcohol."

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

After 77 years, Tokyo is set to return blue skies to Nihonbashi as the city buries its expressways underground and reimagines its historic heart.

The Emperor and Empress attended the Greenery Ceremony, an annual event honoring researchers who have made outstanding contributions in fields such as plant and forest conservation.

Nearly three months after a road collapse in Yashio City, Saitama Prefecture, authorities are preparing to resume the search for the missing truck driver as early as next week.

The Japanese government will begin issuing blue tickets for bicycle traffic violations in April 2026, with fines including 5,000 yen for ignoring stop signs and up to 12,000 yen for riding while using a smartphone.

A woman’s body discovered in a freezer at a residence in Nagahama, Shiga Prefecture, is now believed to have been concealed there for approximately four and a half years, police announced.

A 26-year-old woman was arrested in the early hours of April 24th in Kasuya Town, Fukuoka Prefecture, on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. While admitting to the offense, she claimed, "I ate chocolate that contained alcohol."

A man who was charged with committing an act of abuse against his young daughter and distributing a video of the incident through a private social media group admitted to the allegations during his first court appearance.

A monkey walking upright on two legs was spotted in a residential area of Tokyo on April 23rd, drawing attention as it crossed a street in the rain before entering a nearby field and munching on crops.