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 play on Easter and "a good start" in Japanese — 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.