{"id":261752,"date":"2026-05-24T01:21:27","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:21:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tenbizt.com\/en\/news\/uncategorized\/2026\/05\/24\/real-parasites-in-pens-japans-bizarre-new-trend-is-going-viral\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T01:21:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T16:21:27","slug":"real-parasites-in-pens-japans-bizarre-new-trend-is-going-viral","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tenbizt.com\/en\/news\/food\/2026\/05\/24\/real-parasites-in-pens-japans-bizarre-new-trend-is-going-viral\/","title":{"rendered":"Real Parasites in Pens? Japan&#8217;s Bizarre New Trend is Going Viral"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Translation result.<\/p>\n<p>Japan\u2019s latest novelty trend \u2014 pens that contain real parasites \u2014 has unexpectedly become a hit.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>On the 8th, a video titled &#8220;A unique pen sold in Japan&#8221; began circulating across social media. The clip shows long, white worms wriggling inside the pen\u2019s clear chamber.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/image\/2026\/04\/CP-2023-0078\/image-c92d1be5-7745-48b6-8357-3449c54a9b3d.png\" width=\"576px\" alt=\"\u00a9Yahoo\" japan screenshot>\n<\/div>\n<p>A seafood company in Kochi Prefecture makes the pens by preserving anisakid (whale) parasites in alcohol or herb oil, then placing them inside the pen\u2019s decorative compartment. The pen sells at a roadside rest stop in Susaki City, Kochi, for about \u00a5950 (about 8,820 KRW; approximately $6.37).<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The maker says the idea came from social media \u2014 they tried it out, the response was strong, and they turned it into a product. The pens spread widely online, and listings on Yahoo! Japan\u2019s shopping site reached about \u00a52,200 (about 20,400 KRW; approximately $14.74), above the retail price, selling out within four days.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>Early batches reportedly used live parasites, but the company now says it uses only dead specimens. Still, controversy flared after a video surfaced showing a live worm surviving for five days inside a pen.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>The maker has said it plans to tweak prices and adjust the share of proceeds donated to charity.<\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"figure\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/image\/2026\/04\/CP-2023-0078\/image-0245f4f8-969a-42da-8452-7b8cf40aee71.gif\" width=\"600px\" alt=\"\u00a9Social\" media video>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Dailian Co., Ltd. Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span>[Video] Woman damages tree while trying to get a cherry-blossom photo<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Escaped wolf from Daejeon heads into the mountains; missing for three days<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Another interview with the accused in the late director Kim Chang-min case&#8230; follow-up video from \\&#8221;Karakula\\&#8221; coming soon<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>Jo Jae-bok accused of lacking basic manners \u2014 \\&#8221;this place is a kingdom of animals\\&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span>\u201cStop, brother\u201d \u2014 chilly stares from men in their 20s and 30s toward the \\&#8221;Young Forty\\&#8221;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A unique pen featuring live parasites is gaining popularity in Japan, created by a fishing company and sold for about 950 yen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/cdn-union.tenbizt.com\/contents\/crawler-dev\/thumbnail\/2026\/04\/CP-2023-0078\/thumb-18e99424-4918-409f-98ff-bd9ed4d94abf.jpg","footnotes":""},"categories":[278098],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-261752","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Real Parasites in Pens? Japan&#039;s Bizarre New Trend is Going Viral<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A unique pen featuring live parasites is gaining popularity in Japan, created by a fishing company and sold for about 950 yen.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tenbizt.com\/en\/news\/food\/2026\/05\/24\/real-parasites-in-pens-japans-bizarre-new-trend-is-going-viral\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"ko_KR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Real Parasites in Pens? 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