Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

After It Was Reported That a Small Town in Japan Needed More Ninjas, Hundreds Around the World Applied--Turns Out It Wasn't True

After It Was Reported That a Small Town in Japan Needed More Ninjas, Hundreds Around the World Applied--Turns Out It Wasn't True
Ninjas from Iga (L and 2nd R) pose with female ninjas from Tokyo's Musashi ninja clan (2nd L and R) during the Iga-Ueno Ninja Festival at the Ueno park in Iga city on December 8, 2013. Iga city in Mie prefecture, about 350-kilometre west of Tokyo, a birthplace of Iga-style ninjas, held the two-day-long festival to attract visitors to the city. AFP PHOTO / TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)

Fake news... for real.

Like many small cities in Japan, the city of Iga, in Mie Prefecture, is facing a serious depopulation problem. The city of 95,000 is shedding about 1,000 residents annually. Young people from Iga, like young people across the planet, are forsaking rural life in favor of city life.

In order to help combat this trend, Iga Mayor Sakae Okamoto is looking to Iga’s past. And what sets it apart from any number of cities in similar circumstances is that Iga’s history is awesome. Iga claims to be the birthplace of the ninja. It’s already home to one ninja museum, and the city is making moves to underscore its history. But a recent effort to promote its revitalization plan left Okamoto scrambling to set the record straight on some fake news.


When this story was covered by the NPR podcast Planet Money in mid-July, it attracted a lot of attention, in part because it suggested that Iga’s population had declined so far that it was suffering a ninja shortage.

"This job does have a lot to offer," Planet Money co-host Sally Herships explained. "First of all, the pay is quite competitive. Today, ninjas can earn anything from $23,000 to about $85,000 — which is a really solid salary, and in fact, a lot more than real ninjas used to earn in medieval Japan.”

In Japan, the ninja is more than a nameless, faceless karate master. A ninja (usually called shinobi in Japan) was an expert in Ninjutsu, a complex espionage system that dates back to 1180. Practitioners were skilled in unconventional warfare, traditional spy-craft, and 18 other skills, including horsemanship, pyrotechnics, and meteorology; skills taught at Iga’s historical ninja academy.

So it’s no surprise that once Planet Money’s story was released, it was picked up by lots of news websites. Naturally, Iga city hall was flooded with inquiries from prospective ninja students from more than a dozen countries.

But alas, Iga isn’t actually seeking additional ninjas, or even ninja performers. It’s focused on building a second ninja museum and building its tourism industry. With a second museum comes new jobs — both in the design and construction phases, and later in staffing the museum complex with Ninjutsu experts. And that’s a challenge because not only is the city’s population shrinking, but Japanese unemployment figures are very low — just 2.5% nationally.

"Iga didn't put out information about 'a lack of ninjas in Iga' or the 'annual income of ninjas', that is currently reported by some news sites on the Internet,” Okamoto said in a statement. "Please be careful about fake news.”

NPR said that the salary information came from staff at Iga’s existing ninja museum, Ninja Museum of Iga-ryu. It has issued a clarification and updated its story to better reflect Iga’s plans.

Meanwhile, Okamoto has received funding from the national government to move city hall in order to construct the second ninja museum, very close to the existing museum. City planners hope the new complex will better capitalize on Japan’s current tourist boom. After all, attracting more tourists means attracting more money, and more money in the local economy should draw more permanent residents to the city, creating new places and business for tourists (and locals) to enjoy.

More from News

Donald Trump; Superman (2025) poster
Joe Raedle/Getty Images; Warner Bros. Pictures

White House Blasted After Portraying Trump As Superman In Bonkers Poster Mock-up

The White House was mercilessly mocked online after it posted a revised poster for the latest Superman film that features President Donald Trump as the Man of Steel.

The latest big screen adaptation of the famed superhero comic, Superman, was directed by James Gunn and stars David Corenswet as the titular superhero, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. The film has received positive reviews and has already made an estimated $2.8 million from Tuesday previews for a total $21 million, including Thursday previews.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Charlie Kirk
Real America's Voice

MAGA Influencer Charlie Kirk Called Out After Blaming DEI For High Death Toll In Texas Flooding Disaster

Turning Point USA founder and MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk was harshly criticized after he claimed the death toll in the flash floods that have devastated central Texas "would not have been as high if it wasn't for DEI," ridiculously suggesting that principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion were responsible.

Kirk's comments are reflective of President Donald Trump’s broader push to dismantle federal programs focused on diversity and inclusion—part of what he pledged in his inaugural address would be a campaign to stop attempts to “socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.”

Keep ReadingShow less

People Reveal The Dark Secrets They Discovered About Someone After They Died

Sometimes you never know who someone is until they're gone.

Everyone has their secrets.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Jesse Watters; Hakeem Jeffries
Fox News; Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Jesse Watters Pathetically Tries To Burn Hakeem Jeffries With Bizarre 'Rule For Men' Rant

Fox News personality Jesse Watters was widely mocked after he criticized House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for having recently shared a photo of himself on Instagram that appeared to be digitally altered—with the bench he was leaning against noticeably warped around his hips.

You can see Jeffries' photo below.

Keep ReadingShow less
Snoop Dogg
Christopher Polk/Billboard via Getty Images

Snoop Dogg's Puppy Instagram Breaks Internet

Snoop Dogg introduced his fans to the newest little bow-wow in his household, a puppy named Baby Boy Broadus.

The adorable small tan French bulldog made his debut on the rapper’s Instagram account on June 28th, sporting a Louis Vuitton leash and chewing on his owner’s Death Row Jacket.

Keep ReadingShow less