Twitter's Rebrand Was Halted in Japan All Thanks to One Rock Band
Twitter's rebrand to X is facing a big roadblock in Japan.
It has been a wild week for social media gurus, that is for sure. If you have kept up with Twitter and its ongoing drama, things got interesting this week as Elon Musk announced yet another change to the site. The site Twitter has formally rebranded itself as X and rolled out a logo to match. Reception of the Twitter rebrand has been tumultuous at best, and over in Japan, one of the nation's biggest rock bands just halted the whole thing online.
So first, let's give some context. If you did not know, Japan has a vibrant music scene, and its rock music is revered by fans across the world. J-rock as it is called is a global force, and one of its most enduring groups is X Japan. The band has been around for ages and features rock legends like Yoshiki, so when you think of X Japan, you think of rock music.
The ridiculousness of entity formerly known as Twitter Japan now just using just "Japan" for its name because they cannot legally change the name to "X Japan" since "X Japan" is trademarked by the prominent Japanese rock band of the same name. pic.twitter.com/7bNDgNSOHh
— 箕島 綺譚(they/them) 💖 Support Black Trans Liberation (@MishimaKitan) July 26, 2023
Of course, that is now proving to be an issue for Twitter... or X rather. After all, The site is going by X in the United States, and it has rolled that change out to regions across the globe. There each country that has a dedicated Twitter page has changed its name to X ____, but it cannot do that in Japan due to copyright reasons.
Yes, that is right. X Japan is trademarked in Japan by the nation's biggest rock band. J-rock would not be what we know it without X Japan, and since Twitter announced its rebranding, members of X Japan have been vocal about the shift. Members of the ensemble have said they will push back against X Japan because used by Twitter now that it has changed its name. So far, the site has listened because Twitter Japan is now just called... Twitter.
There is no telling how this trademark beef will go forward in Japan, but it has certainly sparked all sorts of memes. Yoshiki is somewhat of a legend in the J-rock sphere, and he helped found X Japan with Toshi in 1982. After recording together on and off for decades, X Japan is still one of the highest-selling bands in all of Japan. And now, the group is using its fame to keep Twitter (or X) from infringing on its name.
What do you make of this latest round of Twitter drama? Let us know what you think in the comments below as well as on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!
