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Village in Japan Claims to House the Tomb of Jesus Christ

September 29, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

In the wooded mountains of Aomori Prefecture, in northern Japan, a small village draws the curious with a story that is, to say the least, perplexing. In Shingo, two burial mounds are presented as the tomb of Jesus Christ and that of his brother Isukiri. A legend without historical basis, but one that the locals have nurtured for decades through a museum and an annual festival. Here, the mystery matters less than the tradition that has grown around it.

A Legend Born from Mysterious Manuscripts

Arriving in Shingo, nothing suggests that the village is linked to one of Christianity’s central figures. The landscapes are those of quiet rural Japan, between rice fields, farmhouses, and forests. Then a blue sign in English points toward the “Tomb of Christ,” the tomb of Christ.

According to local tradition, Jesus would not have died crucified in Jerusalem. After an initial stay in Japan, he would have returned to Judea before escaping crucifixion. His brother Isukiri would have taken his place on the cross, while Jesus embarked on a second voyage toward the archipelago. He would have settled in Shingo, where he supposedly lived to the age of 106, founded a family, and had three children.

This story rests on the “Takenouchi Documents”, manuscripts whose existence and authenticity are highly contested. They would have been found in 1935 by Kiyomaro Takenouchi, a religious leader who claimed to have identified the tomb of “Iesu Kirisuto”, the name given to Jesus Christ in Japan. The originals are said to have disappeared during World War II, leaving only copies.

The nearby museum presents reproductions of these documents and various items related to the legend. The museum director, Hidenobu Kadogishi, tells CNN that “the tomb of Christ himself has always been here, but nothing allowed a proper explanation”. In 1996, the village therefore created the museum to tell this story to visitors.

On the hillside, two mounds surrounded by small white fences are topped with large wooden crosses. One would be the burial site of Jesus, the other would hold his brother’s ear.

Nevertheless, no reliable historical evidence proves that these are the tombs of Jesus and Isukiri. Japanese professor Ryosuke Okamoto, a theologian and tourism expert at Hokkaido University, reminds CNN: “There is no reliable historical evidence that these are the tombs of Jesus and his brother.” He also notes that Isukiri does not appear anywhere in the Bible.

In Shingo, the Mystery Has Become a tradition

While the legend draws attention, it is not the core of a Christian religious practice. Each year, the village hosts Kirisuto Matsuri, or Christ Festival, on the first Sunday of June. Established in 1964, the event blends local traditions with homage to the two tombs.

The ceremony is led by a Shinto priest, who offers prayers and presents sacred branches called tamagushi. Artists then perform a shishimai, a traditional lion dance, before kimono-clad women interpret Nanyadoyara, a local folk dance around the burial mounds.

Visitors are invited to join the dance. This year, about 1,000 people participated in the festivities, a record for the event. Among them were locals from the region as well as foreign visitors drawn to this singular story.

For mayor Kazutomo Sato, the objective is not to determine whether Jesus actually lived in Shingo. “Don’t overthink it,” he tells CNN. By setting aside the question of truth, the tomb of Christ is here, and we pay homage to it. It’s our reality, and it’s something we have protected as a tradition handed down by our ancestors.”

Professor Ryosuke Okamoto likewise sees the legend’s survival as independent of its historical veracity. “The legend survives not because everyone believes it to be historically true. It survives because people value the place, the festival, and the connection they maintain with previous generations,” he told American media.

This story also contributes to giving Shingo, a village of about 2,000 residents, greater visibility, a situation familiar to many rural areas in Japan facing demographic decline. For Okamoto, the tomb mainly represents “visibility and a memorable story that allow a village to present itself to the outside world”.

Yet the site remains only a waypoint on the broader tour of the region. Nearby are the Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada, while the port city of Hachinohe is reachable in under three hours from Tokyo by high-speed train. In Shingo, the supposed tomb of Jesus thus remains less a Christian pilgrimage site than an extraordinary local story that over time has become a means for the village to safeguard its traditions and to make itself known to the wider world.

The Famous Italian ‘Sexy Priests’ Calendar May Not Be What It Claims to Be

July 24, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

The Calendario Romano is an unofficial calendar that features men from the Catholic clergy (priests, seminarians, or religious), often photographed in ecclesiastical attire in iconic locations of Rome. A true media phenomenon, it was quickly nicknamed the “calendar of the sexy priests of the Vatican.” It was created in 2003 by the Venetian photographer Piero Pazzi, who was then working on educational calendars for several cities, focusing on their most emblematic inhabitants such as the gondoliers for Venice and the priests for Rome.

Priced at around 8 to 10 euros and published for 24 years, it has become a cult keepsake among tourists thanks to its popularity on TikTok and Instagram, where the men featured have accumulated millions of views and hundreds of thousands of likes. It recently drew attention again after revelations from the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

The men of the calendar would not all be real priests

In a recent interview, Giovanni Galizia, one of the iconic figures of the Calendario Romano whose face has appeared for years on the covers of numerous editions, revealed that he had actually never been a priest. He explained that it was the photographer, a family friend, who asked him to pose in a cassock in front of a church in his hometown. Now 39 and a flight attendant for a Spanish airline, he was only 17 when he posed for the photo that became emblematic.

“It’s very funny when colleagues or friends come from Rome and tell me: ‘You have a familiar face. I start to tremble'”, he said before admitting that he had never received royalties from the calendar sales, but that it did not bother him because it was part of the initial agreement with the photographer. According to him, none of them could have foreseen the calendar’s success. As the calendar’s emblematic model, Giovanni Galizia naturally became the subject of many rumors, including one that claimed he was a priest who left the order for love.

But the reality would be quite different. “I have never frequented clerical circles. I am not a priest,” he revealed. Giovanni Galizia did not stop at his own case: he also claimed that almost none of the men appearing in the calendar were actually priests, some not even Italian. “The men photographed were mostly models and volunteers”, he noted, adding that some simply participated in religious processions when Pazzi’s lens captured them.

Despite the revelations, the calendar’s success does not waver

Despite the revelations, the calendar’s commercial success does not seem to have been affected. Indeed, sales remained high, as did the number of people convinced they were dealing with real priests. “People are fascinated”, said Maria Letizia D’Ilario, who has run a newsstand near Saint Peter’s Square since 2013. Over the years, tourists, but also priests, have come to buy her calendar. “People often ask me where to find priests as handsome as these. I tell them that if only I knew, I would go confess right away”, she joked.

The same sentiment from Monirul Haque, who has run a newsstand for 18 years. “Many tourists, both Italian and foreign, buy it as a joke. Mostly women, but also a few men,” he confides. He adds that he sells about 600 copies of Calendario Romano per year, but that sales fell in 2025. The reason? The arrival of a new religious calendar titled the “Calendario Gregoriano”. It replicates exactly the model of the “Calendario Romano” by offering an anonymous and seductive priest photographed for each month of the year in front of churches in Rome, Venice, and Florence.

Sunscreen Misinformation: False Claims Flood Social Media

June 23, 2026 by Amara Nambinga

As holiday season approaches, a study warns against the spread of misinformation about sunscreen on the social network TikTok. While the vast majority of videos encourage sun protection during a city stroll or a beach swim, a handful of contentions argue the opposite—that these products would be dangerous for health or unnecessary. If these posts are few, they provoke far more reactions from internet users than others. At times cautious, at times outraged, or, more seriously, tempted to drop these protections from their summer routine.

Nearly 1,000 videos published on the platform in 2024 about sunscreen were analyzed by a group of researchers, with the Washington Post taking up the story on Saturday, June 20. About 87% of them promoted it, nearly a third recalled the importance of applying it “a sufficient amount”, 42 videos were shared between recommendations and criticisms, and 16 videos prohibited its use. And it was precisely this last category of content that received “many more comments, likes and shares”, note the study’s authors.

False Advice, Real Lies

The most viral TikTok messages claim that sunscreens would be toxic, contain carcinogenic substances, or prevent enjoying the sun’s benefits. Others say it would be better to tan without protection or to use alternatives like beef tallow. “Deceptive and provocative ideas, for example that sunscreen is useless or harmful, incorporate elements of novelty, shock and conspiracy theories that provoke emotions and increase their viral potential”, notes the scientific report.

Fearing the proliferation of these “hoaxes”, health professionals insist in unison that they rest on no scientific basis and that prolonged exposure without protection, which absorbs or reflects ultraviolet rays, greatly increases the risk of skin cancer. In short, “you are harming yourself intentionally”, explains Adam Friedman, professor and head of the dermatology department at George Washington University, who did not participate in the study.

TikTok Calls on Moderators

Experts acknowledge that the sun helps the body produce vitamin D, but that does not justify giving up proper protection. Yet, “some audiences are very attracted to this type of information”, regrets Alessandro Marcon, a researcher at the Health Law Institute of the University of Alberta and co-author of the study.

For its part, TikTok reiterates that its policy bans health misinformation and says it is actively pursuing the implicated content to remove it. The challenge now is to better inform travelers and vacationers, as skin cancers continue to rise.