About

Me in Japan is a catchphrase paired with images of gold people or characters in video caption memes and image macros used as the punchline of an internet joke, reading in full, "In Japan, they fix everything that's broken with gold / Me in Japan." The joke insists that its subject is broken, and so, when in Japan, they become gold. The Me in Japan meme is commonly associated with an image of Montgomery Swizzenbocher, showing a gold little boy standing in the rain. It went viral on TikTok in late 2025. However, the first Me in Japan meme was shared in early 2021.

Origin

On March 3rd, 2021, Memedroid^[1] user shaquille.oatmeal shared an image macro with a top caption reading, "In Japan broken objects are often repaired with gold. / Me in Japan:" labeling a gold male statue. Over four years, the post received a positive rating of 91% across 816 votes. It's currently the earliest discovered version of the Me in Japan meme.

The meme references "Kintsugi," which is the name of the Japanese art in which craftsmen repair broken pottery by mending broken or cracked areas with lacquer that's dusted or mixed with powdered gold, as well as silver or platinum.^[8]

Spread

On March 3rd, 2021, TikToker^[3] @creamycontent reposted the meme in a video, gaining over 30,300 likes in four years.

On March 7th, iFunny ^[2] user @dwizzy9904 reposted the meme, gaining over 27,500 smiles in four years.

Years later, on June 30th, 2025, TikToker^[4] @thewanderingb posted a video, using footage of a sunset with the caption, "In Japan, they repair broken objects with gold. It's called kintsugi. Maybe you're not broken. Maybe you're meant to be golden." Over six months, the video received over 19,600 likes.

On July 21st, TikToker^[5] @mrgoatman87 shared a video slideshow, starting with a photo of a Japanese bowl fixed with gold, captioned, "In Japan, broken things are usually repaired with gold," followed by an image of a golden anime character, captioned, "Me in Japan." The slideshow was set to an XXXTentacion song. Over five months, the video received over 125,600 likes.

On July 27th, 2025, TikToker^[6] @ceoeditedit shared a photo slideshow, following the same format as the abovementioned video, but instead showing a selfie of himself with a crudely added gold highlight. Over five months, the slideshow gained over 340,200 likes.

Sometime in September 2025, the since-deleted Instagram account associated with meme character Montgomery Swizzenbocher shared an iteration of the Me in Japan meme, evident in comment sections on TikTok^[7] from that month.

The comment section, including the abovementioned image, was for a video shared by TikToker^[7] @sixuhevann on September 27th, which showed Montgomery Swizzenbocher standing in the rain. Over three months, the video received over 20,300 likes.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References