Irasutoya demonstrates how free, high-quality design resources can embed themselves into everyday life. Yet, as artificial intelligence continues to threaten the livelihoods of artists and illustrators in Japan and beyond, there is growing concern about the impact of overreliance on free imagery that’s AI-generated or otherwise. Of course, if large corporations have the budget to support creative labour, they should continue to commission artists and illustrators. But unlike AI-generated imagery, Irasutoya functions as a public utility, serving non-commercial and low-budget sectors like education and healthcare while reducing reliance on professional designers for everyday visuals. The ubiquitousness of Irasutoya has resulted in its visual aesthetic coming to represent a kind of neutrality in Japanese public design, one that arises from deliberate choice rather than laziness or cost-cutting.

1. Be Grateful 2. Be Kind 3. Nothing Stays The Same Forever

You’ve talked about passing the baton in the loop of life. How do you want Hideo Kojima to be remembered when you pass it on? > I am not going to pass the baton to anyone. I will rather crush the baton… [Laughs.] I don’t need to give “Hideo Kojima” to anyone. If I pass the baton to my staff and tell them to make things the same way I do, the company will not succeed and will go out of business. What do you mean by that? > Every day, if I tweet something that I like, a director or an actor or a musician contacts me. They say, “I’m a creator because of your games.” But they didn’t receive the baton of Hideo Kojima. They received my small fire. They’re not copying me. They’re not trying to be me. They have this fire, and they light up their own. And they’ll probably give that to someone else. There were legendary comic book artists when I was a boy. I didn’t become a comic book artist – I was inspired by them, I was influenced.

It was one of the weirdest errors ever committed to film. It took me months to uncover how it all went wrong.

Still bothered by the US cultural idea that men can only be non-romantically intimate with one another in war-like or competitive circumstances. I'm pretty quiet about the fact I'm a transman usua...