GalPOP! 📢 August 2026

Welcome back Gals and Gais - it's time for the August edition of GalPOP! - our monthly roundup of the best bits in gal news.

Here’s what we have for you this month.

Disclaimer: please note that all images and copyrights belong to their original owners. No copyright infringement intended.

1) The Japan Gyaru Association opens site to promote gyaru culture!

Credit: gyaruken

Marketing agency Cyberbuzz has teamed up with the Japan Gyaru Association to launch a website that aims to promote gyaru culture to tourists!

The Japan Gyaru Association, which is headed by Usatani Paisen, are doing their bit to bolster Japan's failing economy by utilising the soft power of gyaru. With the boom in y2k fashion and the nostalgia for the heisei gyaru era, the site aims to share places of interest, shopping spots, cultural events and beauty ideas which are of interest to people interested in the gyaru subculture.

There’s even a gal test you can take to prove your gal-ness! Even though the site is apparently aimed at tourists, it’s currently only in Japanese so if you want to prove your gal status, download Line messengers and get to grips with Google Translate to take part. We hope they release an English version soon!

2) Shimane Prefecture creates a Gal department to boost town in decline

Credit: PR Times

Gotsu city has created a new Gal department with the aim of revitalising the dwindling town in collaboration with gyaru marketing agency, CGO.

With Japan’s declining population, smaller towns and villages turn into ghost towns as young people move away to pursue career opportunities elsewhere, leaving an aging population behind. With this new project, Gotsu is utilising the power of the gal mind to bolster interest in the town by appealing to young people outside of it and improve connections within it.

CGO, which we spoke about in this entry, have descended upon Gotsu to help think up new ways to draw interest in the charm points of Gotsu, in a way that only gals can, with positivity, hierarchy-less communication and enthusiasm and their first project is to create a line of cute souvenirs aimed at young women!

CGO’s client list is extensive, working with some of Japan’s biggest corporations like Nissan, Suzuki, Fujitsu, JR, NEC and Suntory - with their fingers in so many pies we hope that in time we'll see the POWER of young women in positions of authority.

Bye bye ojiisans ~

3) Usatani Paisen gives birth to a baby boy 💜

Credit: @Usatanipaisen1215

Gyaru icon, Usatani Paisen gave birth to a healthy baby boy on August 16th!

Usatani, aka Saaya, has been documenting her pregnancy on social media from the very beginning. In a typical Usatani fashion, she was posting right up until she was having contractions after having done a full beat in preparation to meet her new son.

Congratulations to mum and husband on their new addition and we wish good health and happiness to all of them in this new chapter of their lives!

4) Rumiringo Releases Guidebook on How to Stop Overthinking

Credit: Shufunotomo Co., Ltd

Time to squeeze in some last-minute summer reading. Iconic heisei EGG model, Rumi Itabashi aka Rumiringo had released a tell-in-all guidebook on her life and how to pick yourself up after facing adversity.

In the book, Rumi candidly recounts stories from being bullied during her school days, right the way up to the present day of being a single mum to an 18 year old girl and how all these experience and her unconventional lifestyle have led to her current happiness and how she was able to overcome anything from being a victim to fraud, anxiety, divorce, her pain with gal spirit.

She mentions how being around gyaru give you positive energy and that they take responsibility for their own live and choices and live without regret. They don't blame others and even if they fall down repeatedly, they pick themselves back up again and again in their platforms shoes, both literally and figuratively so they overcome anything. Plus the importance of not overthinking and trusting your gut.

Fun tidbit - in 2025, Rumi opened her own parapara dance school as a way to increase gal spirit in Japan!

You can buy the book on Amazon JP here.

5) Yurage x Chopa makeup collab!

Yurage has released a makeup collection especially for gyaru, produced by the very own Japanese GAL YouTuber Yuchopa!