Only in Japan? Ethan Hunt day

You're mission should you decide to accept it is to celebrate Ethan Hunt day! July 13th is Ethan Hunt day in Japan. There are also several other anniversaries and "day of" in Japan annually on the 13th of July, but "Ethan Hunt" day is one of the quirkier ones! Ethan Hunt is the lead character, played by Tom Cruise, in the Mission Impossible movies. The series is a huge success in Japan as it is globally too.

The date is in honor of July 13, 1996, when the first Mission: Impossible film was released in Japan. The 13th is also a play on words, reading "E (1) San (3)" , the way the name Ethan is pronounced in Japanese. It was registered and officially recognized by the Japanese Anniversary Association, but it seems that the association's anniversary registration ended in July 2023. Therefore, it cannot be confirmed as a certified anniversary by the association. 

There is also a "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan. He is very popular here, but it would seem the feeling is mutual as Tom Cruise speaks highly of his Japanese fans. His day is called "Tom Day," and is registered to October 6th. It is a pun on Tom Cruise's name, which sounds like "Tom (10) Mu (6)" - the tenth month for October and six the day of the month.

Co-incidentally I've been watching the Mission Impossible movies this week. Honestly I had no idea today was Ethan Hunt until this morning. I had never seen the Mission: Impossible movies before. I'm only up to number three, but so far so good. They are much better than I expected. Have you seen them before?