Every year, 5.3 billion hens in the egg industry are confined to battery cages in factory farms across Japan. Trapped in wire cages so small they can’t even spread their wings, these animals spend their lives enduring intense overcrowding, chronic pain, and total deprivation of their natural behaviors.
To challenge this brutal reality, Mercy For Animals expanded global efforts with the launch of a groundbreaking initiative in the region: The Hidden Nightmare campaign.
Through powerful storytelling, direct dialogue with major food companies and bold grassroots mobilization, we are making it clear to major Japanese food brands that the world is watching, and that the era of cage confinement must end.
What Is ‘The Hidden Nightmare’?
At the centerpiece of this campaign is “The Hidden Nightmare,” an animated short film created by Dirty Work studio, sponsored by Area 23, and featuring music by the iconic band Radiohead. Screened at the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, this emotionally gripping video portrays, in under 2 minutes, the heartbreaking reality of caged hens. It serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for corporations to align their supply chains with global animal welfare standards.
At their core, these standards mandate that animals live free from discomfort, pain, and distress, with enough space to express natural behaviors—requirements that are physically impossible to meet within a cage confinement system.
The Timeline: Building Momentum in Japan
Our movement knows no borders. Here is how the campaign has unfolded as we steadily escalate pressure on the industry’s lagging standards:
April 16: The Official Campaign Launch
Mercy For Animals launched “The Hidden Nightmare” campaign in Japan, with a dedicated website featuring the short film, but not before giving advance notice to major food companies, grocery chains, and restaurants, including Seven & i Holdings, Lawson, Lotte, Nisshin Seifun Group, Yoshinoya, and Zensho Holdings, and urging them to adopt clear cage-free commitments.
Spreading the Word
To help expose the reality of hen confinement to consumers, investors, and stakeholders, we published a press release on PR Times, one of Japan’s leading press distribution platforms. This strategic step expanded public awareness of the issue and increased pressure on major food companies to address the widespread use of cages.
Corporate Dialogue: Keeping Up the Pressure
At the heart of this campaign is a vision of compassion: guiding companies toward a cage-free future. Thanks to the relentless dedication of Mercy For Animals’ corporate relations team and compassionate consumers who took action, that vision is turning into reality. We are now in active dialogue with five out of our six target companies.
July 4: Taking Over Shibuya Station
When companies continue to lag behind, dialogue must be backed by public action. On July 4, Mercy For Animals carried out its first public street action in Japan. In partnership with the local organization Animal Rights Center Japan (ARCJ), activists took over the streets outside Shibuya Station—one of the world’s busiest and most iconic transit hubs. Holding eye-catching banners and campaign signs, we confronted thousands of daily commuters, tourists, and passersby with the cruel practices these companies continue to support.
The Path Forward
The historic mobilization at Shibuya Station proved that the momentum against animal cruelty is growing rapidly in Japan. No brand wants to be associated with archaic and outdated farming practices.
We will not stop until every hen is freed from the agony of a cage, but we can’t do it without you. Join the global movement animals have been waiting for! Power to the Peeps is an international community using collective action to fight for hens trapped in cages. We are building a world where no chicken is forgotten, and no voice is too small to make a difference. From online actions to local mobilizations, every step you take has power.
